Makita 1806B 6-3/4" Planer

Have you ever wanted to hold a bench top planer like a hand tool? Well you can and this is it. For flattening large slabs or timber it’s great. The wooden box is stupid but machine came with great edges on the blades and well adjusted so that was nice.Plenty of power to get through material and depth adjustments are infinite through the range (no detents)

Using this for a 30 foot wooden boat. The piece you see was part of an epoxy glue up. 2 passed and it is smooth as can be. This is a serious planer at 6.5 inches. Has the power back it up. Typical Makita, very well done.

I struggled with the DeWalt battery-powered planer, which was so bad I returned it and got this instead. This is a beast. It comes in a traditional wooden Japanese carpenter's box, and has all of the accessories you need, including a sharpening jig and adjustment tools. Mine was dead-on right out of the box, no adjustments needed (but check anyway). Very powerful, this makes silky-smooth cuts, even on hardwood with difficult grain directions and knots. The large beds make it easy to work large slabs, and it comes with an angle attachment for edges. Long cord is great. This unit is heavy, so you will get a bit of a workout using it, but once you are working a large piece, it glides beautifully. There is no chip/dust collection, so be prepared to clean up fine shavings inches deep.

Used this tool for several hours yesterday on long, cypress wood beams. Performed beautifully. Wear ear protection !!!The wooden box that houses the tool and accessories is sturdy, but the interior blocks were dislodged in shipping. I'd say that the shipping package was entirely inappropriate for such a heavy item. Fortunately the tool is tough. I'm positive that the tool was bouncing around loose inside the wooden box - no cushioning or retaining inserts whatsoever. It's lucky for me that the wooden box was not broken.My hope is to find a set of carbide tipped blades for this tool.

I bought this machine because it was more affordable than the 12" version. I'm building a timber frame structure consisting mostly of 7"x9" white oak timbers. This unit requires that I make at least two passes to cover the full timber. That hasn't been a problem because of the ability of this tool to feather its cut. Either by simply lifting the tool gradually as you go or by rotating the blade height knob or a combination of both, you can feather the cut to suit your needs. You can achieve very polished cuts with this tool.On the negative side of things, there's only one that drives me nuts. The power cord is long. That's good. However, it's made with the stickiest rubber I've ever seen in a power cord. It will catch on anything near your board. Any nubs, protrusions or splinters, this cord hangs up. Even the end of your board as you're pushing away. It creates such resistance that it forces you to stop (thus putting a burn mark on your board), take one hand off the machine, and reach back to force it off. My cord is showing signs of shredding due to this issue. It once got caught by the blade! Luckily, it didn't engage the actual wire.They provide a small, screw mounted wire at the back corner of the tool to hold the cord away from one edge or the other. I found it to be mostly ineffective. You'll have to either place the cord over your shoulder, have someone follow you while holding the cord out of the way or attach a hook overhead and hang the cord from above. It is VERY annoying. Also, on long timbers, when you walk back to the starting end, be careful to hold the machine away from you (or shut the tool off), otherwise there's a chance the blade's inside corner edge will cut your pants or shirt.The base of the tool is aluminum. It has accumulated a great number of scratches, some deeper than others. I wish the base was more resistant to such abuse. I don't believe it has any negative affects on the performance right now, but possibly in the future.The tool, with a sharp blade, makes wonderful fine shavings (excellent compost material). the exhaust port for those shavings however is an odd shape. Sort of tear drop shaped. I have yet to see any vacuum receptacle available that would fit such an opening. In the beginning I tried making a little flap to reign-in the spray, but it would sometimes clog the opening. I just leave it open now to blow all over the place.The ergonomics are fine. The weight is appropriate. The few negatives were not deal breakers for me. I do like this tool (a lot). It makes an enormous job easy and efficient. I'd buy it again, but I shouldn't have to, it's build quality is very high. Just look at the plywood case it comes packaged in!

This tool is great for truing up large timbers that are too cumbersome to run over the jointer. Smooth operation and intuitive controls are a plus. A way to direct the chips would be a welcome improvement, but this is a small inconvience. There’s not much on the market that’s comparable. The tool is not cheap, but great if you need the planing capacity.

I look at the market and noticed an offering from a competitor for half the price. Knowing this tool will be used in a commercial setting I went with Makita. This tool is well made and worked better than expected. This planer leaves a beautiful finish with little vibration. I'm sure the competitors tool will do the job, just not sure of the longevity. I have used Makita for years and never let me down.

Smooth and good power. Very finished surface.Edge guide allowed me to square heavy timber fairly well.Comments about the trigger lock being out of place are unfounded. I had no issues using the trigger lock on-the-fly. Just takes some practice and intentional movement. It is out of the way enough to avoid accidental engagement. Smart & simple design.