Yorkcraft planer review

[John Miliunas]

So, several weeks ago, I took delivery on a Yorkcraft, 15” planer. Not a whole lot you can write about a planer, but I’ll give it a shot. I believe Wilke Machinery is the only vendor carrying the Yorkcraft line and for this, I’m actually quite happy. Wilke’s Customer Service is fabulous! The order went smoothly, they already had me on record, so I didn’t even have to specify liftgate delivery. I ordered while they still had a bit of a special going on shipping, so I saved a few bucks there, plus my sales dude noted that I’m a repeat customer and threw in a fresh set of knives, to boot! The unit reached my neck of the woods *within* a week from placing the order! :D R&L Carriers once again took care of the delivery and, as is their NOP, service was exceptional! I was further very fortunate in having fellow Creeker and good friend, Frank Chaffee give me a helping hand with receiving and setting up the machine.
With a little brainpower and a lot of grunting, we got the unit off the back of my trailer and into the garage. Pulled the carton off to find the whole unit very well secured to a pallet. Not a scratch on the thing anywhere! Once we got it off the pallet, we installed the mobility kit (included and integral to the base) and were able to easily roll it into the shop. The footprint of the unit is hardly much bigger than what I had with the Dewalt on a stand. The rest of the assembly was pretty typical, including the traditional removal of Cosmoline. A spray bottle with “Simple Green” and plenty of rags quickly took care of that chore. Oh, and except for one allen head driver, all the necessary tools are included!) If any part of the assembly, which I would like to see improvement on is the dust chute. Rather awkward and you need to remove one of the material rollers on top of the machine to accomplish this.

I had pre-purchased a “Twist-Lock” plug and receptacle, though it’s not necessary, as the unit comes complete with a typical 3-pronged 220V plug on it. No other wiring was required! Anxious to try it out, I just plugged into my nearby DJ20 outlet, though I did eventually switch that out for the “Twist-Lock”. First impressions? Compared to lunch box planers I’ve had, this bad boy is quiet! Yes, I still wear hearing protection when running it, but it’s almost borderline of where you could get away without it! So, the first cuts: On some Maple I had laying around, smooth, quick and NO snipe. At all! :) Dust collection appeared to be quite good but, we noticed that there were quite a few chips getting pressed back into the board! :eek: Searching through the manual, there was no hint as to why this would happen or how to resolve it. So, the following Monday, I gave Wilke a call and was put in touch with one of their main Tech dudes. If I had a video phone, I could just see him rolling his eyes as he let out a deep sigh. He told me that, for who knows why, the factory elected to put this strip of foam on the underside of the cover over the cutterhead. What happens is, as the chips start flying around, they get caught behind the strip and then just fall back down through onto the board and get pressed into the board by the outfeed roller. He said to open it up and tear that puppy outta’ there, which is exactly what I did. Problem solved! Not as much as a single stray chip since!

Fast forward to today: After using it some, I’m kickin’ myself in the pants for having waited this long to get one! I have a hunch that folks with similar planers have similar results, but I have to believe the Yorkie gives you the most bang for the buck. Integral mobility, cast iron in/out feed tables, very heavy and stable, with power to spare. I’ve not tweaked a single adjustment on it, though I may go ahead and check into tuning it up just a tad. Across an 8” board, I get a variance of right about 1/1000<SUP>th</SUP> from one side to the other. Probably acceptable, but I’m still going to try and squeek that last .001 or so out of it! I’m not one to try and hog off a lot of material per pass, so I can’t tell you if/how it will take 1/8” off. I usually run off between 1/32<SUP>nd</SUP> and 1/16<SUP>th</SUP>”, tops. The slow speed on it actually does appear to have some influence on the final quality, as well. Finish cuts at the slow speed on some Birdseye Maple produced very, very little tear-out. I didn’t wet down the board, though I did have room to skew it a bit, so I imagine that helped a bit.

