UPDATE: Wen is shipping a new planer to me this week. UPDATE 2: New planer has been delivered. Will unbox it this weekend. UPDATE 3: New planer works perfectly. 5 Stars.
hoping you do an updated review on that performance. I was saddened that you weren't able to do it for this video due to factory error because I was thinking of getting that one.
I got the same model, bought it cheap to see if I'd use it enough to buy a fancier one - and don't feel I need the fancier one! It does a great job, lovely finish, can go straight to joinery. Next step: replace the HSS bits with carbide.
What's crazy about this, and why I'm thankful for this video, is as a complete beginner, I would never know that was supposed to be there! I would just assume it was a pain in the ass to use, or I wasn't good at using it! Thanks for sharing!
As someone who's interested in getting into woodworking, I cannot thank you enough for these budget minded tools videos. They are fantastic and the insight you bring to them with your years of experience is invaluable. Thank you so much!
I honestly can recommend ryobi for a lot of tools also. Their trim router is great, brad and pin nailer are wonderful, Only thing Id recommend is getting a good sander from someone like festool. I have the ryobi tracksaw ( i got for 200$ on sale including the track, a 4amp battery charger and thr saw) and had the ts75 festool saw got stolen and for most people the ryobi will work for most things. The festool has luxury features and a deeper cut but ive found it helped me to research what you can use cheaper tools for and what's worth investing in as well as the tools that provide the most ability to serve different purposes.
@@Mourning-Sun exactly!! Other channels are talking about 3,000 dollar table saws.. crazy... Im curious to see which is better wen or ryobi?. Both are more affordable than a 3,000 dollar saw
I have a mix of brands in my shop and can proudly say Wen has worked for me. I started out with the Dewalt table saw and planer but went with the Wen band saw, jointer, and drum sander to complete my shop and have never looked back. Some of the points you raised are valid but they get the job done for someone like me who is a weekend woodworker. I lusted after a jointer for the longest time. Wen made it possible. 😃
I really hope there will be an update review on the planer. Both how the company handled the replacement or repair, if at all, and hopefully seeing it in action. It was the tool I watched the video for, and I too was greatly disappointed in its condition.
I had good experience with my first lathe. The control housing was cracked during shipping/handling and they replaced the whole unit quickly at that time. I am also interested in how the handle his issue, though his taking a great deal longer than I had to deal with
I have the Spiral Cutting Head from Wen, I got it for a great deal, and replaced my old delta planer. This thing cuts like butter, and has taken on some task that bogged down my old delta. I was even able to find Carbide blades that fit the planer too. I swear some finishes from this planer, i feel like I don't need to sand. However I did overtighten and broke a leveling bolt on the feed bed and Wen replaced that no questions asked, they even sent a few spares incase I did it again.
Just a bit of friendly advice.First joint 1 edge, next joint 1 face, running the previously jointed edge against the fence of the jointer. After that run it through the table saw with the the jointed face down and the jointed edge against the fence. this gives you two edges that are parallel and square to 1 face.After that run it through the thickness planer flat face down. the result will be 2 parallel faces that are square to the edges. Order of operations my friends.
@@JimRimS4S agree on order of ops being very important but I’d swap operation 1 and 2. Face jointing does not require the edge to reference the fence in order for the face to be properly and consistently flattened across its length (especially since it’s complimentary operation for coplanarity will be on the planer). Edge jointing requires the face referencing the fence for proper and consistent flattening along its length and for square. The face needs to be flat without bowing, cupping, or twisting to provide proper reference, so it must be run first. If the face is twisted, the edge will be twisted. Then, the edge will not be square at the end of the milling process and the pass on the table saw will result in a non-coplanar complimentary edge on the opposite side of the board. But then again, woodworking isn’t machining so what’s a couple thou of non-coplanarity. I don’t think measurements less than 1/32 exist in my woodshop
I have a WEN planer (about 2 years old) and it's been great to work with... Of course mine came with all the parts! Another key point about WEN is that they make replacement parts for a lot longer than some other brands, so you should be able to repair them down the road.
I have the WEN mini lathe for pen turning and it is AWESOME!! It is dial speed adjusted motor too which is why I went with it. I've had it for 5 years and no issue whatsoever!
I have the same one, and, while I have my issues with some details (those cheap knobs really can get frustrating), it's been fine. That being said, I never recommend that one. The tool post holder is undersized from almost every other lathe on the market, so you're pretty much stuck with the factory tool rests - which aren't very good. Also, the tapers are MT1, while nearly every other lathe is MT2. Meaning that there are some accessories you can't get, and the ones you can will have to be replaced if you want to upgrade later.
