Hitachi P12RA 12-9/32-Inch Planer and 6-1/8-Inch Jointer

The quality of cut is outstanding, and boards come out dead accurate. In fact, I go to this planer over my 2 year old Jet 15" stationary planer almost every time. The Jet is a workhorse so that should tell ya something! Setup is simple. The knives are really beefy and all the other parts (castings, chains, bearings, adjusting screws) are heavy and well made. I get "slick-as-glass" results even on ebony. Since most of the components are aluminum alloy or stainless steel, I don't even have to fight rust.

Though the jointer is powerful and gives a fantastic finish to the wood, it's just too simplistic. There isn't a way to align the infeed and outfeed tables, which makes getting a flat board almost impossible. They are fixed except to adjust the depth of cut. In fact, holding a straight edge to the length of the jointer bed reveals both tables angle away from the cutterhead. Since I make guitars, this sort of thing drives me bananas. I actually sent the jointer portion back to the dealer for a partial refund.

My advice is to buy the planer portion only. Spent the money for the dust hood too. It's well put together and very effective. This planer has been featured in several books and magazine articles over the years, and for a good reason. You will be amazed with the results!


hitachi planer   September 30, 2002
Orlan Jackson (NoDak)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

The jointer bed is too small for this to be the perfect machine. The planer is excellent, but the total length of the infeed and outfeed bed is very short and makes it difficult to accurately joint long pieces of wood. The first thing that I did after buying this was to buy a 71" powermatic jointer. It is not the most economical way to go.

The exhaust tends to get plugged in both the planer and the jointer with wood chips.


Increase the quality of your work   November 27, 2000
62 out of 62 found this review helpful

This machine is pure joy. I bought one to replace my Delta which was an O.K. tool. It doesn't hold a candle to this beauty though. No portable even comes close. In fact , most stationary units wish they could perform this nicely. I've never used a planer or a jointer that produces smoother finishes than this machine. Usually in a combo unit you lose to compromises. Not so here . It has plenty of power to do anything you want to. It runs quieter than some of the other portables I've used. The one piece table is something others should copy in their designs.Since the cutter head is stationary ,it doesn't need a lock. Snipe is almost nonexistent. It makes for some of the smoothest surfaces I have ever produced. Even highly figured hardwoods are no problem if you keep your blades sharp.The height adjustment is the smoothest on the market. Many high end woodworking tools come from Japan and this is no exception. If you are willing to pay the little bit more that this tool commands you will be rewarded by years of precision cutting you won't find anywhere else.


A Workshop Wonder   June 26, 2000
John E. Turner (Madison WV)
40 out of 41 found this review helpful

I bought the P12R Hitachi Planer in 1994. Without a doubt it is the best planer for the money on the market. I looked at several different models before deciding on the P12R. Besides just looking better than the rest, it has a feature not found on many other planers. The cutterhead remains stationary while the stainless steel planer bed moves up and down on four columns. I think this makes for a much smoother cut, virtually snipe free. I use mine on a regular basis, and after 6 years, have never changed blades. I've never even sharpened the original ones and it still makes exceptional cuts. It does cost a little more than the others, but believe me, it's well worth it.