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wide planer advice sought

2/25/15       
SR Member

I'm trying to learn more about extra-wide planers in view of an eventual purchase. The application is custom table tops.
- What makes a roughing planer different from a finish quality planer? Many of the 30" and 36" wide planers I see in the used equipment market are advertised as roughing planers. Can these be retrofitted to produce a finer-quality cut, with a helix head, for example?
- So many of the old planers which are in my price range look to be ancient monuments, and I'm not looking for a rebuilding project. Are any of these still dependably precise, or should I just keep saving until I can afford a later-model machine?

2/25/15       #2: wide planer advice sought ...
Vic

I have a 33" Extrema double sided planer with spirial heads. Had it for 7 or 8 years and it works fine. It could do a better job on the finish with the little 4 sided 14mm blades, but after sending a cresent wrench thu it......

2/25/15       #3: wide planer advice sought ...
Larry

Website: http://www.superiorcabinetryandmillwork.com

There are some really good older planers available at auctions. I've got 2 old planers. One is a Baxter Whitney brand and one is a Newman-Whitney. They are now the same company. Many of the large furniture manufacturers had Newman-Whitney planers. My 30" planer has straight knives in it and my 36" planer has a helical head. They both do a good job planing when the knives are sharp. And, most of the time the wood gets sanded after its been planed anyway. The large older planers were built like tanks. If you get a good one, they can give you many years of good service. If you get one with a helical head, I would suggest that you get one with a grinder. You will need the grinder to sharpen the knives. And, the grinder can be very expensive if you had to purchase it from the company.

2/26/15       #4: wide planer advice sought ...
SR Member

Thank you. What are the main things to watch for on these old machines, to determine if they are worn out or still good to go?

2/26/15       #5: wide planer advice sought ...
JR Rutter Member

Ever consider a planer/sander combo machine? I know it would be more expensive, even used, but you could kill two birds with one stone.

2/26/15       #6: wide planer advice sought ...
SR Member

Definitely that's my ultimate goal when budget permits. We're at a unique point where we haven't built the volume of this particular product enough to justify that level of investment, so I'm trying to "get by" until that happens.

2/26/15       #7: wide planer advice sought ...
Larry

Website: http://www.superiorcabinetryandmillwork.com

I'm not really sure how to advise you on what actually to look for. But, it would be nice if you could run some test pieces and see how it planes. I was fortunate with my 36" planer. I bought it at auction. And, it came out of a cabinet shop that had closed. On the planers that I have, there are adjusting rods that you can adjust in case that one side is not planing to the same thickness as the other side. So, that would be an easy fix if it was needed. One thing I would check out is the condition of the feed roller. You want it to still have a good amount of "bite" to it. The feed rollers can be replaced, but they can be quite expensive.

3/3/15       #8: wide planer advice sought ...
Jay White

You could buy a wide belt sander then use a rough grit say 36 grit belt to get it even. Then change grits higher for finish.

3/7/15       #9: wide planer advice sought ...
Kevin Jenness

This subject has been thoroughly discussed in a thread entitled "Accuracy of planers" some time ago- just search the knowledge base here.


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