My wife is doing woodworking projects in her craft room. We purchased a number of Wen tools for craft room. Its been two year's and they all have worked perfect.
I love all of my Wen tools and they have been great. I have the bigger variable speed drill press, the band saw, the small lathe, the biscuit joiner, an air filtration system, the belt and disc sander, and the variable speed bench grinder. Most of my other tools are Dewalt and Porter-Cable and they fit in nicely in that quality tier. I agree about the knobs on some of their products.
Being a single dad with 5 kids I had to quit my job and for the first time in my life at the age of 42 I had to be home for my son who's non verbal due to no day care in my county here in west Virginia so I've been woodworking to make money and with that said I don't have the money to buy the red or the green tools so I've found that Wen products are right with my budget and from my experience they all work and get the job done. Love your videos thanks for taking the time to make your videos. Be safe God bless
Your choice of WEN tools isn’t going to impede your woodworking. I’m a WEN tool owner and I haven’t any regrets. BTW your a good dad taking great care of your son.
Hey man do what you have to do! I recently became a stay at home dad just financially made sense. But man you can get some good quality tools and not spend a bunch of money no matter what others say! I am starting my woodworking as a hobby but FB marketplace has some great stuff for cheap too
Honestly when it comes to the tablesaw i think its important to just buy the absolute best you can afford. Especially if your just starting. I think more people start and quite woodworking because the tablesaw they start with is just not useful for the task
Yep. Cheaper table top aluminum table saws are essentially a circular saw bolted to the underside of the table. The motors will bog down under any kind of hardwood thicker than 1". The brushes will eventually have to be changed on them which is usually a big hassle. I had a cheap craftsman and had to change the brushes on the motor. It took me a couple of hours just to remove the motor from the top. They have a direct drive motor.
@LutherBuilds my Bosch doesn't "bog down" on 1" anything. At about 1.75 or so it will, which is phenomenal. Just keep in mind we don't always know everything about everything. However, the Bosch is definitely close to or the same decibel rating, so hearing protection is absolutely necessary.
I have the Wen digital variable speed drill press. love it. Use 2.5 inch forsner bit no problem. Have the Wen band saw. Works fine. I've got the 6 inch jointer. works fine. Thanks for the reviews.
I recently was setting up dust collection on my planer that was purchased in 2020, and they sent me parts that I had lost free within 2 business days. Great service and 5 machines later, and would still recommend highly.
I work for a commercial metal framing company and we are phasing out our dewalt and Milwaukee abrasive chopsaws for the wen cold cut steel chop saw. The quality is great and they run great. One of the wen blades it came with actually lasted a whole job for us. Probably well over 1000 cuts. And even with the teeth messed up a bit at the end it still made clean fast cuts. We aren’t a fan of supporting Chinese products but the big box brands are made in China too but this one is way better
There are places where you can cheap out easily as a manufacturer without changing functionality. There are places where you can cheap out and hurt function. If you have a good knob chances are corners weren't cut elsewhere (like say a feeding mechanism were to be omitted)
The drill press seems to be almost identical to the Central Machinery model from harbor freight that I have. It's been very good for my limited use in the 2 years I've had it.
Gosh. I acknowledge, and appreciate, your subtleties. The amount of intentional small little chuckles in your videos is continually refreshing. Your channel and film style is honing- and for me at least- it’s in the right direction.
Excellent customer service does not take over 12 days to response to a customer and still have the issue unsolved after 18 days when the customer is responding with the requested information.
Up to 11:40, we are with you. Clear, well made and enthusiastic, considered narration. But talk about contrary...the thickness planer at 11:40. How on earth can you emphasize that "Its such a high quality machine!" and in the next breath say .. "...Disappointed... Zero Stars" ? You are rating the overall machine, including construction, quality, power, solidity, accuracy, function. So at LEAST 4 stars if you listen to your self. Previous two items had too cheap knobs parts didn't fit to reinstall- ... 4+ stars~ For this planer you should GET the missing part and rate it aditionally how it feeds! Imagine if Consumer Reports ranked a gorgeous top quality 5-star car, at zero just cuz it was out of gas! UPDATE: I see you did, try again on a new one. congrats. PS.. Owner of about 5 planers from 14" to a humongeous 4200 lb. Wadkin and Stanko, both with built in blade grinders.(and about 50 other woodworking machines, up to a 5 x 10ft CNC router.
Same. Mine worked perfectly out of the box and has been worked hard since with zero issues. I'm hoping this one gets a second chance once WEN makes it right. Unfortunate that this is the one that makes it out of the factory incomplete.
