Bench top/movable shop planer

[festool_SWFL]

Folks,
  I posted earlier about a bench top planer.  I had ordered one, but it was out of stock so I canceled the order.  Now I am looking at the possibility of having a shop planer on wheels that I could pull out from a cabinet when needed and store in it until needed.  therefore I am considering under $2K, including the Jet, Powermatic (leaning) and General international.  Also wondering what kind of chip collection i should look at.  I currently have a ct22 and a Milwaukee 8912.  I would like to use one or the other to collect the chips.  I have decided to , in the near future, to get a wood peck router table, router lift, fence that will fit a mft3 to use as a shaper.  I figure, hopefully, I can buy a complete mft3, have a new top for the one I have now and sell the rail and angle thingy to offset the cost of the new router table.

  Looking for thoughts, comments, and suggestions.

Thanks,

William

 

[Mike_Chrest]

You might be better off buying a MFT-3 Basic. I can't think of a reason why someone would buy just the guide parts from you. ??? They will only work on the new MFT's angled extrusions.
Mike

 

[nickao]

My CT 33 is not really very good for the Drum sander or the Delta X5 Planer I have.

Even with all the anti static fitting when hooked up there was static due to the amount being collected I guess. And talk about filling up a bag quick. The drum sander clogs the filter so you could never get the bag full, the planer created larger shavings but fills up the bag very quickly,  within 10-15 minutes max.

A bigger dust collector is better for the planers.

I  don't know about a bench planer, it possible the CT can handle it, at least for a little while.

 

[MarkF]

I tread lightly on this topic as it seems to always degrade into a urinating match in all the other discussion groups but here goes...You may want to consider one of the mini cyclones (http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=2879.0  orhttp://www.dustdeputy.com/ or one of Phil Thein's diy seperator lids. (http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm) if you are limited to a vac based dust collector.  Granted this will not generate the same airflow as one of the large cyclones with 1 trillion CFM and 100% .0001 nanometer efficiency  ;D but it's loads better than trying to use a vac as a dustcollector on larger tools.  One of these on top of a medium sized trashcan will help make a vac more flexible for large volume dust/chip collection and they are not that expensive. 

 

[greg mann]

Mark is on the right track. I use a ClearVue mini over a plastic 55 gallon drum. I made an mdf disk to fit the top after I cut it out. It is a taper fit in the top inch or so. I use an otherwise useless Rigid vac (no bag but a Clearstream HEPA filter). The cyclone will deposit about 40 gallons into the drum before I need to empty it and I check the filter in the Rigid just periodically, UNLESS I overload the cyclone with my jointer or my planer. I can do that pretty easily. A 6 inch wide board through my Powermatic planer at anything more than 1/32 cut will overwhelm the ClearVue. I can't complain, though. It's only a 2 inch hole to drop the shavings through. I have the Spiral blades on the planer, not the Byrd style carbide blades, but the HSS blades that are sprung into a helical shape. These blades make somewhat lengthy chips, more like what you get out of a bench plane, and they don't drop through that 2 inch hole that easily. If I clog the drain, so to speak, the chips will get sucked through to the Rigid. That's not the end of the world but it is not what I want. Either way, it reasonably solves overloading a small vac bag and reasonably extends clean time for the HEPA filter, so I am happy for now. When I figure out a more optimum shop layout I will spring for one of the trillion CFM rigs. ;D

 

[Notorious T.O.D.]

If you are planning on working with rough cut wood where you will be removing a lot of material you want to look for something other than a benchtop planer
IMHO.  I feel there are a couple of things to look for in a planer.... bed rollers which help a lot with rougher lumber....at least 2 hp motor and a good width to handle glued up pieces.

I have had a Delta RC-33 since the mid 80s and it is a great planer.  It will cut an 1/8th inch off a 12 inch wide red oak board in a single pass all day long.  Being able to cut off a lot of wood in a pass is key with rough wood and some of these lesser planers are lucky to take off a 64th of an inch in a pass on a board that size.  So, you would have to make 8 passes to equal my Delta.  Time is money when it comes to plaining wood....  You can find the RC-33 used on ebay for as little as $400-$500 in good condition.  If you are willing to shop around you can find 18 to 20 inch planers on ebay for $1000-$2500 which are real workhorses.  I purchased a Delta RC-51 20" planer last winter for $1500 and that was probably a $6000-$7000 planer when new. It has a 5 hp motor and can take 1/4 inch off in a pass and handle glued up pieces to 20 inches which covers 99 percent of all case sides.  Because the economy is down there are a lot of good machinery buys out there but you have to take into consideration shipping costs too.

As for dust collection you have to have something that will deal with a large volume of chips and shavings too.  I would suggest a minimum of a 2 hp collector and a cyclone is more efficient in the long run too.  Something with a 4 inch hose will handle a small planer and a 5-6 inch hose is better.  My cyclone has a 55 gallon drum and I can fill it in about 15 minutes when I am planning rough lumber...even with the 13" RC-33.

Best,
Todd

 

[Mike_Chrest]

Mark,
 Thanks for posting the link to Phil Thein's diy separator lids. I have a 4" Jet dust sucker that is OK for big chips but clogs the filter with light dust.
[attachthumb=#] .

