Just saw this one. Wonder if anybody has experience or knows about it. Also wondering about replacement blades, would they be proprietary? Or are there other 1-1/2 power planes on the market?
It is out of stock online at Home Depot - the major source for this tool.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-ONE-18-Volt-1-1-2-in-Cordless-Hand-Planer-P610G/206844294
There are mostly positive reviews about it on the Home Depot site. That said, I find online reviews (especially at HD and Lowes sites) to be a bit unreliable. Often they come from one time users who are not very demanding of their tools. But for $70 its might be worth a try for light-duty work - should it get back in stock. Planing, sanding and grinding can be very demanding tasks for a cordless tool - and depending on your needs - you might be better off with a corded tool. HD sells the corded Ryobi for the same price:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-6-Amp-3-1-4-in-Corded-Hand-Planer-HPL52K/205509610?MERCH=REC--PIPHorizontal1_rr--206844294--205509610--N
Other cordless planers from Bosch, Dewalt, Makita and Milwaukee seem to sell in the $160 to $200 range and as far as I know - all use a 3.25 inch wide cutter . I have not tried any of these. My go-to powered planes are both old corded Porter Cable models - and we also used much larger power planes from Mafell, Makita and Virutex. A new cutter head for the PC 126 (part #873096) costs around $100 - more than the Ryobi Planer - but blades for some 3.25 inch planers seem to sell for under $20. The odd thing about the P610 is that it does not seem t be listed on the Ryobi web site - so you can not look at an online user’s manual or parts diagram to see if replacement blades are even listed.
Amazon has a great price ($135 after a $20 off coupon) on the Makita planer:
https://www.amazon.com/Makita-XPK01Z-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-4-Inch/dp/B00NOVNV76
But with battery and charger it still costs several multiples of the Ryobi (if it becomes available again)
Thanks fred. I had already looked at the HD reviews before I posted. I agree with your thoughts about taking HD, and I’ll add amazon, user reviews with a shaker of salt. I posted here because I have found the comments on this forum to be more useful and knowledgeable as well as including more pros and industry folks. Mostly looking for direct user experience.
I’m currently on the ryobi 18v, M18 and M12 platforms. My use of a power plane currently would be minimal and I wouldn’t expand into a new platform just for that tool. I just hadn’t seen or heard of it before and was curious. Also wondering if the 1-1/2" is worth having or would I regret not having wider. I was thinking doors, knocking down crowned studs and maybe adjusting small stock when I do some woodworking.
Most likely if I get one it will be a standard 3 1/4 corded model. Trying to decide between a cheap one (ryobi, wen) which will probably serve my purposes or a quality one which should last the rest of my life and get handed down.
My go-to plane for doors has always been a Rockwell-Porter Cable 126 which has a 2.5 inch wide cutter. This is more than needed for most interior and exterior doors (other than a few I’ve seen on Medieval Churches in Europe). Sometimes you get into a wee bit of relief planing giving an edge a slight bevel which would push the limits of a 1-1/2 inch planer blade. Exterior doors with 1-3/4 inch thickness or interior doors of the same thickness or 1-5/8 inch - could also not be planed in 1 pass. Of course, for new construction and remodeling , with lots of pre-hung doors being installed - the need for planing has lessened - but custom doors and reworking old doors is still an application.
My intuition tells me that Ryobi may have selected the 1-1/2 inch width as a compromise. A 3-1/4 cutter head - planing a face of 2x4 stock is being asked to do a lot more work than a 1-1/2 inch cutter head planning a door edge. That means the Ryobi motor may not need t be a “beefy” as what others put into their 3-1/4 planers helping Ryobi keep the cost down.
The M18 planer - BTW - seems to be selling for $199