pro planer advice

damagi · Post by **damagi** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:18 pm

SDSSmith wrote:If JPG has the correct picture (only one I saw in the Buffalo area), then it appears that you might be looking at a Mark V mounted planer on a power stand. It appears as though the table top is stainless steel as opposed to cast iron. You will want to check the power stand motor to make sure it is at least 1-1/2 horsepower. The Pro Planer stand motor is 1-3/4" horsepower.

The SS medalion is in the 'closed' position so it does not appear to have the dust collection upgrade. Not sure of the market in Buffalo, but around here the Pro Planer has been purchased on at least three occasions for around $250. The ad notes new rollers, hopefully the infeed roller is the segmented serrated steel type. As far as possible upgrades, I would be looking at casters and dust collection.

Hopefully, it is new enough to have or has been upgraded to the newer pulleys. You can print out the tables found here (Mark V mount) and here (Pro Planer) if you want to be able to date the machine.

Good luck.

Note on pricing: Assuming the machine is in otherwise good shape, upgrading will be ~$150, plus another $100 if you add the casters.

jschmitz1949 · Post by **jschmitz1949** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:09 pm

That was the planer I went to look at. I may kick myself later on, but I decided to pass on it - sometimes you just don't get a good feeling for things, and this was one of those cases. I liked it, but I didn't.

He said he sent it to ShopSmith a few years ago to be repaired and refurbished, but the pulleys were the old ones, the infeed roller was the old style, the table was cast (with heavy grooves in some places and significant amts of rust in other areas). What I didn't like in the end was that in the end he couldn't get any boards to feed through the planer. I had to help pull them through after he gently pushed in. In the end I just don't know enough about these to feel comfortable with what I was seeing.

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:40 pm

jschmitz1949 wrote:That was the planer I went to look at. I may kick myself later on, but I decided to pass on it - sometimes you just don't get a good feeling for things, and this was one of those cases. I liked it, but I didn't.

He said he sent it to ShopSmith a few years ago to be repaired and refurbished, but the pulleys were the old ones, the infeed roller was the old style, the table was cast (with heavy grooves in some places and significant amts of rust in other areas). What I didn't like in the end was that in the end he couldn't get any boards to feed through the planer. I had to help pull them through after he gently pushed in. In the end I just don't know enough about these to feel comfortable with what I was seeing.

Sorry it did not work out. If the feed motor was bad you were right walking away. Very expensive to replace. But most often it is just a case of the tables needing a good coat of wax.