Delta RC 51 20” planer - thoughts

[Phillip Mitchell]

Anybody have first hand experience with this planer?

Wondering how they age, what it’s like adjusting / dialing them in (bed rollers, setting knives, etc)

Also wondering about any potential trouble spots, Achilles heel in their design. I don’t want to bother if it’s a weak, trouble-prone design with known issues or I’m going to be pulling my hair out getting it dialed in to go beyond “rough planing.”

Im assuming replacement parts are all second hand at this point?

I’d welcome any thoughts on value. There is one available locally that seems to be in running condition, but could use some adjustments to get it planing perfectly.

I have a small basement shop and what I really want is an Oliver 399...don’t we all, but they usually go for quite a bit more than this opportunity. It would match my 12” 166 really well though

Currently have a DW735, which I’m not unhappy with, but it’s a real screamer and the capacity / depth of cut can be slow and limiting sometimes. Im getting started in woodworking more professionally and more full time than I have in the past.

Thanks for any advice!

[Tim M Tuttle]

Make Everything Shop just got that planer used. He seems to like it. He's done quite a few Instagram stories on it and last night setup a Wixey DRO. Here's his video of when he got it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=881UX7IXyGY

I haven't watched it yet so I am not sure how in depth he does in the actual machine. Figured I'd pass it along though.

[Patrick Kane]

I dont have feedback on the 20" model, but ive known a few pro shops to have the bigger brother, the 63(24"), and they had high praise for its durability. In fact, one guy left a bigger shop here to start his own, and he ended up buying the RC63 off them at some point. This thing looks like a sherman after the war, and he loves it. Top corner is dented badly, paint chipping off, just looks rough. The 63 weighs close to 1900lbs, i think. They had power table rise and fall, and 10hp main motors with close to a 5" cutterhead. Segmented infeed roller is also nice. I would imagine if they built the 24" model very well that the 20" should have similar traits.

Why do you prefer the oliver 399 over this delta? The 399 is a lighter duty 18" machine, right? One just sold for what i consider to be stupid money at a school auction($1800-1900), but i looked it over in person. Attractive looking machine, but id take the delta for a worker.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I don’t know enough to say anything definitive either way, but from my research the 399 is a bit more compact, I like Oliver in general, and I’d wager that the Oliver is a simpler design that will outlast this Delta, but I could be completely off base...

I dont have feedback on the 20" model, but ive known a few pro shops to have the bigger brother, the 63(24"), and they had high praise for its durability. In fact, one guy left a bigger shop here to start his own, and he ended up buying the RC63 off them at some point. This thing looks like a sherman after the war, and he loves it. Top corner is dented badly, paint chipping off, just looks rough. The 63 weighs close to 1900lbs, i think. They had power table rise and fall, and 10hp main motors with close to a 5" cutterhead. Segmented infeed roller is also nice. I would imagine if they built the 24" model very well that the 20" should have similar traits.

Why do you prefer the oliver 399 over this delta? The 399 is a lighter duty 18" machine, right? One just sold for what i consider to be stupid money at a school auction($1800-1900), but i looked it over in person. Attractive looking machine, but id take the delta for a worker.

[Bob Vaughan]

If I had to choose one over the other, condition would be the first consideration. If both were about the same, I'd choose the RC51 hands down. Actually they both take up about the same footprint.
Setting the four knives in the RC51 is more fussy than the three knives in the 18" Oliver 399, but the results are well worth it.

The RC51 has many more adjustments and a wider range of planing capacity. The worst thing about the RC51 is that the little pin in the table raising gearbox has a tendency to break if the table is improperly moved against stock that's in the planer. Its a greasy annoyance to change that pin, but little more than that.

The bearings are easy to change compared to most planers.

1 RC51 - 1.jpg

1 RC51 pin - 1.jpg

1 RC51 pin - 2.jpg

[Phillip Mitchell]

Thanks Bob! Even showed me a side by side comparison photo!

Any other tips or info I should have in the back of my head when checking out the RC 51 and puttingit through its paces?

How would I know if the pin in the gearbox is broken? Would the table raise and lower at all if it was broken?

