The 12" Planer You Can't Own. (probably)

[@homefrontforge]

I love the practical ways Jim and company solve for X with their engineering. I especially like seeing how the sausage is made when Troubleshooting a used tool. Thanks

[@MyGrowthRings]

@@homefrontforge Jim is a very wise man.

[@bobharper7014]

Extremely useful for me. Thanks! Looking forward to the follow on videos. I have probably lost my alignment tool.

[@MyGrowthRings]

@@bobharper7014 Oh no! I haven’t poked to see if they are still available from Shopsmith, but if not they do show up on eBay from time to time.

[@johnrice4273]

I have a second (or third?) owner Pro planer. I’ll say - I made sure the table is in the same plane horizontally. I replaced the bearings, purchased the sharpening jig, set the knives, waxed the table, oiled and adjusted the chain and from that time on, maybe 10 years ago now? I’ve had only the best experience with the planer. One other - the planer, as many SSmith tools seem to be was poorly maintained. I took apart the on/off switch. Wouldn’t you know it - it was packed with planer dust. Anyway, as you know when you have the little beast cleaned, ready to rumble, you’ll have a gem. It does appear the feed motor is the Achilles heel - it’s difficult to get parts for it should something go awry. There’s a ProPlaner in the Denver area for $300. I’m thinking I outta pick it up - yes? Again an excellent video.👍👍

[@marcbarash6045]

Great Job Scott, thanks so much for the video.

[@Lammergeir]

Hand crank works just fine. Less to go wrong and infinitely variable speed. Dust chute is perfect!

[@MyGrowthRings]

@@Lammergeir What’s the largest batch of lumber you’ve planed?

[@Lammergeir]

@MyGrowthRings One afternoon, I planed 4 or 5 pieces 3m x 300mm x 75mm I've made infeed and outfeed chutes about 2.4m long. It's slow work adjusting the heights, but it's manageable. I've mainly used it to thickness hardwood, which it does very well indeed. The three knives cut well. I bought the thicknesser in mid/1980s. I'd replaced my dad's 1959 Goldie with a 1983 MkV. Still going strong and about to be overhauled after Christmas.

[@DeborahHicks-c3d]

Looks like a lot of rust removal coming up. Happy repairing.

[@MyGrowthRings]

@@DeborahHicks-c3d So much! Besides the planer and the Magna drill press I still have a rust Mark VII and a 10ER that need attention. Got to remember to wear gloves!

[@anthonyarrigo2202]

Thanks for sharing. I doubt that I'll buy this planner because I've already purchased a different brand and it works for me.

[@MyGrowthRings]

@@anthonyarrigo2202 I get that. The “Pro” version of this planer is pretty slick, though. If you average find one of those and have room and budget for it, I recommend you snag it! Scott

[@bryanking1659]

thanks for buying the planer. i have that same model. please film the rehab you do to it

[@MyGrowthRings]

@@bryanking1659 I’ll consider that, but videos like that perform poorly. Perhaps I’ll upload it to MyGrowthRings.com

[@sincerelyyours7538]

Easy repair work ahead. Except for the feed motor there's no major broken parts. I'd say it was a good purchase. I wish I had the space for one.

[@robertperkins8096]

Just picked up one of those. Mine is a 12" that came on a stand. Pulley was misaligned, and caused a good but of vibration. so I put it on my mark v. I'm not sure where to go from here with it. I could buy the alignment tool, and blades from SS, but 109.99 for hss blades is steep. Scott, have you seen the helix conversions for these? I might end up going that route. Setting up blades kinda sucks, and it's my understanding that using non SS blades in the planer/jointer is a no no because of the wedge shape that holds them in.

[@BradinManheim]

I have one with the round depth handle. It is in very good condition. I actually use my Makita more than the SS and I can drag the Makita to a job site. I actually prefer the SS blades that I can resharpen to the throw away helical. I touch up the blades before each use, which takes just seconds in place. It is built like the proverbial brick sh!t house compared to the dainty Makita. For difficult grain or to plane in volume I choose the SS. I am glad I found mine as they are discontinued. Not sure how long SS will support them with parts.

[@gjkrieg854]

Is it just the camera, or is that 2x10 sagging under the weight of all those SPT's?

[@PistonHonda87]

Would love to see a return of a mounted planer someday but think they would need to shave an addition 15 to 20 lbs or a bit more. I think there is another option for planers, jointers and even a drum sander but would require a redesign of the SS legs.