Foley Belsaw planer/molder...

[Michael Dunn]

Anyone know if these are any good? How about for $350? 5HP, 220V.

[Loren Woirhaye]

I like the Belsaw a lot. I'm going to sell mine soon but only because I got a wider planer recently and I do need the width. The Belsaw is especially cool because it will make mouldings and the knives are cheap to buy. The thickness consistency from part to part is quite good (which means less sanding of door and face frame corners). It's an old fashioned design but well made and simple to maintain.

[Michael Dunn]

So it seems that $350 is a good deal, no?

[Jim Andrew]

Belsaw is the old model of planer from a company in KC that is now Woodmaster. I'm guessing it has been quite a few years since the last belsaw was built.

[Kevin Godshall]

I HAD a Foley-Belsaw planer that I inherited from my FIL. He had a ton of molding blades with it, and I put a ton of material through it (both planing and molding). Only bad part of it, was that while in his ownership, it had been involved in 2 floods and some of the maintenance wasn't kept up too well. When I tried to find parts to fix it, I found out that there is 1 dealer and parts are super expensive.

Unsure of what to do to replace it (how do I part with all those molding knives?), I finally found another one on ebay and snagged it for $250. This one has been meticulously kept and it runs like a dream. I'm hammering a ton of wood through it and it just keeps asking for more.

IMO, if you are looking for the molding/planing option, and you have access to knives, you can't go wrong here. Solid build machine. If the one your looking at is going to require some fixing up, parts or accessories, you may want to price them out BEFORE you decide to buy. As for me, I will stick with a Foley-Belsaw as long as I can. The value of the knives themselves are the gamechanger for me.

Best.

[Art Mann]

I used one that belonged to a friend of mine quite a bit several years ago. It worked well as a planer. I didn't try making any molding. If it is in good shape or could easily be restored to good condition, I think $350 is a pretty good deal.

[Loren Woirhaye]

If it's in good working order it's a fair deal. People do pay a lot more for them in some areas, but tool prices are regional.

The things to check are:

Rollers - the are rubber and last a long time but they do eventually wear out.
Drive sprockets - the feedworks is a chain and sprocket system (not a gearbox like some planers) and it can wear out with a lot of use. Rebuild kits are available.

Parts are available and they aren't expensive as machine parts go, in my opinion, but when you start having to buy parts in the mail to get a machine running correctly a bargain can turn into a non-bargain.

The Belsaw feedworks is noisy when the machine runs. The top can be lifted and you can watch the feedworks run. The planer shaft can be wiggled (unplugged) to check for excessive play in bad bearings.

In general with a solid machine like the Belsaw, you can assess a lot by condition of the paint, belts and rollers. If it looks pretty fresh, it's probably not seen a lot of use.

[Don Jarvie]

Like everyone has said it depends on condition. I would say 350 is a good deal if its in good condition and only thing you may need to change is the belts. I have one and it does the job. I use it to plane the wood to size and then hand finish it. With the 5 hp motor you will be able to plane anything.

[Jim Laumann]

Michael

I aquired one of these about 2 yrs back - planer (a model 985 - 12" +/-), a older DC, and a box which had extra parts/tools/planer blades and molding knives. Paid the princely sum of $350 for everything.

Have used it several times as a planer - not done any molding yet. Also use the DC - prior to this purchase, had no DC. The planer does nice work - have planed both pine and cherry - no complaints w/ the finish on either of them. Showed it to wifelets Dad right after I got it, he's jealous, also says that I done good.


Good luck

Jim