I want to try adding a baffle like Phil's and see if the separation improves.

It is the most portable 4" system I could find with a canister filter.

Mike

PS, I have my eye on the mini-Gorilla from Oneida, but it is high $$$ and is still not really portable.

 

[Notorious T.O.D.]

If the blower is powerful; and this thing doesn't really look like it operates on real cyclonic principles, I would not be surprised if the lighter sanding dust just got sucked on through to the blower and bag/filter.  I guess it might come down to getting what you pay for and if you need cyclonic separation then anything less may be a disappointment...

Best,
Todd

 

[festool_SWFL]

Folks,
   I posted earlier about a bench top planer.  I had ordered one, but it was out of stock so I canceled the order.  Now I am looking at the possibility of having a shop planer on wheels that I could pull out from a cabinet when needed and store in it until needed.  therefore I am considering under $2K, including the Jet, Powermatic (leaning) and General international.  Also wondering what kind of chip collection i should look at.  I currently have a ct22 and a Milwaukee 8912.  I would like to use one or the other to collect the chips.  I have decided to , in the near future, to get a wood peck router table, router lift, fence that will fit a mft3 to use as a shaper.  I figure, hopefully, I can buy a complete mft3, have a new top for the one I have now and sell the rail and angle thingy to offset the cost of the new router table.

   Looking for thoughts, comments, and suggestions.

Thanks,

William

Does anyone know where the Powermatic 15s Planer is made?  I am guessing that my budget needs to be around $2K but want to buy something made in America.

Thanks,

William

 

[MarkF]

Does anyone know where the Powermatic 15s Planer is made?  I am guessing that my budget needs to be around $2K but want to buy something made in America.

Thanks,

William

I would be amazed if it is.  I think all of their consumer/semi-pro grade machines are made offshore.  Need to look at some of the industrial auctions to get 'Merican made.  www.irsauctions.com is one to watch.  Scary seeing most of the North Carolina furniture factories shutting down.

Mark
for a great song summing up my thoughts and fears on this subject.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Do you want a combination jointer/planer or a planer / molder?  I used to own a Belsaw 12" planer / molder / gang ripsaw with a 3HP motor.  It would hog an 1/8" off red oak all day long if your arms could keep up.  And it was even better as a molder than as a planer, if making molding is among your future projects.  I used it to make a bunch of T&G flooring and molding and paneling for a remodel project, then sold it for an Inca combination jointer/planer which is capable of producing a much smoother finish but not hogging off material all day long.  The Inca better suits my interest in making furniture.  I made a "wheel barrow" table stand for it so I can roll it wherever needed in my shop or put it against a wall.  But many times I wish I still had that Belsaw machine to make moldings, or for rough planing.  Back then I did not have the space to keep two machines, hence the combination jointer/planer.

Surprisingly, I found my 16 gal. Craftsman shop vac could collect essentially all the chips produced by that 12" Belsaw planer when taking a heavy cut off a 12" wide oak board.  But I would have to stop and dump the vac after planing only a couple of boards.  I upgraded to a portable DC with a 4 inch hose which collected the chips into a large [>30 gal] plastic bag.  Even this would fill up quickly, but at least I could easily monitor how full it was, and it was quick to dump and refit.  I still have that collector and no longer use it (Anyone want to buy it -- German quality, approx. 7/8HP 1 phase 120 VAC with 5 double wheels at its base?) because I have further upgraded to a >2HP cyclone system with twin drums.  The drums are more difficult to monitor or dump than that simple bag, but the filters on the Oneida cyclone are near HEPA.

Dave R.

 

[riokien18]

If they use the  Inca better suits for the  making furniture,I think it was great.

_________________
Plastic Training

 

[StevenWoodward]

I am a decade late to this discussion but will add my 2 cents, in case it is helpful for someone who stumbles across this post.

The Rockwell RC-33 or Delta DC-33 is a well built machine that can run all day without overheating.  I bought mine 35 years ago and have not had to replace any parts.  The footprint is 20 x 22 inches so good for a small shop.  It could even be placed on a strong bench, but would take two people to lift it.  Mine sits on a shop made wooden stand with 4 casters so that I can move it around easily.   

If you can find one of these machines in reasonable condition at a fair price, and are willing to do some lubrication and tuneup you will have a sturdy little planer that does a good job.  Before purchasing, check with a steel ruler to make sure the table bed is flat, as some old machines get worn into a hollow.  If you are willing to upgrade to a Byrd Shelix helical cutter head, then you will have a state of the art planer at much less cost than buying a new one.

Here is a folder of information that may help in your decisions, and will be useful should you end up owning an RC-33.  I created and collected this information during a recent refurbish of my RC-33.  Includes: YouTube video showing how to lubricate and adjust machine and install a Byrd Shelix head; PDF instructions that match the video; Instruction manuals; RC-33 Parts diagram; Pictorial blog of a restoration; YouTube Review of Byrd Shelix cutter head.

Folder  Download whatever you like

YouTube  If you like the video, please leave a comment on YouTube