If the price were the same (which it basically is) Should I get a used Powermatic 100 12″ planer in good working condition or one of the imported 15″ planers brand new? I’m not too concerned about the PM 100 only being 12″ versus 15″ because I will rarely plane wood that wide. I want a solid machine that will cut wood quickly and cleanly. The PM 100 is usually found with a 2 hp motor (American made of course), while the 15″ imports have 3 hp.
Thanks for the help
Replies
If you get the 12", what will you do when that rare piece of 15" wood comes along? Just curious :-)
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I guess I'd have the same problem with the rare 20" wide plank if I got a 15" planer. I'd have to rip it in half, plane each half, and glue them back together. But I see your point: the footprint and price of the 12" and 15" machines are basically the same, so why not get the bigger capacity? From what I've gleaned from the Knots archives, the American made PM 100 is by far a better built tool. My question is whether this will make a noticable difference in perfomance, finish, and long-term durability. Thanks for the relpy.
Purchase the PM100. One in good ready to run condition should be less than $900. At a later time if a different machine shows up, the PM100 is worth more than the used import.DJK
If you get the 12", what will you do when that rare piece of 15" wood comes along? Just curious :-)
He'll probably make a warped 15" board thinner unless he also has at least a 16" jointer to match his planing capacity.
Planers don't flatten wood.
Edited 12/17/2004 11:41 am ET by cstan
Edited 12/17/2004 11:41 am ET by cstan
Please answer the initial question
"Please answer the initial question" You're swimmin' upstream on that one Peter, LOL! Just doesn't seem to be his style.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I'm a strong swimmer. How are you doing FG?
I'm great, Peter, but swimming ain't my forte, LOL! Happy Holidays!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I'm sorry, was it you that asked the initial question?
"If you get the 12", what will you do when that rare piece of 15" wood comes along? Just curious :-)"
.................. time to call Lie Nielsen and get one of them dad fangled cordless planers
I'm not sure why some feel your jointer width must match your surface planer width. I just bought a used 20" Grizzley planer and love it. I get wider boards from sawyers and such. If I need to plane a 15-20" wide board I can flatten one side with hand planes prior to thickness planing. Most boards I've seen are not that warped, if they are I wouldn't buy them. I'm sure not everyone who owns a 12" planer has a matching 12" jointer, in fact I'm sure most wish they had an 8" jointer.
Bob
"I'm sure not everyone who owns a 12" planer has a matching 12" jointer, in fact I'm sure most wish they had an 8" jointer." Hah, how true!
On another note, even without skilled handplane use, a wide board could be flattened in the planer by using a sled and shims.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
FG,
I beleive the next issue of FWW is going to have an article on that exact topic. I see it listed in the curent issue section.
Happy Holidays,
B.O.B.
They're re-running that old trick-- yet again, ha, ha. They do always have to cater for new readers and new woodworkers, and newer text and updated photographs will serve the purpose. Slainte.RJFurniture
Cordless Planers?!?! Do they make those now???? Wow! ROFL!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Thumbsmasher-
I've got a 15 inch jet planer. Buy the older powermatic. Way better machine. I'm presently looking at an older and way better Oliver 24" 299 planer, at which time you'll see my Jet for sale here.
JC, not to be confused with jc.
I have the early PM100.
When properly set up and adjusted,it does a fabulous job of surfacing wood. Set the lower idler rolls .003 to.005" above the table surface and there will be no snipe. The spring loaded upper outfeed roll will keep the board flat to the table.The corrugated infeed roll provides positive feed.The chip breaker rides on the uncut surface right behind the cutting circle.
One feature that I especially like is the table adjustment linkage. One turn of the adjustment wheel raises the table exactly 1/8th of an inch.I must admit fellows,that I may be slightly skewed in favor of this machine.Years ago I made some of the wood patterns used to make the originals.
It may be of interest to know that the original design was perfected in a man`s garage in McMinville
Tennessee.Thank you,Mr.Croney,where ever you may be.
Work safely ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Edited 12/19/2004 8:41 am ET by Pat
Curious if you think the current PM 66's are equal to the older ones. I knew that Powermatic used to have their own foundry, the Meehanite process was used, and that the castings were "aged" and am not certain how things are done currently.
I am not all that familiar with the quality of machines being produced today. Up until my latest retirement a few years ago,they still had their own foundry.The green castings were piled outside to spend a few months in the rain,snow,ice and sunshine. During this time the castings would relax and rid themselves of the inherent strains left by the casting process. After this time,the castings were much easier to machine to the accuracy required. I believe that this process was called Normalization.The Meenahite that you reference is a licensed product developed by the Ross Meehan Foundries of Chattanooga Tn. This is a super cast iron product
with properties somewhere between iron and steel.
I do not know what the chemical difference is. Most of my shop equipment is old and heavy.I have been fortunate to have access to a first rate machine shop to use for the rebuilding. The model 100 planer was bought new in the 1960`s
I don`t see how any of the new table top models could ever compete with the "old iron"Thank you,Mr.Croney,where ever you may be.
Work safely ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Edited 12/19/2004 5:20 pm ET by Pat
I suppose, thumbsmasher, as you say that whatever width you get it'll always be a couple of inches narrower than you could use. A 50"wide machine would be ideal for many purposes, notwithstanding the purchase cost, accuracy of knife setting and maintenance, but still there'd be a glued up board 52"wide.
I'm not so familiar with American machinery now, but if the Powermatic is a substantial floor standing machine with a decent wound motor it'll probably be more powerful than a benchtop 15" model with brushes if that's the alternative option.
I can kill and smoke the motor in a 15" benchtop machine in a couple of hours of serious work, but a free standing machine will plug on all day. You can always work to the width capacity of your 12" machine and build up panel widths incrementally, and that applies to 12" wide capacity as well as 20"wide capacity. There's just an extra step or three, and floor space and your work patterns should be taken into consideration too. Slainte.
Well I sprung for a 2 hp PM 100 on ebay. Should arrive in a week or two. I have never used a 15" planer (but did use a 20" import once) so I won't have much basis for a comparison. Nevertheless, I'll try to post an update once I've tried it out. I have a bit of 10" wide oak that I'm going to use in my next project. Should be a good test. Thanks for the replies. I needed a little encouragement to take the plunge.
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