Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 23

Thread: Woodmaster planer

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
    Posts
    9,447

    Woodmaster planer

    First, I can see the limitations of this compared to a old school heavy iron planer but I have a chance to get a very low use 718 with the spiral head, it does not have the pro pack or any of the non-planer items with it but it does have the knife head. The price is such I am sure I can use it for quite a while and at least break even if not make money. I love my WM sander but have mixed feelings on the planer, especially if I only plan to use it as a planer. Over time I expect to replace it with an old heavy iron medium duty planer, but this may work well in the short term.

    1. are you happy with your WM as a planer
    2. anyone replace the rubber infeed roller with the steel one
    3. anyone have direct comparison to a standard import 4 post planer
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  2. #2
    Have a WM planer, 718, spiral head. Have not had a heavy iron planer, but used one in school, similar results, except the spiral head does much better than the 3 blade cutters. Remember lots of grain jerked out so you had to sand a lot to have a smooth surface. Mine works pretty well as you can slow the feed down on figured pieces. Have made some casing, used the 3 blade cutter, pretty good results. Find super glue, the gel works pretty well to glue around knots, so you don't lose them in the planer.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Bristol and Pound Virginia
    Posts
    237
    Van, I have a ton of info from Woodmaster that they sent when I was looking at the drum sanders. I have a few spec sheets and a DVD or two I think. PM me your address and I will send it to you if you want it. They offer the molding head and drum along with knifes piece by piece so you can buy whatever you want to make the planer into a molding cutter if you want.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Central WI
    Posts
    5,666
    Van, depending on price it's a pretty good planer considering it has no chipbreaker or pressure bar. The spiral head should make it more than acceptable. My inclination if purchasing would be to eventually buy the molder attachment or trade the head for one. They are a very good molder which is handy to have. Good motor, good company, variable speed. I'd keep the rubber roller for the molding capability. Primarily a finish planer so it would not be a bad addition to a PM type planer that is really more of a rough machine. Would allow the big planer to have knives and grinder. Dave

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
    Posts
    9,447
    Shane thanks but I have all the same info from when I was planning my sander purchase.

    Dave, if I end up with enough room I may do the two planer setup OR sell the helical head and use that money and use the money to turn it into a moulder. I see them all the time on CL but this time a friend has one and wants to sell it quick and cheap. May get it since I can always flip it. My main concern is snipe with the soft rollers but I guess I could always try the steel roller, they aren't very expensive.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Van Huskey View Post
    Shane thanks but I have all the same info from when I was planning my sander purchase.

    Dave, if I end up with enough room I may do the two planer setup OR sell the helical head and use that money and use the money to turn it into a moulder. I see them all the time on CL but this time a friend has one and wants to sell it quick and cheap. May get it since I can always flip it. My main concern is snipe with the soft rollers but I guess I could always try the steel roller, they aren't very expensive.

    Snip will be a lot less, if any, with the insert head than it would be with a straight knife head.

    If you have the straight knife head, you already have most of the molder setup. I do 90% of my molding with cutters in the planer head.
    All you need to complete the molder setup is a bed board. My bead board is a piece of 3/4" partical board, the fences are strips of wood.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Central WI
    Posts
    5,666
    The molding head on my WM is a planer head with 60 degree corrugations ground in. I use shaper knives with a 7/8 backset and it works really well. Don't know if WM does that anymore but better than the bar with the small heads and easy to line up. Dave

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Madison, Wisconsin
    Posts
    489
    I have a 718 and I must say, I never use it anymore as a planer.....too much snip...I have tried everything and I can not eliminate it. So, I have ended up using my Robland JP for my main planing work which produces minimal snip. That said, I have made a lot of molding with the Woodmaster to trim my historic home. It works wonderfully for this and I get consistent, accurate results. Overall I think it is a great machine to have in y shop, but as a planer.....I give it a c+.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
    Posts
    9,447
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Falk View Post
    I have a 718 and I must say, I never use it anymore as a planer.....too much snip...I have tried everything and I can not eliminate it. So, I have ended up using my Robland JP for my main planing work which produces minimal snip. That said, I have made a lot of molding with the Woodmaster to trim my historic home. It works wonderfully for this and I get consistent, accurate results. Overall I think it is a great machine to have in y shop, but as a planer.....I give it a c+.
    When you say you tried everything, did that include switching to the steel infeed roller? From the oustside looking in that is probably a big part of the snipe that can't be dialed out.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  10. #10
    When making trim, I use the 3 blade cutterhead. Sturdier than the molding attachment. The molding attachment is a shaft with a small 3 blade cutterhead in the middle. The 3 blade cutterhead does not chatter like the molding attachment, because it can't. You do need the plastic tableboard, but you could make your own, it's a material that is about the same as plexiglas, or maybe corian countertop. The WM one is 1/2" thick.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
    Posts
    9,447
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Andrew View Post
    When making trim, I use the 3 blade cutterhead. Sturdier than the molding attachment. The molding attachment is a shaft with a small 3 blade cutterhead in the middle. The 3 blade cutterhead does not chatter like the molding attachment, because it can't. You do need the plastic tableboard, but you could make your own, it's a material that is about the same as plexiglas, or maybe corian countertop. The WM one is 1/2" thick.

    Isn't the bed board made from HDPE? In any event I don't plan to use it as a moulder at least initially.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    S.E. Tennessee ... just a bit North of Chattanooga
    Posts
    1,018
    If you want to get rid of the helical head, I would be most interested in either buying it outright or trading it for a standard 3 knife head + some extra knives + some $$$.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
    Posts
    9,447
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Wingard View Post
    If you want to get rid of the helical head, I would be most interested in either buying it outright or trading it for a standard 3 knife head + some extra knives + some $$$.
    I have plans to keep it for a while, I will keep you in mind though.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Van Huskey View Post
    Isn't the bed board made from HDPE? In any event I don't plan to use it as a moulder at least initially.
    The current table boards are HDPE. When I got my 718 back in 1992, Woodmaster made them from particle board.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Hillsboro, OR
    Posts
    1,415
    Blog Entries
    3
    Quote Originally Posted by David Kumm View Post
    Van, depending on price it's a pretty good planer considering it has no chipbreaker or pressure bar. The spiral head should make it more than acceptable. My inclination if purchasing would be to eventually buy the molder attachment or trade the head for one. They are a very good molder which is handy to have. Good motor, good company, variable speed. I'd keep the rubber roller for the molding capability. Primarily a finish planer so it would not be a bad addition to a PM type planer that is really more of a rough machine. Would allow the big planer to have knives and grinder. Dave
    He should be able to use the unused planer knife head to hold moulding knives (and can actually hold multiple knives to work in parallel). People get the moulder head because they don't want to pull the planer knives each time they do a run of moulding.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •