Customer Reviews

Black & Decker 7698K 5.2 Amp 3-1/4-Inch Planer

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used my friends Dewalt 680 planer for a couple of jobs and liked its small size/weight and features. I didn't like its $150 price. So I went looking for and alternative and found this Black and Decker at Sears for $69.99 w/case and extra blades. It looks and performs like the Dewalt but at half the price and w/case, extra blades and wrench(uses dewalt blades), edge guide, dust bag, and vacumn attachment accessories.

The only differences I noticed is the rear shoe is a steel plate instead of cast. The front plate (adjustable for plane depth like Dewalt's) is cast aluminum like dewalt. Also, Dewalt has a
guard lever on its rear shoe that drops down to protect blade when setting planer down on its shoe after use. I actually found
this lever to be a pain when using the Dewalt because it would not always drop down when done with a plane, and it was in the way when you wanted to begin a plane run in the middle of a piece.

I was very impressed with this find and satisfied with this planer and its accessories so far.

I recently picked this planer up for a small job that involved squaring some pine. It did a good job but the weaknesses of the tool were fairly obvious after only a little use.

Background: I compared this planer to the comparable Ryobi. The Ryobi had a few features the B&D didn't, mainly a "kickstand" to protect the blade when not being used and a dust port that can be switched from left to right. The Ryobi also had a loose front plate, which didn't seem like a good idea to me. So I chose the B&D.

First the good: It did a very good job on the pine I was planing (which involved 4 pieces glued together that needed to be flat on 2 edges). It was very easy to use and the depth adjustment has very positive indents so you know how much you are removing. In general, I was very impressed with the results I got out of the tool.

The bad: I use hand planes a lot, so I naturally wanted to use the front handle on this power planer. Unfortunately, that is also the depth adjustment, and on my second cut I managed to turn it halfway through, making it deeper. I also wanted to use the fence to square the face I was planing. I was successful in this, but the fence is incredibly flimsy (mostly plastic). It may last fine, but I guess I would prefer all metal or at least thicker plastic. Also, I noticed the motor sounded like it was struggling a bit when I went to the deeper cuts. Maybe this is normal, but it seemed like there could be trouble if you try to do the same thing in hardwood. Finally, I can see why other brands include the kickstand (basically a blade guard, so you're not setting the tool on it's blades all the time). I didn't much like the fact that I would be resting the planer on it's blades every time I set it down (you also have to make sure the blades aren't still spinning, although in my own use this was not an issue).

So, basically, this is a tool that works well, but could maybe use a bit of refining. I returned mine, and I'm not sure what I'll replace it with. FWIW, in this price range, I think there's always going to be a bit of compromise, and I think the B&D's weaknesses are easier to live with than the loose front plate on the Ryobi.

after looking at the cost/benefits of the various planers out there, i realized that i really didn't need anything too fancy so i got this to get me through a trim job i'm in the middle of. all i can say is wow. for about $70 you get a very smooth running plane that comes equipped with a dust bag that actually works, a vacuum attachment, two extra reversable blades and a case. it comes with a rip fence but it seems pretty hokey and i wouldn't put too much faith in it. the adjustment knob has very nice detents in it that makes setting the depth a breeze. dont be scared away by the cheap price, this is a very good deal.

i bought this planer to trim down some exterior doors and it worked great. I've used it on several other projects since then and it has been excellent.

Before I purchased this power planer I used a hand planer to shave down high spot on 2x4 before installing drywall, it cost me about $35 for the hand planer, and it gets difficult when you hit a knot. Then I found this planer for about $65 and it gets the job done in couple seconds compares to hours, it ran through the knot like it's not even there! Not only it's quick, the finish is impressively smooth too. For those (like me) thinking about getting a hand planer just for couple small jobs, the extra $30 is definitely worth it, plus the replacement blades are cheaper than the ones for hand planer.

I purchased this planer to fit interior hollow-core doors and it worked perfectly. For the price I'd have to say this is a very good value. The fence is a little flimsy but more than sufficient to keep the planer square on a door edge. The sawdust bag captures about 80% of the dust which I was pretty happy with. I didn't screw the dust catcher together so that I could quickly dis-assemble it to replace it in the storage case. The carry case is sturdy and an extra blade is included. I trimmed 3 doors making probably 2 dozen passes along the door edge and didn't notice any dulling of the blade or wood burning. The depth adjustment knob is also the knob you'd typical hold to steady the planer which risks changing the depth accidentally. Ideally they'd add a locking device but I just tried to hold it with one hand. Prior to this purchase I was trimming doors with a hand planer. I'll never go back, this accomplished the task in a fraction of the time.

Why would you include a dust catcher which does not fit into the case??? Other than that, the planer works fine for quick jobs fixing stuck doors.

After using is for a few projects, though, here are my objections:

- It's deafening. When you plug the planer into a dust collector or shop vac, the extra airflow through the mouth and spinning blades creates an air raid siren. Running it outside with nothing attached (i.e. throwing chips all over the driveway) is actually less bothersome to the neighbors than running it indoors with a dust collector.
- The dust port clogs up easily. Whether running it open or suffering the banshee scream of this thing with a dust collector, be prepared to stop every thirty seconds to dig out a clump of shavings.
- The locking screws that hold the blades are quite soft and the heads look like they'll quickly round over.

All that said, it's comfortably balanced in the hand and certainly has enough power to get through a lot of wood. I'd call it a good, cheap "first" planer because, after using this on a project or two, you'll know precisely what to look for in your second planer.

I finally got around to using this power planer. We had installed several new windows in our 100 plus year old house. We had to add jam extensions and unfortunately things did not go as flush as I would have liked. I debated various ways to level these things out and everything sounded like it would either leave a very coarse finish or require a lot of work. I had never used a hand held power planer before. I was very impressed. It worked like a charm. The little vacuum bag which came with it is useless. It fills up in about 10 seconds and then the shavings fly everywhere. What a mess. I found an adapter which would enable me to attach it to my large shop vac. What an improvement. Not a thing to clean up. I would highly recommend this item.

I have been using this planer while building a wooden boat. It is doing a nice job for me and for the price it is just what I needed. The chip bag mount broke on its 2nd use and the bag will not fit in the case without taking it apart. A tie wrap allows me to use the broken chip bag. This is almost a 5 star tool except for the one problem.