I bought the bigger Wen track saw and the Powertek tracks for it last year. I've ripped and cut dozens of sheets of plywood and pvc with it at this point and I love it for doing straight cuts. There is a little flex to it that you have to be mindful of when cutting, but as long as you don't torque the saw on the track and you just gently push it down it cuts great. The Powertek tracks are longer too, so 1 track lets you easily cut a 4' piece.
"I'm setting up a new shop with only one brand of low cost tools." "Sounds cool, when?" "Yup." "What do you mean, yup? I want to know when?" "They make some pretty good tools." "Who does?" "No, Wen." "That's what I'm asking you! When!?"
The whole planer drama was so touching, and also I like the humor and positive attitude, and also honesty. Thank you for the very entertaining video! You have your own unique approach. Please, continue making videos :D
Actually you have it wrong,the correct way to machine wood is, The joiner is first,that is so you get one face and one edge clean and a perfect 90°. Upon having a clean,flat face and edge then you pass the opposite sides through the planner wich gives you a square and dimensioned piece of wood. I've been a cabinetmaker for 38yrs,never do you use a planner first.
Hey all, I have the WEN bandsaw mentioned in this video. Two important facts if you have one. First, Timberwolf blades will break in this saw. I talked to the folks at Timberwolf and they said their blades don't do well on smaller bandsaw wheels like this one. They recommended Olsen and those have worked beautifully for me. (Still love Timberline on my bigger bandsaw). Second, I replaced the tires with Blue Max Polyurethane tires and it drastically improved the tracking. With these two improvements, it has been a great saw for me. Like others, I've had great luck with the WEN brand.
I had a Wen track saw for years before moving to Festool. It's a great piece of gear. If you consider the saw without the tracks it should be a 5* all the way, especially because you can use it on Festool tracks without issue ;)
For the router spin down time, the wired Wen is using a brushed AC motor, and the Dewalt is using a Brushless DC Motor (3 phase motor). With Brushless DC Motors, you can use the motor controller as a brake to stop the motor quickly, the same way electric cars use "regenerative braking" to cause the motors to slow down. This is not something that can be easily done with brushed AC motors without expensive electronics, so it take much longer to stop spinning.
It can also be done with an electronic brake, which is a fairly simple, low-tech component. My radial arm saw from the '80s has one, so not exactly cutting-edge tech (pardon the pun).
I hate that they are not responding in a timely manner I did not have this issue with them when I bought my ban saw from Wen Good luck with the repairs.
I am really excited for this series. I am looking forward to how these tools feel after a good couple projects compared to your master set up at home. I am curious about the email you originally sent about the planner. Even though you bought these with your own money and did your own review on them, would you or did you tell them that you were doing a video? By the sounds of it you did not tell them and I appreciate that as that may have expedited their response.
The planer missing the drive system is honestly a surprise, I got one about 5 years ago and it's still going super strong, only issues I've had was self generated cause I missed a piece of metal before sending a board through so now I need new blades. But it still chews right through hardwood no problem.
The planer knives are reversible, if you didn't already know. You just take them out, flip them around, and put them back in. I ran into the same problem a couple of years ago and was just about to order a new set of knives when I noticed in the description that it said they were reversible.
The track saw is great from Wen. I picked up two tracks from Powertech which does not have the soft foam bottoms. One of my favorite tools to pull out now.
I found WEN during a massive tool upgrade for my job. I have their Impact Driver, Electric screwdriver, drill bits, and the bag lol. All in all I can't say anything negative about the quality considering how inexpensive they are. The tools I have compliment my Ryobi products because I don't need my WEN tools to do more than what they've been made to do. I like that they're a known brand and aren't trying to be something they clearly are not. I recommend them for anyone who needs budget tools that aren't going to fail you, but if you need something more I suggest Ryobi, Craftsman, or SKIL. Always keep in mind your needs/budget, don't go broke trying to impress tool snobs lol.
Your Sawstop is much more quiet because it’s belt driven vs almost every new contractor saw which is direct drive. The saw running by itself is louder than running something through it.
It's also the motor type. The sawstop has an induction motor, and the little jobsite saws have universal motors. Universal motors have brushes and like to "scream" even under zero load.
I have a direct drive Bosch and its also quiet. A belt doesnt make things quieter... why would it? It just adds another sound source. The motor type is what matters.
A contractor saw is belt driven with a cast iron top, next best thing after a cabinet saw. The direct drive saws are what are known as job site saws. The noise is due to the brushed motor as opposed to the much quieter induction moter used on higher quality machines.
I have a Wen thickness planer, sander, band saw, track saw, scroll saw, hand planer and drill press. They are a great choice for a beginner woodworker.
