Planer update #3

[Jeff Horton]

Not that much to show but I have turned the corner now. I am have finished painting parts and ready to start the reassembly. The more paint work I do the more I realize how much I don't like it. I would never make it as a body and fender man for sure!


For those that didn't see it, this is one of the before photos.

Here are a couple of the during photos. The color is a little lighter than the the original, it looks a lot lighter in the photos because of the flash. No, it was never that Powermatic green or heaven forbid, Powermatic Gold (??) with that green racing stripe!

The dark side panels in the background are close to what it really looks like.

[nic obie]

Looks good!

You're getting there. How is the base turning out? It was the ugliest .

[Jerry Crawford]

Ahhhh, yes Jeff, but you know as well as I do how much satisfaction you'll get looking and using the finished tool. For those of us who have been this path there's a satisfied feeling the uninitiated will never know bringing an old tool back into service. The greater the effort the sweeter the success. Congratulations on your progress

[Jeff Horton]

How is the base turning out? It was the ugliest .

Check the thread on wooden mobile bases. I have a photo of the base in there.

[Alan DuBoff]

Jeff,

Looking good. This rust has gotten to my blood, there seems no turning back...until I get the machinery replaced with older stuff as I move forward.

A planer is something I really want, and the PM 100 looks like a great unit, do you mind me asking how much you had to give for it in the shape you found it in?

What most folks don't understand is that when someone says, "oh, I found that hunk of rust for $200", that it takes a massive amount of time and energy to restore and put these beasts back into working condition.

The majority of woodworkers today would rather call Grizzly up and buy a chiwanese hunk of metal that will be delivered to their door. It is easier to do, unless one finds a nice old machine that has already been restored (typically folks want top dollar for those, and rightfully so).

SMC has a large amount of folks with these fancy new sliders from europe, or fancy european combo machines, european band saws, etc...and those are great machines for folks wanting to be running out of the box who have an abundance of $$$s at their disposal.

Me, well as I said, it seems that rust is in my blood at this point.

[Jeff Horton]

I don't mind you asking Alan. Just can't give you an answer. I got one of those once in a life time deals on this and the other machines I am restoring. I picked up basically a whole cabinet shop of machines that all looked about like this one. So I don't really know what I have in each machine, just depends on how you divide up the expenses. Even then it would be way below market.

But I can say I wouldn't want to pay more than $150 maybe $200 for this one if I were buying it. Then only because I knew the history of this machine. It was a one owner and I know it was well taken care of. That is till they went into storage. Mechanically it was near perfect, just dirty and rusty.

I knew this one had a bad motor when I got it. I have the old Century motor in the shop now. I expect it will cost $100 to $150 once they get through with it. Of course I give them simple instruction. Make it new.

Around here this is an extreme shortage of used machines of any age and little demand for old ones like this. So prices would tend to be cheap, if you could find any that is. I looked for a year before I found my DeWalt RAS and that is what lead to the rest of these. Probably won't find anything else local for years. I doubt I will ever stumble into another deal like this in my life.

[Corey Hallagan]

Looking good Jeff! I don't know if I could do as much of this rebuilding that you are doing. I mean basically you have had to tear each tool down to bear bones and reassemble them. I don't think I am that mechanically inclined! Nice job, I am sure this one won't be any different!

Corey

[Alan DuBoff]

But I can say I wouldn't want to pay more than $150 maybe $200 for this one if I were buying it.

And that is exactly my point, there is so much labor and time to invest in bringing one back, even if you got some of them for free, you still wouldn't make out restoring them depending on condition, parts needed, etc...but I don't have to tell you that.

My biggest problem with the old iron I've found is that if you want to get good prices, you do end up with things that need at least some work, and this is not for everyone.

Around here this is an extreme shortage of used machines of any age and little demand for old ones like this.

Hate to disagree, but I see a lot of stuff in GA, much listed on ebay, and others lised on craigslist, you just need to track and follow things...there ain't no free rides. You found your machines!

Your state isn't that big, you just need to be willing to haul the stuff home and travel to get it, but I do also. My table saw required an entire day on the road, at least 8 hours of driving. Again, not for everyone. It does all boil down to time and money in the end, however one justifies it. It's the shop in the end, and getting the machines one wants. I know that type of machines I want, and you can't buy them from Grizzly, Jet, Wilke, or any other company...but for the masses it's easier to be able to do that. "When can you have it to my door?".

[Jeff Horton]

Hate to disagree, but I see a lot of stuff in GA, much listed on ebay, and others lised on craigslist...

I guess it depends on what your looking for. I am really not looking for anything right now. I would love to have a big bandsaw but my Griz is more than adequate. I watch Ebay for a couple of smaller items, especially hand tools but I don't watch the machines that close unless I am looking for something. But as I said, I watched Ebay, the forums and Craiglist for a DeWalt RAS for a year before I found mine.

As for driving, not an issue. We drove to central Mississippi to this load of machines. I think it was 8 hours one way. Towed a trailer in the thunderstorm along two lane roads that I couldn't see the lines on half the time. All day trip up into Tenn. for the J-Line jointer (another year long search). I would gladly drive to Atlanta to pick up a machine, just have yet to find something there I was looking for.

[Alan DuBoff]

Jeff,

If you track the machines on ebay, you would see that they do pop up from time to time. I guess it depends on what you're looking for also, I mostly track the industrial type stuff of yore.

One of the areas that govliquidation.com sells from is either GA or NC, possibly both.

Not to encourage you to look for any more machines, I think you've got a good selection as it is.

I've been eying the PM 100s, it's certainly a planer I wouldn't mind, although if I found a YA J-180, I'd be tempted, even though it is substantially larger, it's not that much more. Is your PM 100 one of the 5HP models?

Planers seem like the most complicated of most machines, with the gears and roller feeds, getting them setup properly is considerably more difficult.

You mentioned a band saw, and I wouldn't mind finding one either, but want something like a Crecsent or YA snowflake, the 30" model or the 20" would work for me, the 36" might be a bit big. Roger Van Maren used to have a Walker-Turner 16" that was a nice saw, very art decco looking. He had done a wonderful restore, but sold it when he found a Tannewitz 36".

[Bill Simmeth]

He had done a wonderful restore, but sold it when he found a Tannewitz 36".

Roger's WT resto was gorgeous, but I didn't know he had a Tannewitz now...