Shopsmith Forums

Going to check one out tomorrow for $400. Any advise on what to look for or pay particular attention to? Going to take some hardwood to run thru it...

$400 is a very attractive price if in reasonable condition and is the 'self powered/self feed' model.

?The usual stuff applies here, apparent condition and evidence(or lack) of maintenance etc. Then does everything 'work' correctly.

The only red flag I know of is the feed motor and feed speed control box($$$$$ to replace).

Pluses are the 1.75 hp motor and pulley upgrade(faster cutter rpms), feed roller update(subject to opinion) and the 'dust' collection upgrades(there are two).

Negatives would be the ss mount model rather than the stand alone with motor and the original 1.5 motor and pulleys.

P.S. It would not be in Dandridge per chance?

Talked to the guy this morning, he said it's a standalone planer, so its the Pro model for sure, not the SS mount model. Said he inherited it and a SS that he already sold. He ran a board or tow thru it, but that's about it. Not really into woodworking. Anyway, if it works well and I pick it up, is there a "best" way to haul it? I have a full size PU with a topper, so it will lay on its side. Just don't want to damage anything inadvertently.

and no, not in Dandridge, it's a few counties over. :-)

JPG wrote:
Pluses are the 1.75 hp motor and pulley upgrade(faster cutter rpms), feed roller update(subject to opinion) and the 'dust' collection upgrades(there are two).

Thanks for the reminder for these upgrades!

If I were to haul it, I would first separate the planer from the stand and let the planer ride inside on the seat.

Care needs to be taken to prevent the elevator jack screws(4) from getting bent.

Laying on a side and restrained to prevent rolling be a good idea.

Do not be discouraged if the blades are not sharp and cutting that hardwood is not well done.

A true pro-planer has a cast iron table. A MarkV mount that has been converted to freestanding does not. Just FYI.

Pulled the trigger and bought it. Ran some cherry and oak thru it and it seemed fine. Only thing I noticed was that it seemed to pull the board thru a little crooked, like it was grabbing one side more than the other. This was more noticeable on the wider board (about 8"), but it was rough sawn, so it may just have been more pressure on one side due to the slight cup of the material. If not, hopefully just an adjustment. I think I did ok and am looking forward to a lot of high quality surfacing from this machine.

I think this is an earlier model as it has the wheel crank on top, not the lever style crank that is shown on the SS planer web page. Seemed to work and feed ok though.

Make sure you thoroughly wax both the infeed and outfeed tables. Regularly and often

rjent wrote:Make sure you thoroughly wax both the infeed and outfeed tables. Regularly and often

Only one table.

FWIW, I prefer the older crank(eliminates the need for masking tape to 'calibrate').

The evenness of cut across the table is a function of the jack screws being the same(table corner heights) and the cutter blades.

All is adjustable!

In addition to waxing the table, clean out the jack screw threads with a stiff brush. I use powdered graphite to lube them.

The height crank should turn easily albeit table moves slowly.

Nice score!

JPG wrote:

rjent wrote:
The evenness of cut across the table is a function of the jack screws being the same(table corner heights) and the cutter blades.

All is adjustable!

I downloaded a manual, haven't read thru it yet though. Hopefully there is something on this adjustment, or a post on the forum somewhere. Thanks for all the good advice. :-)