Just to be clear, I haven’t located a 399 to purchase...I’m just speaking hypothetically and from a place of no actual seat time with either machine. There’s also a pretty rough PM 180 that may be available locally (from a different place) but I think it’s footprint makes it out of the running my the layout of my shop and I don’t even know if it’s for sale.

[Jeff Heath]

I've owned all of the machines discussed in this thread so far, and will have to agree with Bob. Condition is everything. They are all capable and quality-built machines. Unless you're mechanical, and plan an extensive rebuild, you're probably (guess) looking for a plug and play machine. A segmented feed roller is an upgrade to a non-segmented in any machine, all other things being equal. Funny thing about planers (at least in my shop), is that no matter what size machine you have, you'll always find a couple of slabs of wood that are slightly wider than what you have. My current planer is a Powermatic 221D, which is a 20" machine. I'm looking for a larger machine, as I sold my 30" Whitney. It was just gigantic in size, taking up an entire stall in my shop, which is space-compromised on a good day, and an absolute cluster on a bad one.

If the machine runs well, isn't worn out, and wasn't beat to hell, then you should do fine with it, until a 30" Buss or Whitney comes along.

Here's the manual for the machine, or a link, anyways......

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=5051

[Mike Kees]

All I can say is do not wait,go look and buy it. I found one this summer,add was 16 minutes old.. phoned and stated flatly I wanted it and was leaving now (6 hour drive). Guy said he would hold it,pulled off my driveway,get a call. He sold it. Still mad about that one. He was asking 500,here he could have sold it for 2000 easily. Also he was older and I attempted to pay with an E-transfer and he did not even know what that was. O well win some,lose more.

[Bob Vaughan]

The bed raising gearbox is activated by a lever on the front. Engage the lever and the bed automatically raises. If the pin is broken the lever doesn't do anything and the bed has to be raised and lowered by the handwheel. Many of these planers in school shops get that pin broken by uninformed operators. After this happens a few times the shop teacher simply opts to raise and lower the bed by the handwheel.

It takes me the better part of an hour to change the four knives but I've done it a lot. There are no jackscrews so setting is a matter of pinch, tap, pull, tap, etc. A bit like adjusting a hand plane that doesn't have an iron adjustment screw only a lot more so.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Thanks for the replies. I checked out the planer this afternoon. It planes wood, the knives are dull and I didn't bring anything known to be flat and wide as a test board, though I did run some 4" wide stock through enough to see that it operates. It was purchased new about 25 years ago by the seller. It seems like it's lived it's life as a rough planer without much finessing done to it over the years to really keep it well tuned. Bed rollers raise and lower. The feed rollers turn on and off with their lever.

It's pretty grimy and gunky. All the dust boots around the bed jack screws are torn.

The lever that operates the bed raising gearbox was broken off (!) at some point and was replaced with a long bolt. Near the top end of the bed height the lever did raise the bed automatically, but as I lowered the bed past 3" or so cutting depth it would no longer automatically raise. I couldn't get it to lower at all with the lever.

Is it safe to assume that the pin inside is broken or could something else be going on if it works intermittently like this?

Also, the steel cable that is connected to the height measurement gauge is snapped and just hanging out the front. I think a Wixey DRO could easily fix this issue, unless I'm missing something.

I'm doing some research (mostly from you Bob) over at OWWM as well, which is detailed and helpful for wrapping my head around what I'm in for. I'm strongly considering going back ASAP and buying it. The price is low, though it will take some TLC to really get it running right.

Thanks for the replies so far.

[Phillip Mitchell]

After sleeping on it, I'm going to pass on the RC 51 planer. I'm looking for something in a little more plug and play condition and while the machine works, it's a little rougher shape than what I currently have the time and tolerance to afford.

For anyone interested, the planer is listed on the Boone, NC craigslist under "woodworking equipment" and is listed as a "Rockwell 20" plainer" (sic.) though its a Delta RC 51. The seller and I were talking about the machine for +/- $1000, for whatever that's worth for you guys. Seems like a great deal for someone who has the time and energy to put into a smallish restoration job.