Average Customer Review: ( 122 customer reviews )
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300 of 301 found the following review helpful:
 Three (NOW SEVEN!) years and running great! Sep 22, 2001
By John A. Martinsky
I am a professional remodeler and in the past five years I have burnt out three Delta planers. Twice, the feed rollers gave up and the last one apparently suffered a major internal failure. I have had the Makita now for two months and it has been flawless as I would expect. We plane some tough stuff like Ipe so we definitely give these things a workout. If it is still flawless in a year, I will give it a fifth star. I appreciate the ergonomics of this well, thought out machine. I am glad that Makita has eliminated a cutterhead lock. I personally couldn't care less about "snipe", of which this machine creates very little. We plane long and then cut to size on the miter saw. Don't you? I do have one question ..., is there any reason why I can't buy replacement blades online?
Okay, so I'm a year late, this is one VERY good planer! It continues to perform like new, with only blade changes. I have it hooked up in my shop and have run hundreds of feet of maple, pine, poplar, Ipe, oak, even plywood and MDF. It just does its thing. Very uneventful, I like that. That's what I pay for. The only downside is that it makes justifying a 15" Powermatic planer difficult!
So here were are now, its 2004 and the little bugger just keeps going! I may never get that new planer. What can I say, after, I don't know, five or six thousand feet of various hardwoods, no changes to date! See you next year!
What can I say? Late again! So here we are almost eight years later and the little SOB just keeps running! New blades, vacuum occasionally, lube the posts if I think of it and it just keeps going. If it ever dies, I'll let you know!
119 of 120 found the following review helpful:
Excellent Choice Jan 04, 2001
By John L. Toner
I received my new Makita 2012B Portable Planer for Christmas. I had researched all the available models and felt that the Makita had the edge on paper. Putting it to the reality check test, a friend and I ran over 100 board feet of quartersawn white oak through the planer, then finished up by using the system to shave down a walnut inlay in ash. I was really impressed by the performance! No snipe, very smooth surfaces, quiet operation, and ease of use were at the top of my list of favorable impressions. We especially liked the depth stop option for reproducibly machining multiple boards to the same thickness. Too early to tell how the planer will hold up with time. I will write a follow-up after a year of use. The only objection I have to the tool is that for the price, Makita should include the dust hood. It is essential and has to be ordered separately from Makita.
93 of 93 found the following review helpful:
Plain Heaven Oct 30, 2000
I spent a lot of time looking at portable planers. They all had something I liked and didn't. The Makita 2012NB had everything I was looking for. Lower the cutting head down until the depth pin moves, set the dial indicator to zero, then lower the cutting head to the depth you want. Easy, fast, accurate and quiet. It has an adjustable rod for making plaining more than one board to the same thickness and can be set to any thickness you want. The interna-lock head keeps snipe to a minimum and I'm happy not to have to mess with a head lock. It seems to be constructed to last a long time but I haven't used it long enough to say for certain yet. It is more expensive but I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. The only complaint I have is for the price why didn't Makita include dust shut with dust collector connection?
74 of 76 found the following review helpful:
Makita's Planer Is Smooth - HaHaHa Oct 28, 2000
This planer is excellent, giving both reliable service with new features. No cutterhead lock to worry about, higher RPM than the old planer (which was still great), and beefed up to 15amp. The Makita has on-board storage, for tools, generous infeed & outfeed trays, and is truly lighter than the rest. Powerful and extremely smooth finishes. Popular Woodworking lists it as snipe equal to that of a floor model, best of the benchtops. I agree!
52 of 52 found the following review helpful:
 Worth the Money Sep 29, 2001
Much like other reviewers, I have a small shop and make personal furniture and cabinetry. I too agonized over the purchase of a planer. The obvious dilemma is between a floor model 15" and a portable 12". The Makita is more costly than most of the portables, but less than half of the stationary 15" models.After reading of the trouble others have had with the Delta (and my own negative experiences with Delta) I decided to spring the extra bucks for the Makita quality. Great decision. This planer performs flawlessly. As long as you keep each pass shallow, snipe is of no concern, and I also agree that you have to cut the ends off the stock anyway. Snipe won't mean a thing if you have a board end check on you after you have completed a project. I too reserve the other 5th star for longevity, as I have only had the planer for several months. As for the dust hood-I plan to save myself the money and just make my own. Any true woodworker can handle the fabrication necessary for a rectangular plenum with a round outlet-it's held on by a couple of thumb screws. I say you can't beat this planer.
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based on 122 reviews
