Wood planer 2

[fixerupper]

Back on the 14th I asked for advice for purchasing a wood planer. I ended up going through Grizzly and got a Shop Fox bench top model. It was the highest priced bench model they offered and has the spiral cutting head. It came today, I set it up and ran a few walnut pieces through it. All I can say is WOW! It has the feel of quality if you know what I mean. I ran a few pieces of walnut through it and with a 4" wide piece of walnut all I can hear running is the motor. A 12" board cutting at 1/32" makes it sing a little but the sound level is way, way lower compared to the old Delta planer even when it had new blades planing soft wood. So thanks for the suggestions to visit the Grizzly tool site. This machine should last me for the rest of my life (20 years +).

The belt gave up the ghost on the old cheapy Delta and it was getting noisy just running empty. I took it apart and the nut on the end of the shaft that holds the driven serpentine pulley had backed off and the pulley walked it's way out a ways. The belt was rubbing on a shield. The pulley is keyed onto a straight shaft and the keyway and inner bore of the pulley were wallered out. Just for kicks I am going to google for parts to see what the damage would cost me if I chose to fix it.

I will add, I am not claiming this planer as being any better than anyone else’s but it is worlds apart better than the old planer was.


This post was edited by fixerupper on 07/19/2022 at 07:38 pm.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

What do you do when the spiral cutting head gets dull?

 

[fixerupper]

The cutter has little individual blades staggered in a spiral cutting pattern. I see helical planers advertised but I do not know anything about them. The plus side to these individual blades is only the damaged blades can be replaced if a board has a nail in it when it goes through the planer. Down side is there is a lot of them when it comes time to replace the whole set.

 

[Russ from MN]

I have been reading the reviews on the Delta vs. DeWalt and I'm really glad I bought the DeWalt. I've had
it 20 years and only replace a couple of table roll bearings, and they were readily available.

 

[fixerupper]

I did do a quick rudimentary parts search for the lower pulley for old Delta last night. Could not find a lower pulley. Lots of other parts are available but no pulley.

 

[rossow (mn)]

When I was in the market for a planer many years ago I read tons of reviews on the Delta and Dewalt. I went with the Dewalt and have had no problems or complaints other than it currently has a broken belt, easily available and inexpensive. (Well, maybe one other complaint -- the Dewalt is so heavy it became hard for me to lift up and store out of the way when not in use. I guess heavily built is a good complaint to have.)

 

[fixerupper]

Yes, heavy. This one weighs 85 pounds. It took some effort for this guy to get it off the floor and on the work bench. It is now mounted in the stand the Delta was perched on. I use a fair amount of rough sawmill lumber so it is nice to have the planer readily available.

 

[Russ from MN]

I built a stand for mine with 2 wheels on it, so I can wheel it around like a wheelbarrow. And I have a fan mounted underneath the planer that blows the shavings into a big bag. Works well for me.

 

[Gary Reif]

I repaired that very same thing on a Delta 12 a few years ago. Have since bought a new planer and
parted out the old one. I bought a new pully and repaired the shaft with JB weld and used it for
awhile but the drive rollers were getting worn and I couldn't get cutter blades anymore so bought a
new planer. I might have some of the parts you need if interested.

 

[kencombs]

I think youll find those can be turned to a new edge. And can
be replaced when needed. Being carbide that will be a while. A
pack of 10 is around 90 bucks I think.



If you have had any knife grinding done recently that wont
sound too bad. Grinding is expensive. I think my 13 three
knife set costs me about $60.

 

[stevieb49829]

Are the cutter inserts 4-sided sharp? It'll take a long time to go through all 4 sides, especially if you have a couple of spares for that occasional nail strike. steve

 

[stevieb49829]

There are two types of helical planers. One uses 3-4 flexible blades that wrap around the solid steel head, fastened down with set screws and clamps. Once the blades dull, they are throw-aways. The other is similar to yours where the inserts are set in a tight spiral pattern around the head. They do a wonderful job, and last a very long time with the carbide inserts.

 

[fixerupper]

Gary I am interested in the pulley if it is the same as mine. I do not have it in my hand but here is a pic of the data plate on the planer. The delta website shows this pulley as obsolete.

 

[fixerupper]

Stevie the blade inserts are two side sharp. The two sharp sides are 90 degrees from each other instead of on opposite sides of the insert.

 

[Gary Reif]

Sorry Fixerupper I can't find the pully now, will have to do more searching. As usual I probably put it somewhere so I knew were to find it.

 

[fixerupper]

Don't feel bad. You aren't alone.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

(quoted from post at 05:51:38 07/20/22) What do you do when the spiral cutting head gets dull?

You rotate the inserts (they are just like lathe inserts) until all sides are used up, then you buy a pack of new ones.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

(quoted from post at 05:51:38 07/20/22) What do you do when the spiral cutting head gets dull?

You rotate the inserts (they are just like lathe inserts) until all sides are used up, then you buy a pack of new ones.

 

[Nebraska Kirk]

I have a 20" Grizzly planer with a spiral cutterhead. It uses 96 carbide inserts that have 4 cutting edges. When one or more get dull or chipped it is a fairly simple matter to remove the guard and turn or replace them. I have had a few of the carbide inserts actually shatter from hitting a hard knot. I bought it new just a few years ago and since I had been wanting a planer for quite a while, I stepped up to a wider one than I initially thought about getting and also got one with the spiral cutterhead. I sure like it!