Home > Planers > 12-13" Planers

Product Ranking

The Makita 2012NB Portable Planer Kit (12") stands ninth of 130 Planers and fifth of 22 12-13" Planers. At $376.31, the Makita 2012NB Portable Planer Kit (12") is 13th in 12-13" Planers and 29th among Planers at $2191.89. It is the 36th ranked product among 198 in the Makita brand.

More Information

For more detailed information on the Makita 2012NB Portable Planer Kit (12") with features, reviews, descriptions, click here. Write a review. Your opinion of 2012NB helps to determine it's rating. Please purchase from our listed sources to support Toolcritic.

We have more data on Makita products here. Parts, manuals, and other data can be found at www.makita.com, the brand's site.

grade B
WHAT'S THIS?

Medium Performance, High Price
Wood Magazine, Volume 173, 2006-11

The main high point mentioned by the reviewer is that the cut quality is good, with average snipe. Some low points are that the material removal gauge does not have a scale for cutting depth, the 3-inch port is an odd size that would need an adapter to fit a 2 1/2-inch vacuum hose or a 4-inch dust collection hose, and the dust hood is an extra $30. The thickness stop can be set at any height, but unlike dedicated thickness stops, the results are not repeatable. The value (performance:price ratio) of this tool is also lower than necessary since the performance is medium but the price is high.

grade B
WHAT'S THIS?

Expensive, But Planes Very Smoothly
Wood Magazine, Volume 148, 2003-05

The reviewer said this model produced some of the smoothest surfaces of any portable planer in the test. Other pluses are the quiet (99 dB) motor, a power indicator light near the power switch, quickly changeable knives, knife-changing tools conveniently stored in a removable box, and an easy-to-use thickness stop. One weak point is that when planing pine without using a dust hood, divots formed by recycled chips can get pressed back into the wood surface. Also, the dust collection hood costs $30 extra, in addition to the planer already being the most expensive of those tested. The depth-of-cut gauge is less convenient than the Delta 22-580's "blade zero" gauge.

grade A
WHAT'S THIS?

High-Class Choice for a Benchtop Planer
Fine Woodworking Magazine, Volume 160, 2003-01

Although not perfect, the Makita was FWW's choice for a benchtop planer. It has more snipe than others, but excellent carriage parallelism. This machine is very light and compact, which is important for a portable machine. It has a simple and effective depth-of-cut gauge and its knife-holding system "made changing knives a pleasure." Its dust hood is 3 inches in diameter instead of the standard 4".