Shopsmith Forums

Strange how things happen.....
I've been looking for a Shopsmith planer for about a year.

I found a Shopsmith mounted one on Ebay and bought it just after it was posted for about $300 +shipping. I thought I had a good bargin... It will ship this weekend and I should have it by the end of next week.

I've checked Craigslist daily for that year and haven't come close to finding a planer. Yep, you guessed it, the day after I ordered the Ebay unit, there was one on a stand posted locally!

I ventured over to the seller's house tonight. You know those pictures of cars you see on TV, buried in a barn for years. That is the planer that I found! It was covered in grease and goo, but the blades weren't nicked and both motors started right up.

I paid $200 for the rig (with stand) and brought it home. I gave the table a quick hit with some engine degreaser and it came back to life! I've got a lot of cleaning to do, but it all seems to work. I ran a couple of pieces of stock through the sytem. It seems to feed and plane well. The speed adjustment is fine.

When I get time (and temps drop below 100), I'm going to give it a good cleanup. I took some "before" pictures and will do some "afters" as I go through the project.

Here are my questions for those of you who have been through this before:

Should I tear the unit down to the frame, clean and put it back together -or- should I just give it a good cleaning (if it ain't broke don't fix it).

I don't need 2 planers. Should I:
-Fix one up and keep the other for parts.
-Sell the other one.
-Keep the likely needed parts and sell the rest as parts.

For those of you who have rebuit a planer, are there any things that I should do or not do as part of the rehab? I don't want to make any mistakes when parts are scarce.

Things are crazy busy right now. I will eventually post some pictures.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Good find, Scooters!

First, get the Thickness Planer Manual if you do not have one. I find the manual goes into how to check and set all the adjustments and alignments.

Shipping a Thickness Planer can be very difficult and will normally suffer damage if it is not packed correctly. The day you receive your Ebay Planer, set it up and check for any bent or broken parts. The posts that raise and lower the table will normally bend if the table is not secure when shipping or if you drop the planer on a hard floor. I have been able to quickly obtain all the planer parts I needed for repairs from Shopsmith this summer. The posts were quite reasonable priced so I brought extra sets for my stock.

I track all planers and parts listed on Ebay. Someone recently disassembled a planer and sold all the parts on Ebay for many more dollars than complete ones has sold for. The Feed Motor and Speed Control Box (list over $700) alone sold for more than you paid for your Ebay planer. I am always looking for used planer parts to use for my repairs.

If it is not broke, use it. The planer can be quite difficult to disassemble and assemble so I only do that if a part(s) needs replacing. I use a dry lube spray on the chain and gears. I find the Shopsmith Planer/Joiner Knife Sharpener (555471) really does a nice job of sharpen the knives and will pay for itself quickly. I find the Knife Setting Gauge (513414) make setting the knives real easy for me so you need one if none came with the planers. Having 2 sets of knives reduces down time when the knives needs sharpening.

You can contact me off-line if you have any questions.

Thanks Bill!
I will check the Ebay unit carefully when it arrives.

The other one seems to have all of its parts in order.

I think that I will blow out and clean all of the surface crud. I might even spring for a can of paint or two.

The tables are corroded, but not badly pitted. I suspect that some naval jelly will do the trick on that part.

It has the rubber roller on the infeed side. It seems to be amazingly intact. It isn't cracked or worn! I feel what seems to be a ribbed steel roller on the outfeed side.

I don't want to remove the blades or work on the head until I have a good way to sharpen and align them. I'm not sure what is coming with the
Ebay unit. I will do a parts order after that.

What do you use for the dry lube. Is Shopsmith's Topkote appropriate?

Still not sure of my plans. I'm sure that I will keep both until I get one good machine working well. At that point I may sell the other or keep it for parts.

Thanks for the advice!

Will post pictures when I really dig into the project. That will probably be several weeks.

Bill can correct me on this but the serrated roller should be mounted on the infeed. I have had one on back order since the first of May and they still don't have a forecast of when I may get one. Probably one of the first things you want to do is replace the drive belt. If it has been sitting idle for a long time, it will become set and cause vibration. I like to use link belts to reduce vibration in my woodworking tools but save your money in this case. The link belts remain proud of the pulleys and will not clear the pulley guard. The original planers like mine have a 3/4 horsepower motor and 3 1/2 inch pulleys. The Pro Planer has a 1 horsepower motor and a 5 inch pulley on the motor and a smaller one on the cutter head, as i recall, it is a 3 inch one although it may be a 3 1/2. I guess this is to give even smoother results on problem woods. Customer service at Shopsmith are really knowledgeable and helpful. They can give you the date of mfg by serial number.

Is there a Sawdust Session for replacing the in feed and out feed rollers? The one I have has some ware on the out feed side. I may Back Order a new one.

Correct. The metal roller is infeed and rubber outfeed.
I didn't find a sawdust session on the rollers. There is on on cleaning and maintaining. It is worth a view.

scooters wrote:...What do you use for the dry lube. Is Shopsmith's Topkote appropriate?...

Top-Cote is a spray on wax, knot a "dry lube". Others may disagree.

a1gutterman wrote:Top-Cote is a spray on wax, knot a "dry lube". Others may disagree.

I believe TopCote will work but I prefer Johnson's Floor Wax for the table surfaces (and the tubes).

http://woodworking-solutions.com/inc/sdetail/1493

Since you made the point Tim...."What is the difference between a "dry lube" and a "spray on wax"?

a1gutterman wrote:Top-Cote is a spray on wax, knot a "dry lube". Others may disagree.

Farmer likes PLEDGE for waxing table tops! It is not a 'dry lube' either. Wonder how IT would work as a 'dry lube'. After all eliminating dust on furniture IS one of its intended purposes.