Hitachi P12RA, Thickness Planer, Jointer

[@jdstripper]

Have one also and like it.

[@veryzebra6569]

I just got this planer jointer. Runs great but I need to learn more about it. How to service it etc. Do you have any info on it? Thanks

[@FretsNirvana]

Are you still happy with this planer? What abut long boards being that the bed is not that long?

[@philnugent-boxmods3355]

The planer is awesome, long boards are a bit of a challenge.

[@FretsNirvana]

That is what I thought, there is an opportunity to buy one of these for me but I wondered about that. Looking a the diagram of the planer, it appears that the top of the bed is just screwed on. I wonder if I longer piece of metal could replace that and be screwed on with the result being a longer bed. It of course would need to be a thickness that provides a solid bed and be smooth to provide good performance. Your thoughts?

[@FretsNirvana]

Also ...what about blades for this? All I find are HSS blades ....there are no carbide options?

[@philnugent-boxmods3355]

Not that I know of, this planer has not been produced for some time now so parts are getting harder to find. As far as quality goes this is top of the line for it's size IMHO

[@FretsNirvana]

Ok ...what do you think of the idea of replacing the bed's cover with a longer piece of metal to lengthen the bed?