Craftsman (Parks) Planer Model 112.23490

[Ron Hampe]

How much does the head cost ? Do you already own the planer ? To me that planer does not look like it even needs "restoring". I would look at the situation this way ,if that planer will do everything that you will ever need and you plan to keep it forever put the shelix head in and be done. If you have questions about how long you will own it ,don't. YMMV.

I bought it from a friend's estate in March. The shelix heads are expensive but so is everything else and sadly at 67 forever isn't all that long anymore.

[james manutes]

I am asking the same questions myself about a Foley - Belsaw planer that belonged to my wife's grandfather . As a family heirloom , yeah let's restore it . For me , emotional ties removed - not so much . It needs parts I can't find , and I believe cutter head and it's bearings need replacing . To do it right is gonna get expensive . I really don't know what the outcome will be , until I get it apart .

[Matthew Hills]

I'm not sure that I'd do a segmented head replacement.

I got good usage out of mine, and it cut well with sharpened knives. The straight knives are fiddly to adjust after changing, but there are pretty good instructions for the process online (and Bob Vaughan even did a video for FWW on how to set planer knife blades using this machine).

Note that the head is seated in babbitt.

I was especially happy that it just worked without the snipe that I was getting on my previous lunchbox planer.
I'd recommend making a dust collection attachment if you don't already have one (hard to tell from the photo)

I eventually did switch to a J/P combo, but that was mostly to get the wider jointer and get everything to fit in a specific spot in my shop.

Matt

[Bill Dufour]

To adjust the knives I took a cheap screwdriver and bent a 1-2 inch long right angle a near the tip so it looked like an allen wrench. I use it to pry the knives up out of the slot. Just make sure the bend is inline with the flat of the blade so it fits into the slot on edge.
Bil lD.

[Bill Widmer]

...it would be an easy choice for me not to put that kind of money in a machine with almost zero parts support except for scrapped out machine parts on eBay...

Agree on ones use should factor into the decision on how much to invest in a machine. But regarding non-availability of replacement parts, I believe replacement parts for that planer are still available from the D.C. Morrision company (at least still listed on their website - http://www.dcmorrison.com). I recently picked up 2 of these planers and am going through them. Other than knife sharpening, have not found anything amiss. Plan is to keep one and sell the other. Manual for the planer can be found on the Vintagemachinery.org if you do not have it.

[Bradley Gray]

I have one of these in my shop and a 24" planer in another space. Lots of big planer features like a chip breaker and bed rollers but less scary for running short/thin stock than my monster Monarch.

+1 on back beveling the knives. I would also buy a pair of magnetic knife holders to make changes easy-breezy.

[Kevin Jenness]

I dramatically reduced the tear out on my 24" Yates American when I had it in my business. I got the advice to back grind the front of the planer blades to reduce the cutting angle. Much like the new trend to use negative rake scrapers in woodturning. I had my grinding shop put a 10 degree bevel on the front of the straight blade, about 1/8" wide.

That is just what I did on my Powermatic 160. I don't think it is quite as effective as a helical head but it does reduce tearout significantly.

[John C Bush]

That model was my first planer and it was great for my WWing hobby. Sharp blades minimized tearout and blade changes and tune ups were simple as shown on Bob Vaughan's video and article in FWWing mag.
I moved up to a 20" Griz with a helical head--great deal and I needed the wider capacity-- and the finish is good for dimensioning rough stock but not as good as the Parks with sharp blades. I'd run with it as is and see if it works for you before investing in a new head.

For dust collection I adapted a 1/2" ply offcut to fit over the roller adjustment nuts on top and attached an HVAC floor register fitting with 4" hose attachment. Worked great as well. Good luck

[Stanley Powers]

I recently put a Shelix head on a Powermatic 100 planer (12"). It cost me $896 delivered, with the bearings pressed on.

I like how well it works. I don't mill a lot of exotic woods, but nevertheless I think the lowered chipping-out is great on domestics. I'm milling a bunch of soft maple right now, and with straight knives I was getting a lot of chip out around knots.

I was in touch with Hermance but it would have taken three months to get a head from them - they are that busy.

Wet the knots with paint thinner (won't rust your planer). You will get a wonderful finish. Of course, make sure your knives are as sharp as possible. I have a Parks planer and it is very easy to hone the knives in the head.