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I am a finish carpenter and use a hand planer almost daily. This helps when you go to put it down not to ding or chip the blades. Changing and sharpening the blades is quick easy, and doesn't require much dis assembly. I own mostly milwaukee tools, but also trust and own makita products. The only draw back is the depth nob is located too close to the front of the machine, making it difficult to raise and lower the blades if you have big hands. I demand high quality and toughness from my tools, and put them work all year round. This planer is great for hanging doors, making furniture, framing, etc. Also it has plenty of power to drive through harder woods, and doesn't bog down or skip over the wood.
(I also own a makita 10" sliding miter saw, 1806 6 3/4" planer, and a belt sander) Being used to the 6 3/4" planer I found this one to be on the smaller side, but it is light, and is built tougher than the other 3 1/4 planers on the market. Its has a weighted crank shaft so the blades stay inside it when not running. It has one distinct and easy to locate beveling guide on the shoe for angles. This is definitely a better made planer than the dewalt and bosch models.
This machine is great. I've used it on several door installs and some other trim and finish work.
Do yourself a favor and throw away the fence, as it will only frustrate you. This planer should be located in a framing contractors tool box where it belongs. Use a jointer or a table saw to square edges correctly. It might be able to "fix" a stuck door, but for production door milling use the correct tool, such as a Porter-Cable 9118 Porta-Plane (formerly the model 126). This tool is best used to straight line wall studs before drywall (& insulation) or for general framing use. This is a fairly rugged tool that is able to go through a couple of hidden nails before replacing the disposable blades. It is a Makita, not a yellow repackaged Blackened/Decker.
I have owned this tool for about five years, I was not happy with the fence that comes with the tool, even with the fence as tight as it could be it still would move when planing.It wasn't until about a year ago that I found that makita makes a bevel guide, which is an ajustable fence that is screwed to the planer in front and the back, stopping the fence from twisting.With the bevel guide it is a five star tool.
If you need to trim door slabs (other than pre-hung)- this is the best tool. I'm not sure if a dust bag is available - the tool throws a lot of dust, so be ready. It produces very smooth cuts with little effort. It is also quiet. I have used it to trim up to 1/4 inch of 80 inch long doors (precor masonite doors). The tool is prefect - provides a very straight finished edge that can not be accomplished using any other power tool, even a table saw
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