Pro planer. Help on another forum

[Randy]

Who here would plane a 1/2 x 6" or 8" board on edge?

[billmayo]

I find the 4" Shopsmith joiner that I had for many years before buying a planer does an excellant job of edgeing. The auxillary fence really helps.

Who here would plane a 1/2 x 6" or 8" board on edge?

[Randy]

I use the SS joiner myself, but I would never run a narrow board vertically through the power planer.

[charlese]

I have not repaired any Shopsmith Dust Collector motors yet but would believe replacing the bearings would not be hard or expensive compared to a new motor. If you hold the impeller/fan blade (power off), can you get any end to end or side movement of the motor shaft. I have found that a clunk/thump when starting/stopping a fan can be end to end movement of the motor shaft and should be investigated.

Yep! For sure! that's what I have. End to end movement. I knew it was the bearings that are shot - not the electric stuff. Figured I'd just keep running it 'til it gets real bad at the clunking - or quits. Since a new motor from SS costs as much, or more, than a new dust collector.

You don't recommend that? I suppose I could find a motor shop that'll put new bearings in for me.

[brown_hawk]

I'm going to try to spin this and still address the topic.
I would like a SS planer, yet the cost is inhibitive. I would need SWMBO online with this type of purchse. (she is the M.D., I'm the injured ex-firefighter going back to school).
How can I convince her that the SS is a better investment over a benchtop planer. Most of the woodworking mags. that I bring home feature the benchtop planers that will handle similar wood dimensions for about half the price. Which she still considers to be a huge amount of money.

Pros
Longevity, is the biggest point that I can use right now.
I've read in this thread that the knives can be sharpened and some (or all) of the benchtop models can not).
The Mark V powered planer is variable speed, how about the Pro? Feed rate?
Made in the USA.
Compatible with my present SS equipment. (Mark V)
Great customer service from the company and parts are available.
Resale: On EBay and Craigslist is awesome. I've seen used ones going for more than a new Dewalt 735.

Cons
It is a bit expensive compared to the plastic/foreign made models.
It is heavy. (maybe this should be in the Pro section).
Oh, and one of the complaints on the other forum was the thickness of material handled.

Can someone tell me what am I missing?
Granted, spend a few more dollars up front and it will take me years to redeem the capital expenditure, but the machine will probably out live me.

My personal experience with the pro planer is this:

I need new kitchen cabinets, and I don't have the money. From a sawmill, I bought 2 pallets of white oak end cuts, (the ends of the boards that are cut to specific lengths. I have planed both pallets, and used a finish cut of 255 cuts per inch. This has given me wood ready for 220 grit sandpaper.

Call it 3x4X7 feet of white oak planed and jointed and ready to build. That is roughly 1300 board feet. At $6 a board foot, this translates to $7800.

Given that I paid $70 for the two pallets, I think that the investment has paid for itself.

I should note here that I also bought a Tormek wetstone sharpener, and used that to keep the blades sharp, and between the jointer blades and the planer blades, that has also been paid for in the savings on having them sharpened professionally.

One factor that almost never gets mentioned about buying a good planer, is that you start LOOKING for rough stock, and good places to get it. Right now, my basement is half full of walnut, ash and the white oak. All rough cut. Plus a few other types of wood. I get sticker shock over the price of pine these days.

Good equipment ALWAYS pays for itself if you do much with it at all. Ive seen the wood that comes out of the other planers, and the time saved in sanding alone is a major plus.

And heavy is a plus.

Start out with a SPT then get the stand if you need to go that way. SS has a good way to sharpen the blades to save money that way.

I also use the magnetic Planer Pals to set the blades, so I don't have to take the time with trying to make sure that the blades are all perfectly level and aligned. I used to get really anal about that. But when you're four siding that much wood, you find shortcuts.

If you are anywhere near a source of rough cut wood, get the planer. Even if you have to save for a couple of years, it will be worth it.

Hawk

[charlese]

I believe edging is a normal operation on the Pro Planer, just as it is on other bench top planers. I almost always finish the width of boards on the planer. My DeWalt recommends not to edge plane a board less than 3/4" thick. This is because of the rubber pressure rollers. When desiring several boards of the same width and one edge jointed I have followed ideas of some of the pros, and clamped multiple boards together face to face then run them through the planer, complete with clamps. Let's call it gang edging.

