Thanks folks! I was delighted with the flurry of excellent comments. It helped me make a wise prudent intelligent decision. (Only time will tell if I made a good decision.)
I feel obligated to tell y’all what I bought (& learned). Here goes:
Thickness planers, as many comments pointed out, are specialized. If you need ’em not much else will do. If you’ve got one they only do one job. Also these tools are meant to last a long time and by most reports they do.
Because they’re an odd duck, the selection of thickness planers is sparse in person (as opposed to online). I did a lot of driving and saw no more than a handful in physical presence. So they’re more likely to require shipping from Amazon (all hail Prime).
A nagging personal concern about sourcing parts didn’t seem to materialize. I’ll get a spare set of blades shipped to me and hope I won’t need much more. Nobody complained about unavailable parts for any brand.
As with most things in the era of global markets, brands seem eerily similar within a price range. There’s a bi-modal distribution of price ranges; low end and medium end (quality wise). Probably no more than 10% +/- difference in price within those ranges. Shop as hard as you want; you probably won’t save more than the cost of a large pizza and a six pack.
There’s a third tier of super machines. They’re so expensive they’re merely theoretical to a guy like me. I could theoretically buy a Rolls Royce and use it to haul firewood too.
The low end is the $250-ish range. These are probably (barely?) adequate for most people. Reviews are mostly OK with a smattering of the predictable complaints about hit or miss quality (as you’d expect). Reviews vary from “just fine” to “I got a lemon”. In stores I toyed with a few of them and construction is cheap but not too cheap. It’s an edge case. Ya lay down your money and ya takes your chances.
I couldn’t do it. I’m obsessive about longevity. Modern power tools are universally less long lived than they once were perceived to be but I still like to buy long. Hopefully one can reasonably expect a planer to last a lifetime. Also, I have a personality flaw that any equipment I get will sooner or later be taken to its limit. Despite my intention to plane “just a few boards” (which would make a cheap one viable) I’m the kind of guy that’ll “accidentally” wind up running six truckloads of hardwood the minute a planer shows up in my shop. (This is an untreatable condition and it’s totally illogical.)
The next cluster of machines hover in the $400 range. All have pros and cons but all are most certainly adequate for the average weekend warrior. Very few differences between models and the bad reviews are mostly picky people. You can obsess over Dewalt versus Rigid versus other brands… but it’s a Ford versus Chevy thing and they’re all probably fine. The $399 Dewalt DW734 outnumbers the contenders, in that I could find many more of them for sale. I presume Dewalt has a bigger distribution channel. The price is basically the same no matter where you go. If you seek safety in numbers, go for the Dewalt DW734.
I’d talked myself into going with the mid level category. This led me to the Dewalt DW734 (because it’s the only one physically present nearby). But, as is often the case, I veered onto the road less traveled.
During my “research” I talked to a dude, who knew this other dude, who had a neighbor, who was thinking about selling his planer. I chased that rabbit but nothing came of it. Then I got a call. Was I interested?
Now I had the choice of a used high-ish level machine or a new medium level machine. Both clocked in at more or less the same cost. How much did I trust myself to identify a damaged tool? How much do I care about a factory warranty? How risk averse am I? Would I rather hand cash to a stranger in his garage or get a receipt from a corporate overlord?
You know damn well I went used. Instead of a $400 Dewalt DW734, I picked up a $550 Makita which was “depreciated” to about $350. The seller tells me it was only driven on Sundays by a little old lady who kept it in a warm garage hugged it once a week. All sellers say such things. I liked the seller but you can never be sure. I ran a scrap board through it and it looked OK. (I’m not experienced with this tool.) It looks like it has only a few hours work on it. I think it’s almost new, but if I was buffaloed how would I know? And for that matter if it does the job well do I care how much it has been used?
A thickness planer. There are many like it but this one is mine.
Here’s a link to the same thing new.
It was an OK deal but the seller sweetened it by throwing in the tool stand (to which it was bolted) and the dust collection hood (which was bolted to it). Oh the money you can save where there’s no socket set handy!
That makes a difference and I’m now very happy. Tool stands are scandalously expensive! Also the dust collector hood ought to come integrated but Makita charges $24. (Not cool guys!) I think all the manufacturers sell the dust collector separately. (Cretins!) I surely would have ordered a hood from Amazon regardless of the brand I chose. The only thing that’s missing is a cool tool case that fits on the planer. Ya’ win some, ya’ lose some.
Now back to my PAWIRNEATT (Project About Which I’d Rather Not Elaborate At This Time).