In the final analysis, hat’s off to Wilke Machinery, R&L Carriers and, of course, to my buddy Frank! Job well done by all. :) Would I do it again? Yeah, but I wouldn’t wait as long to do so! Thanks for letting me ramble on and for taking a peek! Comments/questions welcome.:) :cool: <O:p</O:p

[Andrew Ault]

Thanks for writing this review. Yorkcraft equipment is quite attractive in design and value. It's really helpful to read about your experience with it. When I'm able to justify (and fit into my garage) an 8" jointer, the Yorkcraft looks pretty good. And, perhaps someday I could get a planer like yours - wow, what a great tool! I'm sure you'll get great use out of it!

I really like the built-in mobility - great for people like me that need to "unfold" the shop after moving LOML's sports sedan out on the driveway. I like the big motor and magnetic switch. Also, the big heavy adjustment wheel. Does it appear to be powder coated? If looks like it will not be rusting for a long while.

I love to hear about good customer service like you experienced.

Congratulations on the wonderful new tool and your good experience with Wilke Machinery!

Thanks again.

-Andy

[Corey Hallagan]

Hey John, good looking piece of machinery you picked up!! Enjoy it and good to hear a good CS story!

Corey

[Jason Tuinstra]

John, great review. I'm stuck in the world of lunchboxes with my limited space, but who says we can't dream a bit :D

[John Miliunas]

Thanks guys!:) Andrew, I don't believe it's powder coated. Does not appear to be thick enough for that and the finish is a bit flatter than most powdercoats. I do, however, think they did a pretty good job with squirting the paint on, though. Personally, I usually "expect" to get some nicks and scratches on this type of equipment anyway. I typically wax all my polished surfaces anyway and, if I notice a nick or scratch, I'll hit it with a little wax, as well. My shop is pretty temp/humidity controlled, so I'm not in big fear of rust anyway.

Jason, unless you're hefting your lunchbox planer in and out of use (stashing it under a bench or something like that), one of these guys really takes up little more space than a 13" lunchbox job on a stand. The floor footprint on this guy is 23x23" and total "air space" from stem to stern is right about 45" (tip of infeed to tip of outfeed). Something worth considering if you plan on planing a LOT of rough stock! For me, that was the driving force. My DW735 did a fine job, but I was afraid that, with some sizeable projects on the horizon, I would've used that unit to the point of abuse.:) :cool:

[Alan Tolchinsky]

John,

Congrats on the new planer. About the noise level, is it quieter than a lunch box type when cutting? I can understand it would be quieter than one just running due to the universal motors in lunchboxes. I'm moving my shop where quietness may matter and that's why I'm asking this. Enjoy that new machine. Alan in Md.

[John Miliunas]

John,

Congrats on the new planer. About the noise level, is it quieter than a lunch box type when cutting? Alan in Md.

Alan, absolutely! MUCH quieter!:) If I can save up enough pennies ( a LOT of them! ), a Shelix will go on it and reduce the noise level even more. Mind you, like I said, I do NOT take heavy cuts, which will onto itself be less noisy, but then I didn't take heavy cuts with the Dewalt or Ryobi before it, so this is a direct "apples to apples" comparison.:) :cool:

[Steve Ash]

Congrats on the new planer John! I'm sure it will serve you well. I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself unloading and setting it up given your recent surgery.

[Chris Padilla]

Nice...gonna give the fine folks at Byrd a call, John?? ;)

[Matt Woodworth]

Nice review. I have the 20" version and I'm just as pleased. Unlike you, I tend to hog off the full 1/8" until the last pass and it handles 20" of hard maple and hackleberry (related to elm) without any trouble.

I'm not sure if that will translate to the 15" model. Mine does have a larger motor but it also wider knives to turn.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Alan, absolutely! MUCH quieter!:) If I can save up enough pennies ( a LOT of them! ), a Shelix will go on it and reduce the noise level even more. Mind you, like I said, I do NOT take heavy cuts, which will onto itself be less noisy, but then I didn't take heavy cuts with the Dewalt or Ryobi before it, so this is a direct "apples to apples" comparison.:) :cool:

Thanks for the info. John. BTW the tables look massive on that thing like they belong on a table saw. Very heavy duty looking tool!

