What do you guys think about this powermatic planer?

[keith micinski]

It obviously needs completely restored to get going but it sure does seem like it would be worth it. IT was stored outside under a tarp for the last year and who knows if the motor is any good because he has no way to fire it up. I was thinking about offering him 200 for it but he has no way to load it and I am wondering if by the time it is all said and done if I wont have 1000 bucks into it anyway.
http://centralmich.craigslist.org/tls/2386337791.html

[David Kumm]

Assuming you can move it, the parts alone will make it worthwhile. The grinder is worth that price. Dave

[keith micinski]

Well it says the grinding motor is missing which I assumed meant the whole grinder was missing and the only thing there was the track it road on. He is going to get the motor checked out and make sure that it works. If that is the case and the motor works I think I am going to get it and then work on trying to find a phase converter somewhere. Does anyone have any guess on how old it is? I looked on owwm and cant find one that looks like it. other then the motor and maybe the bearings for the head there shouldn't be a lot of other things that could be wrong could there. The cosmetic work doesn't bother me but I don't want to spend the next year trying to get this thing as a usable planer.

[Mike Harrison]

If you don't have a larger planer its a good project.

[David Kumm]

Go on OWWM.org. Powermatic planers are common and there will lots of advice. The 160 looks 40-50's vintage which were good years. The grinder motor is replaceable. I think the planer is about 1300-1500 lbs. Dave

[Eric Patterson]

I think $400 is a bargain for a complete direct drive Powermatic 160 with a grinder bar too. I paid $400 for mine. It's belt driven but did have the grinder with motor included. Those alone go for $400.



Doing a complete takedown is time consuming and it sure helps to have access to a hydraulic press and OTC three jaw bearing pullers. There are a lot of parts.












You can expect to find some broken stuff along the way but replacements are usually no more than a phone call away to Redmond's Machinery. Looks like some student tried to plane more off than the feed rollers move up. New bearings throughout will run $200 or so.




But when it's all said and done you have a planer that satisfies to every time you power it up and can tackle more wood in one lifetime than five imports.








And last but not least a little video to see one in action.

http://duckboats.net.nmsrv.com/pics/eric/PM160Vid.wmv

[David Kumm]

After you look at Eric's pictures, take a look at the current powermatic guts. There is no comparison. OWWM.org has a current thread on a PM 225 restoration with a picture of old vs new. Eye opener. Dave

[David Nelson1]

Eric, you certainly are a determined soul. Great rehab of ole iron.

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful restro Eric! Are you going to fab/purchase a dust hood for it?

[Eric Patterson]

Beautiful restro Eric! Are you going to fab/purchase a dust hood for it?

Thanks. I did built a dust chute for it out of scrap 1/2" ply with a 4" port. The chute works well. However the volume of chips a 160 can produce is enough to stuff the bag of a small DC in a short period of time. My DC was recently upgraded largely for that reason.

[David Kumm]

Eric, Welcome to the dark side. There is no better feeling than an old machine running smoothly and eating whatever you feed it. You must be good at puzzles to reassemble all that. Do you have a jointer to go with it? Dave

[Eric Patterson]

David

I can answer that two ways. I do not have the knife grinding jointer. It came with the grinding wheel but not the jointer attachment. I need to pick up one of those. Now if you meant a wood jointer I have a 12" Northfield med duty. It's another piece of machinery that is a joy to work with. I'm a hobbyist woodworker who likes to have US made machinery in his shop and don't mind doing it one piece at a time. The restorations take some effort but are rewarding in-and-of themself, as is actually using them when doing woodwork. For me it just makes more sense to buy older stuff and fix it up.

[Frank Drew]

Great photos, Eric; really puts a complete restoration in perspective when you see all the parts involved.

[Don Jarvie]

400 for a Powermatic 16 inch planer is a steal. Look at how much 15-16 inch planers cost and even if you have to put 600 in its still cheap.

Once restored it will be better than anything you can buy at that size.

[keith micinski]

Unfortunately I think the guy might be souring on me. He is supposed to get me some better pictures and is also supposed to see if the motor is good. He lives about 4 hours north of me so we were going to meet halfway in the middle but his last email sounded like I might be asking to many questions and might be too much of a hassle.