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If you need a 13 inch thickness planer for a small shop, the DeWalt DW735X is the best all-around choice for its two-speed gearbox and effective snipe control, while the Makita 2012NB is the quieter, more portable alternative and the WEN PL1303 covers hobbyists on a tighter budget. Below is how the main contenders compare on the criteria that actually matter.
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Contents
What a 13-Inch Planer Handles Well
A 13″ planer is the sweet spot for small shops: it surfaces most flat stock (typically up to about 12.5″–12.8″ of real usable width), fits on a bench or flip-top stand, and costs a fraction of a stationary 15″ or 20″ machine. It’s the right tool for dimensioning rough-sawn lumber, matching thickness on glue-ups for panels, cutting boards, and tabletops up to about 24″ wide when you run them in two passes after ripping.
Where it struggles: heavy stock removal on hardwoods wider than 10″, and long boards over 6 feet — both situations expose the limits of lunchbox-style cutters and short beds. If that’s your weekly work, the 13″ class becomes a bottleneck.
Comparison: Key Specs at a Glance
| Model | Max Width | Max Cut Depth | Motor | Cutterhead | Weight | Speeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeWalt DW735X | 12.8″ | 1/8″ | 15 amp, 20,000 RPM | 3-knife, two-speed gearbox | ~92 lbs | 96 / 179 CPI |
| Makita 2012NB | 12″ | 3/32″ | 15 amp | 2-knife | ~62 lbs | Single |
| WEN PL1326 | 13″ | 3/32″ | 15 amp | Spiral, 26 inserts | ~72 lbs | Single |
| Delta 22-555 | 13″ | 3/32″ | 15 amp | 2-knife | ~58 lbs | Single |
| Jet JWP-13BT | 13″ | 1/8″ | 15 amp | Helical, 24 inserts | ~76 lbs | Single |
Expect street prices roughly in these bands: budget straight-knife models $300–$450, mid-range straight-knife $500–$750, and spiral/helical cutterhead models $700–$1,000.
The Criteria That Decide Your Choice
Snipe control
Snipe — the deeper cut at the first and last few inches of a board — is the number one complaint with lunchbox planers. The DW735’s four-post carriage lock is the most effective factory solution in this class; the Makita’s “Interna-Lok” head lock is close behind. On any 13 inch thickness planer, you can reduce snipe further by running boards slightly long and cutting off the ends, supporting long stock at infeed and outfeed level, and feeding consecutive boards end-to-end. Budget another 6–8″ of waste length per board in your lumber math.
Cutterhead type: knives vs. spiral
Straight-knife heads (DW735, 2012NB, 22-555) leave a clean surface on straight grain but tear out figured woods like curly maple and birdseye. Spiral/helical heads with carbide inserts (WEN PL1326, Jet JWP-13BT) shear-cut, so they handle figured grain and knots far better and run noticeably quieter. Long-term, inserts rotate four ways before replacement, so a $40–$60 insert set can outlast several $25–$35 knife sets.
Motor power and feed
Every model here is a 15-amp universal motor — the differences are in gearing and cutterhead design. The DW735’s two-speed feed (96 CPI for hogging, 179 CPI for finish passes) is unique in the class and genuinely useful: rough dimension at the fast speed, finish the last pass at the slow speed and you can often skip sanding below 120 grit.
Dust collection
All of these need a real dust collector or at minimum a shop vac with a separator — planer chips are far heavier than sawdust. The DW735X ships with a blower-assisted ejection system that can push chips several feet without a collector attached; the Makita and WEN rely on a 4″ or 2.5″ port. A common mistake in small shops is hooking a planer to a shop vac without a cyclone separator — the filter clogs within a few boards. A $40–$60 lid separator on a 5-gallon bucket solves this.
Portability
If the planer lives on a shelf between uses, weight matters: the Delta 22-555 (~58 lbs) and Makita (~62 lbs) are genuinely one-person moves. The DW735 at ~92 lbs wants a dedicated stand or a rolling base. All lunchbox planers also run loud (typically 95–105 dB under load) — hearing protection isn’t optional.
Pick by Situation
| Your situation | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed hardwood work, want minimal snipe, machine stays put | DeWalt DW735X | Two speeds, best-in-class carriage lock, strong chip ejection |
| Figured woods, quieter operation, long blade life | WEN PL1326 or Jet JWP-13BT | Spiral/helical inserts shear-cut grain; inserts outlast knife sets |
| Tool moves in/out of storage, lighter weight matters | Makita 2012NB | ~62 lbs, proven reliability, low noise for a knife planer (~83 dB) |
| Occasional weekend use, tight budget | Delta 22-555 | Lightest and cheapest of the group; fine for softwoods and furniture-scale work |
| Rough-sawn lumber regularly, heavy removal | DW735X, but consider a wider stationary planer | 1/8″ max cut and two speeds; a true 15″+ machine if volume is high |
Ownership Realities
- What wears first: knives. Resinous softwoods and dirty reclaimed lumber dull them fast. Resharpenable knives cost $10–$15 to sharpen; disposables run $25–$40 a set.
- Consumable math: a hobbyist planing 500 board-feet a year typically replaces knives once or twice a year, or rotates carbide inserts every year or two — roughly $30–$60/year either way.
- Cleaning: brush chips off the cutterhead and rollers after each session; pitch buildup on rollers causes feed slips and uneven thickness. A rag with mineral spirits cleans roller pitch.
- Common mistakes: running boards shorter than the minimum feed length (usually 12″), trying to joint a face on a planer (it only thicknesses — a twisted board comes out uniformly thick and still twisted), and taking more than 1/16″ per pass on full-width hardwood.
FAQ
Can a 13 inch thickness planer replace a jointer? Not fully — it makes opposite faces parallel but won’t flatten a bowed face. A sled with shims is the workaround, though it’s slower than a real jointer.
Is a spiral cutterhead worth the extra cost? If you regularly plane figured grain or hate knife changes, yes — the upgrade pays for itself in two to three years of knife purchases for most hobbyists.
What’s the actual usable width? Slightly under the rated width — plan for ~12.5″ of real capacity on a 13″ machine, since running stock edge-to-edge risks snipe at the margins.