BOSCH1594K 6.5 Amp 3-1/4-Inch Planer Kit (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

Let me start by saying, I have a love~hate with Bosch tools. I have some tools (several routers, jigsaw, compound miter...) that I absolutely love and others (circular saw, sanders, cordless drill...) that, well... don't live up to my expectations. Bosch tools sometimes feel "cheap" to me, but I remind myself that they are designed to be efficient- powerful, light and survivable to impact/abuse. The 1594 hand planer had the same initial appeal- lots of plastic, but the good-quality Bosch stuff that I have been dropping on concrete for years without failure. It has less power than some of its competitors (6.5A as opposed to 7+A), but performs well.The kit itself, aside from the case, is a bit of a waste. If it would have knocked $20 off the price, I'd have bought the planer ONLY. The chip bag, unless planing a couple 64ths off of one door return in a cleanroom/museum, is useless. It would fill up in a second. I haven't used the bevel guide yet and it might be okay, but it feels a bit "light." However, the planer itself is a very good tool. I've got about 20 hours on it in my first month of ownership, including a few 4+ hour, non-stop planing work on deck joists. It's surprisingly comfortable to use and feels good in hand when running. A bit surprising since after picking it up for the first time, I had doubts about user comfort. It is MUCH quieter than other planers I've used (huge since by nature of its purpose, you're hovering over it). It has very little vibration and at 16,500RPMs gives off very little chatter unless you're asking it to do something unreasonable (like hack 3/32" off of soaking wet treated pine across the grain! Which it did, but did NOT like.) The depth control is a bit "basic" and provides little more than loose visual reference for depth of cut. The shoe is a good size (11 inches), flat and true and glides with relative ease over the worst of stock. Most importantly, it definitely puts power to the cutting head. 6.5 amps is plenty to drive deep cuts through all but super-hard stock. Even with sharp blades, it bogs a bit when encountering knots or hard grain, but it's more of a tone change than a drop in RPM or cutting efficiency. Unless you like the taste of wood, the multidirectional chip ejector is a really nice feature. It's great to be able to throw chips away from you no matter what the cutting position. For just over $100 from Amazon, I am very pleased with the Bosch 1594.PROS:- Bosch build quality- Quiet(ish) and low vibration- Smooth, clean, consistent cutting- Multidirectional chip ejector and overall ejection efficiency- even wet, gummy stuff shoots to another zipcode- Price- Weight- only 6 pounds so it is light and easy enough to "one-hand" if so inclinedCONS:- Maybe a little underpowered for hard woods (MAYBE, I wrote)- Rest-stand/blade-protector requires a bit of force to seat in the shoe. Might just need some time for the spring to slack/break-in- Like most hand planers, the body of the tool is wider than the shoe and cutting head so working close to an adjacent vertical surface (ie planning a ledger board) is impossible.

Bosch 1594K 6.5 Amp 3-1/4-Inch Planer Kit I purchased this tool to surface some edge-glued 10" wide 5/8" thick aromatic cedar boards (to be drawers for a captain's bed), boards resawed from 4/4 stock on a table saw, boards which are full of knots and weird grain patterns. Hand-planing is a bust. I can't afford a $600 thickness planer. No one locally rents thickness planers. The five-star reviews of the $126 Bosch 1594 at Amazon convinced me.Alas, after it arrived, I tried it out on some scrap, and experienced all the alignment problems that are mentioned in the one-star and two-star reviews (which I hadn't read, before I bought it).Some of these very critical reviews are over five years old. When will Bosch start listening?? * set to zero, my machine carved a groove 1/32" deep on the right, and flat on the left * the rear sole is far from flat - very sloppy milling * set the tool to zero, and a straightedge shows that the front sole and the rear sole are together far from bring on the same plane.So I treated this $126 Bosch tool like a $15 block plane that needs to be tuned before it will work properly: * removed the rear sole (a.k.a. outfeed table on a jointer), and lapped it on my scary-sharp sandpaper sharpening system, to make it closer to dead flat * reinstalled the rear sole with various washers around the four screws that hold the aluminum sole to the moulded plastic body, so that the planer's infeed and outfeed surfaces are close to being on the same plane, when the machine is set to zero * removed the six torx bolts that hold the two clamping jaws; removed the jaws * chipped out the yellow paint from the torx screws holding the blade holder * loosened the two screws that hold each blade * aligned the two blades relative to the rear sole (outfeed table on jointer) - this took a LONG time!! I used various online hints about how to set and align jointer blades. I removed the belt cover so I could fiddle, reattached it when I was done. * tightened the blade holder screws * reinstalled the clamping jaws and clamping boltsThen I started practising with scrap wood, understanding that several of my problems may be in my hands and arms, as well as those I know are in the tool.I decided against returning the tool to Amazon for a replacement, given that others have tried a replacement, and have been, sometimes, even more disappointed with the replacement.I'm submitting this as a five-star review, hoping that other folks (like me) who read five-star reviews only, will see it.

Overall, I am quite pleased with this planer. At the time I was considering getting a Festool planer, but recoiled from the $600 price tag. At $130 the Bosch planer has a solid feel to it and it handles well. Surface quality is quite good. I hook the planer up to my shopvac, which makes working with it a clean affair.On the downside it is difficult to get square edges with this planer. That has something to do with its front shoe. The front shoe, which is connected to a turning nob, moves up and down to set the depth of the cut. Because of this moving action it is generally not at all well aligned with the blade. Moreover, it can be pushed out of (or back into) alignment with relatively little force (e.g. by pressing it hard with one's hand). The back of the shoe is fixed and - at least for my planer - in perfect alignment with the (single) blade. No issue there.I noticed this issue, when I planed 3in maple lumber using the bevel guide fence. Despite a careful set up of the fence with a machinist square, the angle on the lumber came out at 91.8 degrees. At first, I thought this was due to the fence not being rigid enough. (As a matter of fact, the tool would benefit if the fence was more rigid). After some inspection, however, I found the front shoe was the real culprit. Once I noticed this, I could counteract it by relying more on the fence and less on the front shoe for alignment. Eventually I got a right angle, but it took me considerably more work than it should have.Still, for the most part the planer does what it is supposed to. All things considered it is a good value. I am pleased with it.

I had my eye on the Makita 6.5 amp 3-1/4 " as I've used one before and was very impressed. However this one had good reviews and comes as a kit. Included, Case, fence and a dust bag. You cannot go wrong just for what's included. I have used it several times and it performs while for a do it yourselfer around the house. I even accidentally nicked the blade on a nail. It cut the nail head off and it still works the same.

Planer comes with adjustable angle fence that allows you to plane at a set angle. Great for giving your work piece 90degree edges.I bought this to finish (small) beam sides on 4"x12" and 6"x12" beams. For the wider 12" sides I use a portable dewalt planer as it gives you a better finish.

adequate, powerful. It is a bit heavy but it is well designed and a good alternative to having a jointer.

Works the way it should. I had a chance to use it for one year. I like the quality of Bosh.

accurate,sharp.nice for the construction job.