Customer Reviews

DELTA 22-780X X5 15-Inch 3 Horsepower Planer, 240-Volt 1 Phase

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After using a portable planer for about 8 years, I decided to invest a bigger machine. This planer is identical to the DC-380 exept for a different paint job. And it is heavy!I am one of the lucky ones to have a hoist to help unload it. If you don't, have 2 or 3 helpers to unload and set it up. It took me almost two days to get it up and running. I first determined that it was too low for me, so I solved that problem by putting large wooden blocks between the bottom of the stand and the moble base. By the way, that moble base is an absolute must if you plan to move it at all. Then I discovered that the cord was too short, so I put a longer cord on with a twist lock plug. Most of my machines have twist lock plugs,anyway. When it is assembled you must be sure the infeed, cutter, and outfeed rollers are adjusted properly. There is a gage block that you must make, and the manual shows you how. The dust chute has an outlet of 5", so a trip to the local hardware store to get a 5" to 4" reducer and some duct tape, because is was not a good fit. It is essential to hook it up to a dust collecter, or you will be hip deep in chips very fast. After all was said and done, I am pleased with its peformance. The serrated infeed roller keeps the wood moving through at a steady pace, and it has two speeds, but I stick with the slow speed to get the best finish. The roller extensions eliminate snipe, once they are adjusted. If you get rough cut lumber, this is a worthwhile investment.

I purchased this planner as a replacement for my Delya 13" portable planner which I had used for several years. I also purchased the mobile base, and strongly recommend it if you EVER plan to move the tool.

Even sitting in the moble base, the planner bed is much too low, so I built a 2x6 platform which sits in the moble base and raised the heigth of the bed about 8". The planner legs are attached to the platform with four lag screws.

A word about the accompaning assembly screws and bolts. Don't use them! Two of the supplied bolts twisted in half about half way in. A trip to my local hardware store for replacement bolts solved this problem. Apparently the supplied fasteners are made from substandard steel.

Once set up and running the planner performs quite well. Careful alignment of the infeed and outfeed rollers is necessary and will reduce snipe to almost nil. The machine also operates much quieter than my old 13" planner, and the quality of the cut and speed made me want to throw rocks at my old 13" planner. I planned 13" wide 8/4 oak and cherry to a hand plane smoothness(ready to finish)and the motor never even strained to make the cuts. However, a chip collector is almost essential, unless you have a very large shovel and want to use it.

Over all, the Delta 22-780X is a very good planner and well worth the price if you do a lot of planning.

Since recieving this tool nearly five months ago I have run large amount of red oak through it. The results have been consistent and excellent. With the infeed and outfeed rollers adjusted I get little, if any, snipe. The two speed gearbox is nice. The fast speed is great for rough thicknessing and the slow speed gives an excellent final finish that needs very little more prep before finishing. It came with a mobile base and 5" dust collector. On the mobile base it is easy to move and I consider the base a must. I had no trouble adapting the 5" port to a 4" hose after a quick trip to the hardware store. However, it seems that it came with a 5" port for a reason, as it needs the extra inch to provide adequate CFM for chip removal.

Setup requires several people or an overhead hoist since it weighs in at over 400 lbs. I strongly suggest using this machine with the mobile base.

Overall it is a great machine.

the machine overall is fine. does the job, etc. however as with most things i have purchased lately from most companies the craftmanship on the tool is sliding. on this planer the holes for the bolts on the infeed and outfeed tables did not line up. someone in china did not weld the nuts on straight so i could not attach the tables until i went out and bought a threader and rethreaded the holes. c'mon guys.....i spent a grand on this thing........ am weary about buying another delta tool......

The planer works great even on the toughest white oak

did not notice any loss of power

and produced a perfect cut without much snipe

this is a fine machine once it is calibrated correctly,,,,owners manual is good but lacks some info,,, I had to shim the main cutter shaft .020 ,,,,, which all other ajustments work from... this should have been done at the factory...now I can plane rough lumber to cabinet specifications,,,,works well after set up is correct..

Mike

I purchased this planer in January with high hopes for performance. I did read the reviews and knew going in it was low and heavy. After unloading and setting up it is not ready to go, you must adjust, adjust, and if that not enough you can adjust some more one of the many different adjustments. If you are thinking about buying this item download the manual and see if you want to deal with all the adjustments. If someone would take this off my hand where I could buy another planer come get it.

The Delta 380 Planer costs a lot of money and has proved to be one of the poorer machines in my shop. My biggest beef is the cutterhead is totally out of alignment (out of parallel) with the bed, hence lumber passes through twisting itself sideways, and the finished stock is thicker on one edge than it is on the other. Reajustments are a bear! Additionally, knife changes are tedious and the infeed outfeed extention beds are not much better than garbage. This has been the biggest disappointment of my shop. Certainly not worth the money.

After considerable research I bought this planer. Of all the models I was "really" considering this one was the most expensive 15" planer. My biggest concern was getting the new planer off the truck and set up in my one-man garage shop. I knew from previous purchases that the trucking companies wouldn't back down my gravel driveway. I ended up slidding the large planner off the loading gate onto my pickup's tailgate and into the truck's bed...and that was a little tricky. Once backed in my garage, I used a ceiling mounted hoist to unload and setup the planner. I would not have wanted to deal with any more weight,even with the hoist. The strange thing is the Delta weights less, considerably less, than most of it's competition... but costs more. It does come with a better warranty. But in reality, if this thing breaks who is going to ship it back. One has to wonder what would Delta actually do...send parts, ask you to return it,or send a repairman.

Overall, I am satisfied with the performance of the planner, it is vastly superior to my 12 1/2" Delta Bentop planer. The biggest problem for me, outside of the setup, was running 240 VAC power to my shop. My shop is about 100 feet from the circuit breaker panel and I needed heavier gauge wire to compensate for voltage loss. 10 gauge wire seems to supply all the power needed. The planner runs quiet and has all the power needed to plane white oak, maple, and cherry...my shop's most frequently used woods. Getting the bed and rollers all lined up and level to prevent snipe was somewhat challenging.

The only reason I withhold the fifth star is the higher price, as compared to similar models with similar specs. (except total weight)

In closing, I have read that many folks don't like the motor mounted on top. I personally don't find this to be a great issue. It's just not a problem at all. I've checked out changing the blades and don't think it will be that difficult.

Big Mo

It does exactly what I expected. I am very satisfied. The only warning I would like to make is: make sure you have a way to place planer on stand. I used a hoist and did it by myself. However it is a job 3 people couldn't do manually. I had already placed the stand on the roller base before puting the planer on the stand.