Best Planer On The Planet?

[Rob Will]

I'm a newbie who needs to get up to speed on some serious iron. This is not to start a debate on old vs. new or euro vs. asian. What I would really like to know about is your favorite planer. All brands and configurations will get their fair shake.....but let's set some limits.

• Width: 20" or wider
• Horsepower: 3hp 1ph minimum / 15hp 3ph max.
• Price: Under $10,000 (new or used)
• Noise factor: Quiet if possible
• Quality of cut: drop dead perfect

Regardless of what it is......a $1200 Asian, a pricey Euro or a rock solid oldie they all have good points.....So, what is your favorite planer?
Not a competition, just name your flavor.

Thanks,
Rob

[Dev Emch]

Thats easy. The best planers I have come across must be the Buss planers. Everything about them was engineerng overkill and they had the features. But Buss planers are not for the small shop as they weigh more than a buss.

Having said this about the Buss, I would say that my favorate planer is the Oliver Type 2 model 299. It is a very heavy cast iron planer that is extremely well engineered. It is a 24 inch planer but it has the footprint of many 20 inch planers and a lot of focus went into shrinking all the over sized items.

The power feed system is very nice and its more gear and shaft driven than rubber belt driven like the planers of today. The electrics compartment is housed in a casting recess so there are no bulky boxes to get into the way. The feed motor is housed in the lower base and is attached to a reeves drive system. I can plane very fast or very slow. I often plane very fast at the sacrifice of surface finish to get the job done and then take the last minute cut at the super slow speed to bump up my surface finish.

The knives are ground in place. This involves a few seconds to pop the DC collector shroud and then you push the chip breaker bar forward. Lock the index pin on the Beefy 5 or 7.5 hp Louis Allis motor and proceed to grind the knives. After grinding, you need to hone the knives which involves cranking the hone stone across the grinder jig while the planer is running. Now all knives are at the exact same level. Readjust your chipbreakers, pressure bar, bed feed rollers and your ready for action.

The segmented infeed roller is both robust and easy to work on. At least its much easier to work on than say a powermatic 225.

So of all the planers out there in planerdom, you will find few planers more desirable than the oliver 299, type 2. The type 1 is also an excellent planer and it has cast iron doors as its older.

The 299 was the mainstay for precision cabinet shops and patternmaker shops for many years. The oldest 299 I have seen dates back to about 1924 as I recall. The newest type 2 goes to 1974 when the type 3 was released. I am not a fan of the oliver type 3 because it has to many cost engineering or value engineering features. Cheaper made and costs more money. Thanks, but no thanks. I will stick with the type 2. Most 299s are from the early 50s to late 60s.

[Chris Giles]

I agree with Dev, Buss. We had two of them years ago and I've never seen such a powerful, accurate and sensative planer before or since. Of course, they are approximately the size of a small aircraft carrier, so they probably won't fit your requirements. I have a late 60's Rockwell 18" wedge-bed model, and am thrilled with it. It's five horse three-phase and came from a high school shop so has seen light use over the years. Should be able to pick one up for under $1500. I believe there are two available on a popular auction site right now, although I can't vouch for their condition.

[Reg Mitchell]

Hello Rob,
The olivers are very nice and HEAVY. although i didn't get in on the old iron until recently i do have a newer oliver and it is great. Weight is about 1500 lbs and around $4000.00. 7.5 hp to run the cutters and 2 hp to pull the wood. very nice clean cut. 220 sgl phase and 40 amp breaker. It is a 20 inch but cuts 22 inches. 4 knife head and for $1500.00 more you can get the insert head....but not haveing ever useing one i think the blades do a very nice job....

[Dev Emch]

Hello Rob,
The olivers are very nice and HEAVY. although i didn't get in on the old iron until recently i do have a newer oliver and it is great. Weight is about 1500 lbs and around $4000.00. 7.5 hp to run the cutters and 2 hp to pull the wood. very nice clean cut. 220 sgl phase and 40 amp breaker. It is a 20 inch but cuts 22 inches. 4 knife head and for $1500.00 more you can get the insert head....but not haveing ever useing one i think the blades do a very nice job....

Reg... which oliver do you have? It sounds like your describing a 399 but some of what you say does not jive. Is this a blue oliver by any chance?

[tod evans]

i`ll go along with the buss for old, for new under ten grand i bought a minimax formula with the tersa head. and you can bet your bottom dollar i did my research before cutting that check........02 tod

[Jim Becker]

Rob, what is your intended usage? Is this for a commercial venture? If so, what kind of volume, etc.

[Steve Stube]

I'd vote for a 30" Whitney two sider only because "back in the day" that is what the majority of my lumber was run on and it was as near perfect as I have ever seen.

[Dev Emch]

Jim is correct, how much do you need to run.

As much praise as the Buss gets, be warned. A model 4L is the smallest of the Buss planers and this baby weighs 6000 pounds. There are a few models larger than this such as the 44 and up some of which are two sided.

Lots of parts in the 4L are propriatary and doubled. One of the greatest expense items in rebuilding a planer are the bearings and the parts to refurb a segmented cutter head. The 4L has four bed rollers, not one but two segmented infeed rollers and whatever else sits behind the cutter head. This will need a bucket full of bearings and pile of cash for parts for the segmented infeed roller. Each segment has four springs and who knows what elese that needs to be replaced.