[Jim Becker]

Very nice overview, John. Congrats on the new planer!!

[scott spencer]

Congrats on the new machine John. A couple of guys over at the "mosh" pit (WN) have the same unit. They like it as well....there was some discussion about changing out the gear oil, but I can't tell you any specifics. I'll snoop around and see if I can find the thread.

[JayStPeter]

John,

Nice, that's one of my "high on the list" upgrades. That particular planer is top consideration right now. I just have to save some more pennies because I wan't the byrd head too :eek: .

Jay

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats John! Thanks for the review!

[Ken Garlock]

Hi John. That is a nice looking machine you have there, good purchase :cool: .

I have a couple questions for you. First, did you consider the 20" version?

2) If so, and other than the $500 difference, what made you decide the the 15" machine?

3) Do you think you will ever have to "work around" the 15" width limit?

Congrat's on a fine looking machine. :)

[John Miliunas]

Hi John. That is a nice looking machine you have there, good purchase :cool: .

I have a couple questions for you. First, did you consider the 20" version?

2) If so, and other than the $500 difference, what made you decide the the 15" machine?

3) Do you think you will ever have to "work around" the 15" width limit?

Congrat's on a fine looking machine. :)

Thanks! Ken, yes I did consider the 20" version. First, the $$$ did have an impact on my purchasing decision, but in all reality, that was secondary. My primary reasoning was that a 20"-er would indeed constrain my floor space more than I wanted. Even though both units are "mobile", 90% of all my shop machines are permanent placements and I like it that way. :) The only machine which I need to move to use, is the W&H Molder. I also considered the size of my projects. About the only thing I envision, which would necessitate 15"+ in width out of solid boards would be a dining room table (also on my "honey-do" list!) and final flattening would happen with hand planes, anyway. Other things over 15" would primarily be either, paneled construction or cabinet sides constructed with sheet goods. The only real advantage I could come up with for a 15"+ planer would be the ability to skew narrower boards of "busy" grain for less tearout. My answer to that still remains to save up for a Shelix cutter-head and call it good. In the meantime, the larger boards will necessitate more careful glue-ups for a flatter starting surface and hand planes. If I keep the finished surface pretty even, initial "tweaks" to flattening can be done on the Delta 18/36 drum sander, followed by smoothing planes or scrapers.:) :cool:

[Jay Goddard]

John, nice review. I've been considering the upgrade to a 15" planer for a while. I've been eying the Yorkcraft since I read a pretty good review in a recent WW magazine.

One thing I don't recall if the article reported: Is the outfeed roller steel (smooth/serrated) or urethane?

Of course, I'm most interested in a larger planer for increased capacity as well as the possibility of reducing/eliminating snipe. You mentioned seeing no snipe. Have you been able to produce snipe by taking a heavy cut or planing un-jointed stock?

Also, will you add a digital height accessory?

[John Miliunas]

John, nice review. I've been considering the upgrade to a 15" planer for a while. I've been eying the Yorkcraft since I read a pretty good review in a recent WW magazine.

One thing I don't recall if the article reported: Is the outfeed roller steel (smooth/serrated) or urethane?

Of course, I'm most interested in a larger planer for increased capacity as well as the possibility of reducing/eliminating snipe. You mentioned seeing no snipe. Have you been able to produce snipe by taking a heavy cut or planing un-jointed stock?

Also, will you add a digital height accessory?