Since my planer's throat opens to just over 6", this works for most boards I use.

[brown_hawk]

I have done some gang jointing with the Pro Planer, but I have found that a good sawblade/jointer combo does just as well, and is within the error of wood.

If you need that many parts that close in size, you also need to make sure that the grain is running vertical to the face of the wood in all the pieces. Or in the morning, or next weekend, they'll be off.

Another point for the SS Planer - burl type wood. I got several pieces of burl type white oak in those pallets I mentioned. The SS planer at 255 cuts per inch and just barely cutting will get you a flat surface without a lot of tear out. It's time consuming, but very worthwhile. Just make sure that those blades are SHARP when you try this.

Hawk

[billmayo]

I would recommend removing the Dust Collector motor and disassembling it. If either bearing inside diameter (ID) is loose on the shaft, it will score the shaft and require a new motor. If the shaft is scored, then you can reassemble it and operate it till it quits. I have used very thin shim stock around the shaft and LocTite to fix these problems. I have found a loose screw or a loose bearing retainer plate can allow end play. Murphy is alive and well so the motor will only quit while during a large project.

I highly recommend the Jacob Anderson DVD set on Shopsmith headstock and motor repairs. Just tell him that I recommended him, thanks. His home page is http://members.cox.net/jacobvb/index.html You can contact him directly through his home page. He covers 4 different types of electric induction Shopsmith motors and his steps applies to any induction motor I have repaired.

Good luck with whatever you deside to do.

Yep! For sure! that's what I have. End to end movement. I knew it was the bearings that are shot - not the electric stuff. Figured I'd just keep running it 'til it gets real bad at the clunking - or quits. Since a new motor from SS costs as much, or more, than a new dust collector.

You don't recommend that? I suppose I could find a motor shop that'll put new bearings in for me.

[charlese]

I would recommend removing the Dust Collector motor and disassembling it. If either bearing inside diameter (ID) is loose on the shaft, it will score the shaft and require a new motor. If the shaft is scored, then you can reassemble it and operate it till it quits. I have used very thin shim stock around the shaft and LocTite to fix these problems. I have found a loose screw or a loose bearing retainer plate can allow end play. Murphy is alive and well so the motor will only quit while during a large project....

Good luck with whatever you deside to do.

Bill Thank you very much for your reply - and advice! Even though I will hate to stop making sawdust for a time, I will do this at the earliest opportunity! Thanks again!

[pinkiewerewolf]

[quote="brown_hawk"]My personal experience with the pro planer is this:

I need new kitchen cabinets, and I don't have the money. From a sawmill, I bought 2 pallets of white oak end cuts, (the ends of the boards that are cut to specific lengths. I have planed both pallets, and used a finish cut of 255 cuts per inch. This has given me wood ready for 220 grit sandpaper.

Call it 3x4X7 feet of white oak planed and jointed and ready to build. That is roughly 1300 board feet. At $6 a board foot, this translates to $7800.

Given that I paid $70 for the two pallets, I think that the investment has paid for itself.

I should note here that I also bought a Tormek wetstone sharpener, and used that to keep the blades sharp, and between the jointer blades and the planer blades, that has also been paid for in the savings on having them sharpened professionally.

One factor that almost never gets mentioned about buying a good planer, is that you start LOOKING for rough stock, and good places to get it. Right now, my basement is half full of walnut, ash and the white oak. All rough cut. Plus a few other types of wood. I get sticker shock over the price of pine these days.

Good equipment ALWAYS pays for itself if you do much with it at all. Ive seen the wood that comes out of the other planers, and the time saved in sanding alone is a major plus.
(I found this out recently too.)

And heavy is a plus.

Start out with a SPT then get the stand if you need to go that way. SS has a good way to sharpen the blades to save money that way.

I also use the magnetic Planer Pals to set the blades, so I don't have to take the time with trying to make sure that the blades are all perfectly level and aligned. I used to get really anal about that. But when you're four siding that much wood, you find shortcuts.]
Thanks Hawk, I appreciate the info!
I do have plenty of access to rough cut wood and the price difference is substantially less.