A benchtop planer is an essential tool for any type of woodworker whether it is starting from the amateur hobbyist to professionals. It serves three important functions – to create a uniform thickness, smooth the surface for lumber, and make both sides of boards even.
Nowadays the market is filled with wide ranges of benchtop planers by various different manufacturers, from all $300 to $2000. Popular names and expensive pricing don’t always mean the best value.
In this article, we are going to read about WEN6550 and WEN6552, we will also compare it and try to find what are the differences between these two models (Wen 6550 vs 6552).
WEN is a Chinese brand that is famous for making powered tools at affordable prices. You came to this post then most probably you must have knowledge about this brand. Let’s see its two most popular benchtop planers.
WEN 6550 vs 6552
Wen 6550 Review
- 15 Amp motor
- 12.5-inch wide capacity
- 17,000 cuts per minute at a 26 feet per minute feed rate
- Adjustable plane depth up to 3/32 inch per pass
- Warp free granite table
- Rubber Adjustment Handle
- 2-year warranty
WEN 6550 is 12.5 is a thickness planer and powered by 15.0 amp motor that gives a cutting speed of 18000 cuts at a feed rate of 26 feet per minute. This cutting speed is quite impressive for an entry-level tabletop planer.
It is a general thing that the more the blades are better and it has two blade system that doesn’t disappoint you much. These blade system plane boards up to 6 inches thick and does a great job in smoothing and leveling boards. The blades can be reversed to help extend their operational life.
A smooth granite table is virtually warp-free and it provides a sturdy non-marring surface for wood to smoothly travel over.
For each pass at the blades, a depth knob adjuster enables you to strip off up to 3/32 of an inch per round.
It also features a height-adjustable infeed and outfeed table that allows you to eliminate snipe during usage. It is a tri toller system that keeps the feed as smooth as possible.
It has also fan-assisted dust port removes sawdust from the workpiece.
It can be mounted on either a planer table or bolted down to workbench for a permanent solution.
2. Wen 6552 Review
- 15 Amp motor
- 12.5-inch wide capacity
- Adjustable plane depth up to 3/32 inch per pass
- Warp free granite table
- 2-year warranty
WEN 6552 is an upgraded model of 6552 and you will get all the features in this unit as well. It is also powered by 15 Amp motor that generates 25,500 cuts per minute at a 26 ft. per minute feed rate.
The more the blades are better, and it has three-blade design makes the easy work out of even the hardest of woods. Its onboard material removal gauge informs users about the cutting depth of each pass.
The fan-assisted dust port removes sawdust from the workpiece.
MOST OF THE FEATURES ARE SAME TO WEN6552.
WEN 6550 vs 6552: Comparison
If you will see both models you may find identical and features are almost the same. But these are two different models and there must be few differences, right? Here we will discuss these twins.
- Difference 1: WEN 6550 comes with granite and it is rank up than machined cast ironwork surface. Granite speaks quality and also won’t warp, and it reduces the friction of moving stock through the tool. So, here WEN 6550 is getting some winning points.
- Difference 2: 6550 model generally shows up cheaper than 6552, may not be big differences in price but still it takes some winning points.
- Difference 3: Model 6552 comes 3-Blade whereas 6500 comes with 2 blades. In terms of blades, 6552 is a clear winner.
As we already told you both the models are similar and there is no much difference in it, If you buy any you will not regret it. Both are great in their budget and we liked both the model. If you want to pick one then we suggest you go with model 6552 because its newer model and also comes with 3 blades but if you are on a tight budget you may look on model 6550.
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