Woodmaster planer

[Van Huskey]

First, I can see the limitations of this compared to a old school heavy iron planer but I have a chance to get a very low use 718 with the spiral head, it does not have the pro pack or any of the non-planer items with it but it does have the knife head. The price is such I am sure I can use it for quite a while and at least break even if not make money. I love my WM sander but have mixed feelings on the planer, especially if I only plan to use it as a planer. Over time I expect to replace it with an old heavy iron medium duty planer, but this may work well in the short term.

1. are you happy with your WM as a planer
2. anyone replace the rubber infeed roller with the steel one
3. anyone have direct comparison to a standard import 4 post planer

[Jim Andrew]

Have a WM planer, 718, spiral head. Have not had a heavy iron planer, but used one in school, similar results, except the spiral head does much better than the 3 blade cutters. Remember lots of grain jerked out so you had to sand a lot to have a smooth surface. Mine works pretty well as you can slow the feed down on figured pieces. Have made some casing, used the 3 blade cutter, pretty good results. Find super glue, the gel works pretty well to glue around knots, so you don't lose them in the planer.

[shane lyall]

Van, I have a ton of info from Woodmaster that they sent when I was looking at the drum sanders. I have a few spec sheets and a DVD or two I think. PM me your address and I will send it to you if you want it. They offer the molding head and drum along with knifes piece by piece so you can buy whatever you want to make the planer into a molding cutter if you want.

[David Kumm]

Van, depending on price it's a pretty good planer considering it has no chipbreaker or pressure bar. The spiral head should make it more than acceptable. My inclination if purchasing would be to eventually buy the molder attachment or trade the head for one. They are a very good molder which is handy to have. Good motor, good company, variable speed. I'd keep the rubber roller for the molding capability. Primarily a finish planer so it would not be a bad addition to a PM type planer that is really more of a rough machine. Would allow the big planer to have knives and grinder. Dave

[Van Huskey]

Shane thanks but I have all the same info from when I was planning my sander purchase.

Dave, if I end up with enough room I may do the two planer setup OR sell the helical head and use that money and use the money to turn it into a moulder. I see them all the time on CL but this time a friend has one and wants to sell it quick and cheap. May get it since I can always flip it. My main concern is snipe with the soft rollers but I guess I could always try the steel roller, they aren't very expensive.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Shane thanks but I have all the same info from when I was planning my sander purchase.

Dave, if I end up with enough room I may do the two planer setup OR sell the helical head and use that money and use the money to turn it into a moulder. I see them all the time on CL but this time a friend has one and wants to sell it quick and cheap. May get it since I can always flip it. My main concern is snipe with the soft rollers but I guess I could always try the steel roller, they aren't very expensive.


Snip will be a lot less, if any, with the insert head than it would be with a straight knife head.

If you have the straight knife head, you already have most of the molder setup. I do 90% of my molding with cutters in the planer head.
All you need to complete the molder setup is a bed board. My bead board is a piece of 3/4" partical board, the fences are strips of wood.

[David Kumm]

The molding head on my WM is a planer head with 60 degree corrugations ground in. I use shaper knives with a 7/8 backset and it works really well. Don't know if WM does that anymore but better than the bar with the small heads and easy to line up. Dave

[Bob Falk]

I have a 718 and I must say, I never use it anymore as a planer.....too much snip...I have tried everything and I can not eliminate it. So, I have ended up using my Robland JP for my main planing work which produces minimal snip. That said, I have made a lot of molding with the Woodmaster to trim my historic home. It works wonderfully for this and I get consistent, accurate results. Overall I think it is a great machine to have in y shop, but as a planer.....I give it a c+.

[Van Huskey]

I have a 718 and I must say, I never use it anymore as a planer.....too much snip...I have tried everything and I can not eliminate it. So, I have ended up using my Robland JP for my main planing work which produces minimal snip. That said, I have made a lot of molding with the Woodmaster to trim my historic home. It works wonderfully for this and I get consistent, accurate results. Overall I think it is a great machine to have in y shop, but as a planer.....I give it a c+.

When you say you tried everything, did that include switching to the steel infeed roller? From the oustside looking in that is probably a big part of the snipe that can't be dialed out.

[Jim Andrew]

When making trim, I use the 3 blade cutterhead. Sturdier than the molding attachment. The molding attachment is a shaft with a small 3 blade cutterhead in the middle. The 3 blade cutterhead does not chatter like the molding attachment, because it can't. You do need the plastic tableboard, but you could make your own, it's a material that is about the same as plexiglas, or maybe corian countertop. The WM one is 1/2" thick.