Then you have power. A small motor for buss is 15 HP. So if your running a phase converter, you will need an idler motor of at least 30 HP or more. If you have line issues, that makes it worse. The good news is that you start each motor on its own.

Most buss planers have been beat to death by the time we get to them. So this makes the rebuilding of a buss a long and difficult rebuild. Its not as easy as rebuilding a table saw or a reasonable planer like a yates or oliver.

And moving them with a forklift is a challenge. Most forklifts are rated for a mass about a foot or so out from the forks. As you move your mass farther out, the moment increases and this derates your forklift. So a planer with this much cast iron puts the CG in the middle of the planer and in a best case, thats 2 to 2.5 feet or more out on your forks. You may have to get a really large fork or pile concrete on the end of a smaller one to get this planer lifted. 6000 plus pounds is a lot for a woodworking machine even by oliver standards.

So I thought I should list this material before someone goes out and snags one of these beaters and then gets upset with me for raving how good it was. Yes, they are good when you finish the restoration. But maybe you should find out a few parts prices from the parts franchise before you commit and then have to scrap the machine. These planers and full size moulders like vonneguts are considered challanges by the OWWM crowd.

Just so you know.....
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[Reg Mitchell]

Reg... which oliver do you have? It sounds like your describing a 399 but some of what you say does not jive. Is this a blue oliver by any chance?

Yes Dev....got it from Sunhill....but I was mistaken about the blades it only has three.... and the $4000 price is delivered to Tennessee

[Jeff Singleton]

You could put Buss, Greenlee, and Whitney all in the same category as the best of the best. Greenlee bought Buss and Newman and Whitney merged, both many decades ago. Only Newman Whitney still survives. The Greenlee 110 & 120 weigh in at about 9-10000# and are as big as a truck with their 30-50 hp motors. A local lumber yard has a Buss from the thirties and they use it daily, they can't seem to kill it. It looks antiquated and the paint is almost gone but they say after 75 years it is finally broke in. Oliver 299 and 399 are great light duty planers as are the PM 180,220 and 225. My favorite is the Whitney 105, wedge bed, four upper rollers all powered and at 4000# Whitney says it is a light duty planer. I think for good planer made in the USA with a great track record and a very long life you can't beat a Powermatic, be it a 160,180,220,or 225. Any of the PM's can be had for well under 10 grand and are rebuildable till the earth stops turning. I have quite a few Oliver machines but I am still waiting on a 299 to show up at the shop door. Happy splinters,
Jeff Singleton

[Dev Emch]

You could put Buss, Greenlee, and Whitney all in the same category as the best of the best. Greenlee bought Buss and Newman and Whitney merged, both many decades ago. Only Newman Whitney still survives. The Greenlee 110 & 120 weigh in at about 9-10000# and are as big as a truck with their 30-50 hp motors. A local lumber yard has a Buss from the thirties and they use it daily, they can't seem to kill it. It looks antiquated and the paint is almost gone but they say after 75 years it is finally broke in. Oliver 299 and 399 are great light duty planers as are the PM 180,220 and 225. My favorite is the Whitney 105, wedge bed, four upper rollers all powered and at 4000# Whitney says it is a light duty planer. I think for good planer made in the USA with a great track record and a very long life you can't beat a Powermatic, be it a 160,180,220,or 225. Any of the PM's can be had for well under 10 grand and are rebuildable till the earth stops turning. I have quite a few Oliver machines but I am still waiting on a 299 to show up at the shop door. Happy splinters,
Jeff Singleton

Jeff, I concur with everything you said. Right now I am running a 299 with a 200 plus serial number and its in great shape. A true patternshop machine. But it has three knives. My only complaint is that finish work is not fast enough. You have to turn the feed rate down for your finishing cut. Its a minor nit pick but I consume lots of lumber so its a matter of saving some time. Right now, I am trying to arrange a trade/swap/whatever deal with a buddy who has a 4 knife 299 from the same time period. But I may need to find a new home for my 3 knife first. Even in mint condition, most folks would rather not deal with heavy olivers and opt for much lighter planers like some of the felders or other imports. So this is one thing to consider also. A planer the size of a buss will follow you into your grave like a stranded little dog looking for a new home.

Dont you love it when they call planers like the 299 a light duty planer. Even buss calls the 4L only a medium duty planer at best. That its better suited for light finish work and medium duty service.

[Rob Will]

Volume is not a big deal.
Smooth, quiet operation and a perfect cut in figured wood are most important. Parts availability and enduring value are also important.
Would prefer 230V 3ph. I run 50 hp all the time but that is over the top for what I would need in a planer. The super heavy Buss models would indeed be hard to handle and take up a lot of room. It could be done but there has to be a reason......but if it cuts good......a big bad toy sounds kind of entertaining.

[Rob Will]

Hello Rob,
The olivers are very nice and HEAVY. although i didn't get in on the old iron until recently i do have a newer oliver and it is great. Weight is about 1500 lbs and around $4000.00. 7.5 hp to run the cutters and 2 hp to pull the wood. very nice clean cut. 220 sgl phase and 40 amp breaker. It is a 20 inch but cuts 22 inches. 4 knife head and for $1500.00 more you can get the insert head....but not haveing ever useing one i think the blades do a very nice job....

Reg, Do you have the new Oliver OM-4455 planer?

[Rob Russell]

If I were looking for the best, I'd look at Martin equipment. I don't think you're going to touch one for your $10K price point, though.