Cutech 40300H-CT 13" Spiral Cutterhead Planer - Deluxe Model

My apologies this has taken so long to write this review. Around the time this planer arrived I experienced a break in at my shop. Luckily the planer was still in it's box stowed under a workbench. The rest of the shop was ravaged. It took almost a year to recover, honestly there were times I would look at the box gathering dust and thought of sending it back. But as a lifetime woodworker the thought of not having eyes, ears and nose full of dust, and my girlfriend not yelling at me for dragging sawdust into the house were unacceptable. At 70 I figured it was time to downsize, so I rented a 20 ft. shipping container, quit doing home renovations, and started to build a shop to build birdhouses. I rapidly realized a good portable planer was a must for creating projects that did not look 3/4" stock bulky and out of proportion. A planer purchase is not an easy task as we all have our wants that do not fit our wallets or work spaces. When I tried several 12" single piece blade planers their results when planning down to 1/8"-3/16" were less than satisfactory. I read an article on adding a segmented cutter to a DeWalt two speed planner. Biggest problem was cost after replacing a shop full of tools. I read somewhere about Cutech, a seemingly familiar outline with the addition of a segmented cutter head. Heavy and powerful enough to work 10" wide material. 85 percent of the woods I use are soft to medium density. A 200-500 lb. floor unit would have been overkill for my needs. I called Cutech 3 times talked with the owner who suggested the 40300 model. I felt this would give me the best tool based on my material and shop size requirements. My unit came with HSS cutters which are fine for most of us who do not run thousands of feet of stock. This machine is SWEET! Where a single piece blade machine would bog down and stop the board, or need help pushing it through, the segmented cutter head literally hums it's way along the board. No stalling and cupping where it stopped, and no snipe if you set up a proper out feed arrangement. You can rub the board with your cheek, smooth as a baby's bottom, no further sanding required. Saves me hours of time and Kleenex needed from sanding dust. I will upgrade to carbide cutters when these wear out but they work just fine for me now. Overall I highly recommend this planer to anyone who wants consistent results for their work. If you are planing 4x12" Oak or other hard grain woods everyday, then a big heavy 7hp 220V cast iron unit would be more your cup of tea. This tool is the real deal in the portable "bench top" one man movable planers. Opp's forgot, I do have a shop built cyclone dust collector with a 14 gallon plastic barrel to keep from swimming in chips.