[Van Huskey]

When making trim, I use the 3 blade cutterhead. Sturdier than the molding attachment. The molding attachment is a shaft with a small 3 blade cutterhead in the middle. The 3 blade cutterhead does not chatter like the molding attachment, because it can't. You do need the plastic tableboard, but you could make your own, it's a material that is about the same as plexiglas, or maybe corian countertop. The WM one is 1/2" thick.


Isn't the bed board made from HDPE? In any event I don't plan to use it as a moulder at least initially.

[Bob Wingard]

If you want to get rid of the helical head, I would be most interested in either buying it outright or trading it for a standard 3 knife head + some extra knives + some $$$.

[Van Huskey]

If you want to get rid of the helical head, I would be most interested in either buying it outright or trading it for a standard 3 knife head + some extra knives + some $$$.

I have plans to keep it for a while, I will keep you in mind though.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Isn't the bed board made from HDPE? In any event I don't plan to use it as a moulder at least initially.

The current table boards are HDPE. When I got my 718 back in 1992, Woodmaster made them from particle board.

[Greg Portland]

Van, depending on price it's a pretty good planer considering it has no chipbreaker or pressure bar. The spiral head should make it more than acceptable. My inclination if purchasing would be to eventually buy the molder attachment or trade the head for one. They are a very good molder which is handy to have. Good motor, good company, variable speed. I'd keep the rubber roller for the molding capability. Primarily a finish planer so it would not be a bad addition to a PM type planer that is really more of a rough machine. Would allow the big planer to have knives and grinder. Dave
He should be able to use the unused planer knife head to hold moulding knives (and can actually hold multiple knives to work in parallel). People get the moulder head because they don't want to pull the planer knives each time they do a run of moulding.

[Greg Portland]

Isn't the bed board made from HDPE? In any event I don't plan to use it as a moulder at least initially.
The HDPE bed comes with the pro-pack. Woodmaster sells them separately as well. They do NOT come with the basic machine.

[David Kumm]

He should be able to use the unused planer knife head to hold moulding knives (and can actually hold multiple knives to work in parallel). People get the moulder head because they don't want to pull the planer knives each time they do a run of moulding.

You can buy corrugated back planer knives to run on my head as well. Easier to set up although I don't consider the WM a good enough planer to go through the expense or effort. Dave

[Greg Portland]

First, I can see the limitations of this compared to a old school heavy iron planer but I have a chance to get a very low use 718 with the spiral head, it does not have the pro pack or any of the non-planer items with it but it does have the knife head. The price is such I am sure I can use it for quite a while and at least break even if not make money. I love my WM sander but have mixed feelings on the planer, especially if I only plan to use it as a planer. Over time I expect to replace it with an old heavy iron medium duty planer, but this may work well in the short term.

1. are you happy with your WM as a planer
2. anyone replace the rubber infeed roller with the steel one
3. anyone have direct comparison to a standard import 4 post planer

1) Yes, I have no complaints r.e. the planing function. The drum sander is good for the price but can overheat due to the small drum size (versus a dedicated large drum sander).
2) No, and my rubber roller has not shown any wear either (heavy hobby use)
3) I've used a friend's 15" Powermatic and I prefer the WM because I can change the feed rate on the fly. I also installed the forward/reverse switch so I can stop the feed immediately and reverse the board out if I'm hearing something "bad".

[Van Huskey]

1) Yes, I have no complaints r.e. the planing function. The drum sander is good for the price but can overheat due to the small drum size (versus a dedicated large drum sander).
2) No, and my rubber roller has not shown any wear either (heavy hobby use)
3) I've used a friend's 15" Powermatic and I prefer the WM because I can change the feed rate on the fly. I also installed the forward/reverse switch so I can stop the feed immediately and reverse the board out if I'm hearing something "bad".

Thanks, BTW I did know the bed board was a seperate item. Do you have any issues with snipe?

[Bob Falk]

I have not switched infeed rollers from the originals on the machine, so that could be it. I have, however, modified the machine with a hinged motor support and linked belt to minimize vibration and chatter (info on some old sawmill creek threads). My moldings come out fine (red oak) with the single bladed molding head....stain grade...I just touch up the edges with 220 sandpaper and stain. I do use a slow feed rate and try not to hog the machine.

[James White]

I used to have about .010"snipe. Till I reduced the roller pressure to as low as possible. It is now down to .003"-.004". My 735 does worse than that. I think they set it high for liability reasons. Just don't stand behind the board that is being fed.

James

[Bob Wingard]

1. are you happy with your WM as a planer
2. anyone replace the rubber infeed roller with the steel one
3. anyone have direct comparison to a standard import 4 post planer

1 : YES

2 : NO, but I did have some old shafts recovered with a poured urethane, and I love them.

3 : NOPE

[David Kumm]

My WM 712 was not quite as good as my DC33 with straight blades. Eventually I swapped for a byrd head on the DC. Dave