The WEN Detail Belt Sander is one of my favorite tools - I use it ALL the time with no complaints. It is a bit of an odd ball tool that rarely gets reviewed, but I can't imagine not having it in my shop.
I have several Wen tools … and a few of them I received broken or missing parts… yeah you could debate productivity or poor product control… but kudos to Wen’s warranty… they have replaced or sent the replacement parts without question in just a few days… in my opinion that’s why I keep buying Wen products…! Not all companies are like that!
Great cross section of tools! I bought the WEN 10" Miter for a barn board siding project at my in-laws house so I didn't want to take the one out of my shop every time I did work over there. I have it mounted t a Harbor Freight portable miter stand and it's an awesome combo and nice and light to move around. Only change I did was install a quality CMT blade. I also have the WEN jointer that has served me well.
Track is the same as makita tracks. I have had no problem with it moving when I had the track fully supported. Curious to know if you have problems with it in the future
I own so many Wen tools, I'm guessing more than 50 plus, including all the big shop tools, (too many to count) and because of the price point and great quality I was able to equip my shop completely without going bankrupt. Wen has been golden in customer service for me. I could not be happier with my Wen tools...(Just sayin) ;-)
I have several WEN tools. Never had an issue with any of them. I have the drill press. the lathe, belt / disc sander, spindle sander, 8in jointer . dust collector , air filtration, cordless track saw. Love them.
you know what's funny was, I said in my head AS YOU WERE SAYING IT "I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller" XD I love your music references, I know it's your music background and that we're about the same age, but your music references are ALWAYS 5-star! I'm glad you had the issue with the planar and got to test how the company responds. I really like that bandsaw, I need one and I think I might pick one up. I also think that when you review tools like this, you really do it from the same perspective I would, and I like that too. Last thing I'll say is, and this is the point you missed, Obviously Wen knows that you're a woodworker if you're buying all these tools, so they just want you to make your own damn knobs XD
I have the 12" planer as well. AMAZING product. I also have the bench grinder / sander. It is AMAZING. Been looking at the Bosch plunge router but at $249 and seeing David's review of the Wen, I am DEFINITELY going to get it. Thanks so much.
The thing about the lesser expensive power tools is, right out of the box, the tool may be fine, but over the long haul or under constant usage, how durable is the tool and how well does the tool stay in alignment. Maybe a follow-up video on the durability of these tools after they've been used for while.
@@armus550b This is probably true. but this is also for someone who is either getting started or cant afford the bigger and better. Something is always better than nothing. If at the time of crapping out, either the person will hopefully be able to upgrade because they found they use it a lot more, or they can replace it with the new model. Otherwise, if you can afford better.....get better.
12:47 I love how you made it witness a big boy real planer doing its job for it while catching all the chips to the face. It can get some of its stars back when it shows up with all the standard parts as a bare minimum prerequisite. Great idea for the more budget shop with accessible tools to most people. While vintage is a cool rabbit hole, many people live in tool deserts. Stuff like these might be the best, more affordable options for those people wanting to get into woodworking.
In the case of the Wen bandsaw, it is mind blowing to me that you would recommend it. To me it seems like you have a very hard time getting it square (you even comment on how flimsy the rotary base is) and it even looks totally wonky on video, can't imagine how it would be irl. I know it's tricky to weigh the pros and cons when you take the price into consideration, but this seems like a machine that you'll be wrestling with the entire time, can't imagine giving it 4 stars!
Priced out all the tools with harbor freight equivalents. Tried to stick to Bauer and Hercules, but a few tools haven't been updated yet so had to go with the Chicago brands. Most of the tools are at least equivalent in specs with the following differences: the palm sander is 1.2 amps, the miter saw is dual bevel, the planer is tri-blade and only 12.5", and I don't think the table saw has an extension. Also, HF doesn't have a track saw or jointer, so priced those with current Wen prices. With current deals, total comes out to $2220.31, so pretty spot on!
I purchased a piece of crap WEN 4214 drill press and was able to square the table left to right but it was badly out of square front to back. I assumed that the vise I mounted on the table must have thrown it out of square so I removed it and tried again. I discovered that it was the table itself that was out of square so I decided I could shim the vise and level things up. Wrong - the table is DEFORMED and has one low corner. Which is basically impossible to shim and fix. I went back and forth with WEN forth three weeks and they finally suggested I PURCHASE a new table from them that might possibly be square front to back. ...isn't the entire purpose of a drill press to drill holes that are square with your work? This POS fails miserably!
