Replies

1. 
   jpohja | Oct 21, 2004 02:15am | #1

   Doug:  I Purchased said planer about 6 months ago. If you're into a primo paint job and excellent fit and finish,this planer may not be for you. Owner's manual is pretty bad too. That being said, the machine is solid, and planes really well. Ran perfect right out of the crate;no adjusting was necessary. Machine was packaged like no other i've seen;disposable welded metal frames protect the planer in transit. Customer service is another big plus.  john

1. 
   DougF | Oct 21, 2004 04:38pm | #2

   John,

   Thanks - the end-point is how it works day-after day and year-after-year.  Was the manual fairly clear regarding the various alignment adjustments.  Were you now in the market for a planer, would you still purchase this model machine?

   Doug

1. 
   jpohja | Oct 22, 2004 03:32am | #3

   Doug:  Although the planer did not need any adjusting ---therefore i never refered to that part of the manual---the manual could be described merely as adequate. If i remember correctly, some of the photos were of an apparently older model and did not match the machine i had purchased. Regardless,I would definitely purchase the planer again,especially considering the price, although i still like using my delta 22-580 for the last few passes on a board, utilizing the delta's more accurate scale and the depth stop to creep up on an exact thickness.  john

1. 
   jc21 | Oct 22, 2004 03:23pm | #4

   How are the Wilke folks to deal with- knowledgeable, parts, service? And might I ask about shipping costs- how bad? Thanks

1. 
   DougF | Oct 22, 2004 04:53pm | #5

   JC,

   I question Wilke on their shipping prices and then did some independent comparisions.  Wilke's shipping is high compared to others because other companies subsidize the shipping by including a portion of it in the sales price.  Wilke does not do this.  I checked with two commerical carriers and based on the weight, the cost Wilke quoted me was within 10%.  The total cost for the YC 15P I'm buying is $1,015 including shipping to the Dallas, Texas area.  I think when you compare the "out the door cost" it is still a good buy. 

   Doug

2. 
   Doobby | Oct 26, 2004 09:41pm | #8

   Do you like your planer? I bought the Yorkcraft 6" jointer a few years ago after I read the review in FWW.  I've been very happy with it. The unit ran great out of the box, but runs even better after some fine tuning.

   My concern with the YC planer is the height adjustment. If I'm reading the picture correctly, the table raises and lowers when you make adjustments. This being said, if it's true, you would have a hard time using roller stands for long stock if the table height changes.

   I would like to purchase a planer in the next month. I'm curious to hear what your thoughts are on this. Has it been a problem for you or is it nothing to worry about?

1. 
   DougF | Oct 27, 2004 06:57pm | #9

   PJ, your point is well-taken and entered into my thinking as well.  For me, the over-riding feature was that you will maintain better alignment of the cutters with a stationary cutting head, reduce vibration and wear and tear on the lifting parts parts due to less weight.  The trade-off is the feed height adjustment issue.  I have found that I rarely use infeed/outfeed rollers unless I am planning a large amount of long stock.  In that case, I don't mind making slight adjustments to the rollers.  For most of my work, once the stock starts feeding, assuming the boards are fairly short and don't require support for very long, the feed rate is sufficiently slow to give me plenty of time to walk to the outfeed to direct the board as it exits the planer.   Since you can only feed one board at a time and you have to travel back and forth whether or not you are using support stands, for me the height adjustment issue became the lessor of two evils.

   Doug

1. 
   Doobby | Oct 28, 2004 05:04am | #10

   Thanks, Doug. That helps me with my decision. Most of the stock that I work with is short (5' and under). It sounds like the roller stand issue is no big deal. I was hoping that you would give the answer that I wanted to hear. It's hard to pass up a good deal like the YC.

1. 
   DougF | Oct 28, 2004 04:02pm | #11

   PJ,

   Mine is supposed to arrive this afternoon.  I'll let you know how things go.

   Doug

2. 
   DougF | Oct 29, 2004 08:23pm | #13

   PJ,

   Some of this is not in the correct sequence but.......

   The planer was shipped on Monday and was delivered yesterday.  IT IS HEAVY!

   It is well-crated.  Be sure and tip the unit on its side and removed the 3 boxes stored under the base.

   There are virtually no assembly instructions that I could find but most of it is commonsense.  The first thing I would recommend is installing the the lever-activated front caster of the mobile base so you can more easily handle the remain assembly tasks.

   Installation of the dust chute requires that you remove the cutter head cover and the corresponding roller handle assembly, bolt the dust chute to the top cover and reassemble.  No big deal but it caused some momentary head-scratching.

   Cleaning: they recommend kerosene and it really works well to clean the packing grease/preservative.  First time I've used kerosene and could kick myself for not having used it sooner.

   Assembly took about 90 minutes, assuming you accept the factory settings.  I also purchased the Bridgewood kit to mic planer and planer/joiner settings but I'll wait to spent the hours to really dial in the settings some rainy day when I am not backlogged on some projects due for Christmas.  A quick check out of the box showed the cutter blades to be within within .005 tolerance right to left over the length of the 3 cutters.

   The cutter head is stationary and the table mechanisms is extremely smooth.  Minute changes are easily accomplished.  The depth of cut dial indicator is pretty much useless for all the horseshoe accuracy, but then that is was calipers are for.

   The dust chute is fairly flimsy and could be larger and one day I might make a new one to enlarge the port to a 5" port.  

   Other than a few test boards I have little to report other than no buyer's remorse thus far. 

   After running more boards last night, I am realy impressed with this unit.  The cut on birds eye maple was mirror smooth with zero tear-out using the 16 fpm feed rate.  One thing that threw me was the off switch.  I couldn't restart the motor until I finally figured out that there is a lock-out ring on the off switch. Good luck. 

   The dust port is a really lousy fit unless it is permanently clamped.  I make these modifications sooner than later.

   Doug

   Edited 10/30/2004 9:30 am ET by Doug

2. 
   jpohja | Oct 29, 2004 04:52am | #12

   PJ: the model I purchased has a movable cutterhead;the tables are stationary. Also the outfeed tables are the roller type. I think the new model has solid tables.   John

2. 
   alanplanesaw | Oct 23, 2004 04:39am | #6

   I have been in the Wilke shop and it is my understanding that Yorkcraft machines are made from Delta molds.  I believe if you compare most, if not all, Yorkcraft machines you will find an identical, or almost, Delta.  Knobs might be different.

   I own several of Wilke's Bridgewood machines (20" bandsaw, 8" jointer, sander, and shaper) and have been very pleased.  They may not write the greatest manuals, but the machines are excellent and I have found their support to be very good.

   Alan - planesaw

   
   

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   Edited 10/22/2004 9:40 pm ET by Alan

1. 
   DougF | Oct 25, 2004 04:06pm | #7

   Thank you Alan.  I've order the 15" planer and look forward to using it.

   Doug