Williams & Hussey vs. Woodmaster

[cabinetboy]

I'm looking to get a molder and its between W&H and Woodmaster,if anyone has worked with these molders I would like to here what they have to say.The woodmaster sounds great with all of it's accessories,but what I want is a good quality molding.

Thanks

 

[Scott W.]

I actually have had both. If it's molding (or small width planing) your after go with the W&H no question in my experience.

I still have & use the W&H  I sold the Woodmaster a few years back.

RBI is another option( better than Woodmaster in my opinion), I have one but use it for the gang rip function. I have planed with it but never done molding.

Grizzly is selling a W&H clone now but I have not personally seen or used one.

Scott

 

[Greg_R]

Interesting comments by Scott, I have a Woodmaster 718 (5HP) and love it... one of my best tool purchases ever.  From a production standpoint, you can set it up to run multiple mouldings or profiles at the same time.  I use the gang rip function to prepare my stock.  It can cut very deep profiles in 1 single pass and I can also cut curved mouldings (arched doors, etc.).  I have not used the 'power platform' for 3 way moulding or the sanding mop.  The cost of the knives is cheaper than the W&H knives (not sure about durability).  There is a reversing function on the feed mechanism that is nice if you hit a problem area (knot, etc.).  The drum sander function is very powerful and changing abrasives is easy.  Spiral cutterheads are available for the planer if that's a concern.  Chip collection is good even with the 4" fitting (the chips are flung into the chute).  Fine dust collection is excellent.

Thus far, I've cut red oak, walnut, and cherry mouldings (3.25" crown & base w. back profiles, toe mouldings, etc.).  At no point was quality an issue and the machine never bogged down.

I am a 1 man shop so the compact nature of the tool and it's ability to perform multiple functions well was an important consideration.  If you opt for the Woodmaster, look for a 'truck sale'... they come to each region about once a year and you can get significantly discounted tools w. no shipping.  IMO, the 'pro pack' is worth getting, even with some of the items like the moulding profile book (that should be free, not a charged item!).  I have just ordered the digital scale (which should be good for planing and sanding w/o test pieces).

Let me know if you need any more info...

 

[cabinetboy]

Greg,
do you have a molding head with 2 knives or do you use a single knife?

 

[Scott W.]

Greg,

Don't get me wrong, the Wood Master is a good machine (at least mine was 5 yrs ago)

I just got/get better results on molding with the W&H. I have run untold thousands of ft of hard woods through it and it just works - every time. Quick knife changes, no tear out, reasonable price for Quality knives, takes almost no space, and for short run or custom molding IMHO it can't be beat.

My RBI as a planer / sander / gang rip also just makes $$.
I have never ran molding through it since I have the W&H although I do have the head.

I now have a dedicated sander and planer so only use the RBI for rip before running the blanks through the W&H.

The WM did the job, I just think IMO that the W&H does molding better and the RBI does the gang rip better.

I will say that you can get some great discounts on the WM, that's why I bought mine. It was WAY less than 1/2 what I paid for my RBI.
It is a recognized name and I got a reasonable price when I sold it.
RBI seems to be less known I'm not sure the same will be true if I sell it.

Sorry if I came off as not liking the WM that was not my intent.

Scott

 

[cabinetboy]

Scott
I like the idea of a machine that can do multiple tasks, since I have a small shop.I looked at the RBI online after you told me about it and sent for more information on it. The RBI looks like a pretty solid machine, a little bit different set up then the woodmaster. I just want to get as much info on these molders as I can before I purchase one, so any advise or suggestions on or about these molders is appreiciated.

Thanks
  Joe   

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I'm long out of the loop timewise on this issue, but I once owned a 12" Belsaw combination planer/molder/gang rip machine which I equipped with a 3 HP motor.  I used it to convert a bunch of red oak into T&G flooring, lsp-joint paneling, and various moldings.  I was very pleased with its function as a molder, using the knives provided by Belsaw, and those which are supplied for use with Delta and Craftsman molding heads (all these molding head knives are only 1" wide).  Belsaw offered custom pattern knives that could do much wider moldings, and even multiple moldings simultaneously if the stock width permitted cutting 2 or more side-by-side.  Compared to other planer machines, I really liked the rubber-covered powered feed rolls.  These enabled simultaneous planing of multiple pieces of stock side-by-side provided their input thicknes differences weren't too great.  I am not certain, but the RBI and Woodmaster machines appear very similar in design to that old (1970s) Belsaw machine I once owned.  I sold it because my interests/needs changed - replaced it with an Inca jointer/planer which I still have.

Dave R.

 

[Greg_R]

Joe,
  I just have the "700" series molding knife head which holds 1 knife at a time.  They now sell a 2 knife head (for running 2 profiles at once -OR- using knives over 3.25" wide) and you can also use the planer head for 4+ knives at once.  The 2 knife and planer heads allow you to use multiple knives of the same type for faster feed rates (counter balance weights are free if you want single knife operation).  Of course, you'd need to reinstall the planer knives when you are done and that is not a fast exercise.  I've seen some people own an extra planer head just for large molding runs... however, I have no need for that kind of capacity.

Here's the breakdown as I see it:
- Use the 700 series knife head if you want to product molding occasionally (i.e. not daily) and very rarely need profiles over 3.25" wide (I make crown and baseboard molding in this size).  You can always use the planer head if you want to make a large profile.  This holds 1 knife so you'll need a slower feed speed.
- Use the larger 2-knife head if you want the increased width to run multiple profiles or if you'll be running mostly large profiles.  The 2 knife head is 8" wide and holds 2 knives (of course 2 knives = twice the cost per profile).
- Use the planer head for large profiles or very large production runs (4-5 simultaneous runs of crown molding, etc.)

Scott, what issues were you having with the Woodmaster (tear out, a more painful setup, speed, ???)?  I'm not trying to jump on you here... I'm just interested in your experiences with the machine and the shortcomings you see.  BTW, a big shortcoming is the assembly of the unit (it evidently comes in a LOT of parts).  I was fortunate and got mine lightly used (but assembled) .