I have the WEN 8" drill press and their 1x30 belt/disc sander. Both are workhorses in my little shop. I make bird/squirrel feeders that I sell on Etsy and both of those tools are used on every single feeder that I make. I've had the drill press for 3-4 years (bought it for $75 on Amazon) and got the sander last spring. I'm sold on WEN tools. This was a great video demonstrating the value one gets from WEN. Well done.
I’m guessing this has been commented already but the table saw is loud because jobsite saws have universal motors which are loud as shit. Stationary saws have induction motors.
Thanks for doing this, WEN seems like a pretty good budget brand. But I hope you can do a follow-up to look at one of the biggest concerns I have with “pretty good” tools vs. more expensive pro level counterparts: the ability to stay in tune so making consistent cuts doesn’t require ongoing fiddling. If a tool drifts out of tune easily, best case is you have to add a step to be sure it’s fit before you use it; the much more likely case is you don’t do that and end up with some bad cuts, burn marks, etc. (if part of the cheap feel of the knob is not just the knob but the hardware and interface at the business end of the adjustment, that’s the kind of deficiency that can lead to alignment drift, etc.)
Had the Wen floor standing bandsaw… it was sloppy so I sold it. Used the money to buy a used Wen 12” drill press (4214). It’s pretty nice even though the seller messed up the quill. Ordered a new quill from Wen… $13.99. I appreciate that Wen sells replacement parts and doesn’t overcharge for them. Drill press works great now. I’m not a fan of Wen tools and only own two; however, Wen provides good customer service, inexpensive replacement parts, and a comprehensive user manuals with parts list with every tool.
I clicked on this suggested video by accident and I was boning to click away, but then at 00:50 seconds he dropped that line about "finishing it off by hand like your" and cuts the video before saying mom. I had to watch the whole 35 min video and I actually learned a lot about a brand that I've overlooked on many occasion to buy another tool. Now I'm watching more of his videos to see what else I can find out.
I wouldn't even class Wen as a manufacturer. They're like Triton, I call them Mid Budget Curators. They pick and rebrand good quality, affordable OEM machines. It's not a complaint, it's a useful service. You're basically trusting them to choose good tools for you at your price point.
32:15 The reason that saw is louder is because it has an entirely different motor. The larger induction motors will absolutely run quieter than the smaller motors found in contractor saws.
I have the WEN 12 inch variable speed drill press. It’s okay. There’s a lot of quill deflection/play at full extension and the position of the tool is not super dimensionally solid… but it does the job.
I remember when Wen was known back in the 1970s and 80s. They were fairly low quality, just below Black and Decker. Today they are cheap generic Chinese tools with their branding.
If I recall, the festool track works with the wen saw. Since you have to buy the track separately, it might be more cost-effective to buy the more expensive track, than it would be to replace the cheaper track.
Just a heads up, I found Wen to have some of the best customer service I ever experienced. I was missing 2 cross brackets for my 14" Band saw(for the stand) which I didn't assemble for over a year. I had no receipts or anything, so when I decided to use the stand, I called them and told them what I was missing and had it in the mail within 4 days, free of charge.
Thanks for the great review! I've been wondering about some of these WEN tools. I get the impression they're made for hobbyists on a budget who don't need something that can be used all day everyday. If the knobs bother some people it might be possible to change them.
The noise from the table saw is likely due to it being a direct-drive design. The blade is fixed directly to the motor shaft and acts as a resonator for whatever vibrations the motor makes, and it makes a lot. More expensive designs have the motor driving an arbor via a rubber belt which damps almost all of the high-frequency, high-energy vibration modes. Better designs will also isolate the motor from the frame with rubber mounts, whereas direct drive design often do not. Great reviews, btw, and thanks for spending the money and time so we don't have to. :)
Most contractor saws use a brushed DC motor while your cabinet saw uses a brushless AC motor. DC motors are much louder than AC motors. AC motors are typically too large to be used in contractor saws as well as hand held power tools hence why so many small power tools are so loud. Also given that DC motors spin much faster than AC motors a gear reduction is requires on something like a table saw and depending on the quality of gears can contribute significantly to added tool noise.
These reviews are real world accurate ... my experience have had for 3 years ... the little band saw will put out the work... have access to 5 band saws medium to massive .. so yeah its good ... little drill press not perfect but gets it done
1:20 i made the same mistake when i first got my drill press. the knob isn't supposed to be unscrewed, it's just an adjustable tension for how hard that clip keeps it closed
I have a few WEN tools. My planers gear box broke on me less than a year after purchasing. Called customer support and had a new gear box that day. I live local to one of their shops so had the stepdaughter go pick it up for me. Was back in business that afternoon
