Shopsmith Forums

I have recently received a SS planer with a hand crank to advance the wood thru the planer. Does this idea really work or do I need to buy the motor and control. The upgrade would cost about $550.00.

Hey bear,
A hand crank did you say? That is a new one on me! Can you share a picture for us? I'd really like to see that! And welcome to the forum.

The planer manual shows a hand crank on page 13. It is nr. 14 in the description. When I assembled my planer, I looked in vain for the handle. Settled for the motor!

Dickg1

Back in the earliest days of the Shopsmith planer, circa 1984-5, they offered a "plane Jane" planer with a hand crank feed rather than the DC motor. I suspect that very few were sold. It didn't last long in the line-up.

Unless it has been upgraded, this planer also has the rubber infeed roller, which tended to slip if not kept perfectly clean.

I have turned down buying a couple of hand cranked SS planers. The do exist. You may be able to find a SS planer that was shipped improperly and caused bent posts and buy it or just the motor drive for a lot less than $550. I have seen and brought used SS planers for around $350-$450 price range. They are very difficult to ship without damage. You need a well built plywood box/frame/platform for shipping. Be sure to buy insurance if shipping and check quickly for damage. You need to review posts for comments on damaged planers and try to contact the person who sold or brought a damaged SS planer. It is amazing what you can find while searching the posts on the various web sites. Good luck.

Bill Mayo

thebear wrote:I have recently received a SS planer with a hand crank to advance the wood thru the planer. Does this idea really work or do I need to buy the motor and control. The upgrade would cost about $550.00.

I acquired one of these last fall for $100 including a new set of blades. It needed a lot of work as Bill has related on the possible damage that can be common to these machines. After replacing the broken plastic cover, missing electrical box and bent posts it now runs fine but since I haven't had time to
put in the new blades I can't give a report on it's planing ability. I'll have to add that to the list and give a report on how it works. Give yours a try and see what you think. Mine did have the steel infeed roller upgrade and I would certainly recommend that. I picked this unit up because I have a 24 year old pro planer and was concerned about the cost of replacement parts for the power feed, OK, mostly it was the fact that it is serial 000141 and I couldn't let it go the landfill where it was headed.

Ok, it does have the metal infeed rollers. I gave it a try, it works pretty well. I have to push the wood a little and pull a little from the other end. But it works fairly well.

Good to hear that you gave it a go. Now the question is whether you think you need to convert to the power feed. If you can find a damaged unit with power feed for a good price that may be the way to go. New parts from SS for the power feed are very pricey. Good luck.

On the subject of the power feed motor. Why is that motor so costly? What makes it so expensive? Seems like a much cheaper option could be had.

I had one and it worked great. I did use infeed and outfeed support when I was working by myself. It also provided some quality time with my son as we took turns either feeding and catching or turning the crank. The only reason I sold it was because I got a great deal on a standalone Pro Planer. You actually have more control over the feed rate with the hand crank and it builds strong bodies .

I too looked into the feed motor for the old Mark V mounted planer and was told by Shopsmith that the motor was custom built for them.