[OP]
Contributor
Just wondering if anyone has a Woodmaster 718 planer, ripper, sander, moulder? I guess I'm considering one in the future but wondering what people think of them. Just trying to find out the good and the bad. I live about 2 1/2 hours from Kansas City where they are made. To let you know before hand, thanks for your input.
Happy woodworking,
Kyle
Member
Yes, I've had one for about three years. It's used to make moldings for residential and commercial jobs. Really glad I have it. With little effort you can make a project look special with custom wood profiles and shapes. Easy to set up and get knives for. I just use the one counter balanced knife for moldings and if you go slow not much sanding required. It's a bargain for what it does, not heavy duty but if you have alot of money to spend you'd be looking at something else I imagine.
Member
I have the 718 for 10 months now, bought it used but the guy never used it so it was new. Its actually a nice machine and I have planed, gang ripped and molded with it. I have the corrugated molding head and it is really nice, uses 2 knives. Another nice feature is the variable feed speed, can slow things down to improve on finish. The gang rip took a bit of time to set up being my first time and when I let her rip it went fast. I think the quality is really nice and it is made in the USA. I have not used the drum sander or router attachment yet. I have a large drum sander so I won't use this accessory. The customer service has been great when I ordered other accessories for the 718. I have the hood hinge kit and actually think it works good for me, don't have to like off the hood when working on the machine,it just tilts away. I would recommend this type of machine.
Regards!
Ed
Member
i've been using one for a couple years, primarily as a planer but also have reproduced about 3000 ft of large old moldings.
no complaints, some people don't get good results from the straight planer knives, i have the spiral head so can't confirm/deny that. other than a little snipe due to the rubber rollers it works fine with the spiral head for me.
it's a pretty simple machine with common parts, easy to maintain and use.
i'm happy with mine.
Member
I have owned one for about 3 years, and like the previous comments, I too like it. I use it for planing and sanding. I purchased it specifically to use in the construction of kitchen cabinets, vanities, utility room cabinets, etc in a new home. Over the last two years I have planed and sanded over 900bf of curly maple, 300+bf of ash,200+bf of african mahogony, and a gazillionbf of popular. The variable speed is a great feature, as well as the relative ease with changing from planer to sander. Granted, if you have the space and money; buy a dedicated planer and a dedicated sander, but for the footprint and cost, I believe the Woodmasters are a great deal. Plus as mentioned, it is made here and the customer service has been outstanding. In fact, I am watching and waiting for a good used 718 or 725 to add to my shop.
Member
Kyle, I've got one, surprised you didn't see it in the shop the other day. I too love it. It's a great solution for a small shop. I've planed TONS of rough lumber and used it to plane, rip and sand about 800 sq ft of hardwood (hackberry) flooring for my house. I would warn that the WM doesn't do the best job at any one of its functions, but they are all good. If space, power and money were no issue I'm sure we'd all have dedicated planers, multi-head molders and drum/wide-belt sanders sitting in our taj-mashops.
My dad also has the WM 3875 dedicated drum sander that is NICE. I did notice an older 26" version on KC CL last night for a STEAL. Let me know if you want to see one in action.
Ryan
Member
Kyle,
I have a Woodmaster 712 same beast just a little smaller. I've made many different moldings. The woodmaster Molding knives are well made. I use the planer all the time and have also used the Drum Sander.
They are built like a tank, My brother in Law has a 718 he bought back in late 80's and uses it regularly. Hope this helps
Joe
Member
I love the molding capability....the planer is not my favorite as it tends to snipe compared to my Robland jointer/planer, which I tend towards for this reason. I have to admit that I have never used the sander (I already have a Performax 25x2 which I tend to use), but overall it is a good machine. I would never buy one new (too expensive). Search Craigslist...there are many used machines out there for about half of new price. My $0.02 bob
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