Aloha Pete,
I figured that if I want to know, other forum members do too. The question I have is: ‘‘What is the retail price of your Makita Planer, equipped with the new GRIT BLADE INSERTS?’’ While I don’t NEED one, I sure do WANT one. I have a project in mind that I think the Makita will be easier to work with, than the heavier Skil 100. Anything new to report?
The current retail from my distributor on the Makita is $549 for a fully converter planer and $200 for a DIY kit without planer in the US. Balsa has pricing for the EU versions on his site: https://www.guethary-distribution.com/en-gb/home. Balsa generated prototypes of the grit inserts which we evaluated and that is what I had at the Boardroom show. From our evaluations, several design issues became apparent: More aggressive teeth, a means of self-alignment so the inserts would always be level with no cut at zero, and also a very hard material that won’t wear. The initial quotations didn’t include these new features, so we’re working on incorporating them and getting new quotes and prototypes. The Makita blades are self-aligning and having this also on the grit inserts was important in keeping them a simple bolt-on. Pricing on the inserts will be structured so that they are less expensive than full barrels currently sold for Hitachi, other Makita’s and the Skil. How much cheaper is dependent on the quotes from the supplier with the new features.
Having said all this, Shaper Supply will have a limited number of FULL grit barrels sometime in June for this Makita model. Quantities will be very limited as we don’t want them to compete with the grit inserts. There is very little performance difference between them (same teeth), but our preference is to make installation as easy as possible for the customer. A retail price for the barrels hasn’t been yet established, and Shaper Supply will post them on their site as soon as they are available.
Balsa and I really appreciate the feedback on these inserts, we’re just builders and not marketing / sales people and this is of great value to us.
“Balsa and I really appreciate the feedback on these inserts, we’re just builders and not marketing / sales people and this is of great value to us.”
These are words of wisdom.
We are just trying to come out with the best possible product, not something that will wear out easily, would be difficult to install and more generally be disappointing for the user; this, unfortunately, takes time (and some money, too…) Doing our best, be patient.