Jay, the outfeed roller is finely serrated steel. The stock is pulled through the end of the cut quite nicely. Yes, as a matter of fact, I was able to produce snipe, albeit by virtue of my own stupidity!:o I had jointed a pretty rough piece of Walnut and not payed enough attention to what was really the highest spot on the board and took way, WAY too deep a cut once it got to that part of the board, which was needless to say, at the end of the board. Still, subsequent lighter passes completely eliminated any of the snipe. And no, to date, I have not had occasion to plane anything not face jointed first. I do have a few boards in the 8"+ category, which are too wide for my jointer and, if they're not too twisted, I may try doing the whole process on the planer without first ripping them down to more narrow widths, but such has not been the case so far. I usually try and avoid that type of situation if I can.:) :cool:

[Effie Lever]

Congratulation John, thanks for a great review.

Effie

[Tyler Howell]

Thanks John,

Good review. Looks like I'm going to have to invite myself for another visit.:D

[John Miliunas]

Thanks John,

Good review. Looks like I'm going to have to invite myself for another visit.:D

Well, you might just as well! You've ignored MY invites!:D (JK) I know you've been busy, but please, if you're passing through, you know you're always welcome. Jill & Casey are always asking me about how you're doing! (Yeah...I keep coverin' for 'ya!):) :cool:

[Allen Grimes]

Wow John, that was a great review. I've been on the fence about that planer for a while now, but now I'm sold. I don't have any money to buy it now, but when I do I'll tell'em you sent me. Maybe that will get you a discount on that shellix cutterhead you want.

I do have one question, do you have any experience with the Yorkie 8" jointer? I'm not sure if I want to get that or a Grizzly. I think the Grizzly is cheaper, but I don't remember off-hand.

[JayStPeter]

I do have one question, do you have any experience with the Yorkie 8" jointer? I'm not sure if I want to get that or a Grizzly. I think the Grizzly is cheaper, but I don't remember off-hand.

I hear it's on sale now. It depends on where you live and shipping if it's cheaper than the Grizzly though. Personally, I'd choose between the two based purely on price delivered to my door ... 6 one half dozen the other.

Jay

[John Miliunas]

Wow John, that was a great review. I've been on the fence about that planer for a while now, but now I'm sold. I don't have any money to buy it now, but when I do I'll tell'em you sent me. Maybe that will get you a discount on that shellix cutterhead you want.

I do have one question, do you have any experience with the Yorkie 8" jointer? I'm not sure if I want to get that or a Grizzly. I think the Grizzly is cheaper, but I don't remember off-hand.

Thanks Allen! Can't say for certain on the jointer, as I have the DJ20. BUT, I have indeed heard pretty much nothing but good stuff about the Yorkie and, if it's in the price point you want to stick to, I wouldn't hesitate! :) This, of course, is based on my experiences with Wilke Machinery. I had very little to go on when I bought the planer but, in the past, my dealings with this organization and the quality of tool I received, left little to chance. I remember way back when, in talking to one of the sales reps there about the Yorkcraft line, I point blank asked him regarding the quality. He was very up front with me and said that the fit and finish aren't going to be quite equal that of the Bridgewood line. They still wanted to supply something to directly compete in the lower price point, but would NOT sell something which didn't satisfy what their customers expected out of Wilke! I'd say the man was good to his word!:) In the case of the planer, he said you could easily run identical boards through the BW and the Yorkie planer and never be able to tell the difference between the two. :) Yeah, I know, I must sound like a WM rep but, trust me, I'm not. Just as I can go on ranting about mishaps with other vendors, I like to extole the virtues of those sincerely trying to give us a fair shake.:) :cool:

[Allen Grimes]

Thanks John,

Don't worry, I've been around long enough to know that you're a good guy, I just haven't posted in a while because I have been out of the Woodworking game due to money problems. Soon, those problems should end though so I'm getting ready to start buying up some tools.

EDIT: Thank you too Jay, I think that the Grizzly would be the cheaper one for me.

[Joe Mioux]

Nice...gonna give the fine folks at Byrd a call, John?? ;)

Yea what Chris said!;)

John, I hope you have many plane ol' days with your new Yorkie.

Congrats

JOe

[John Miliunas]

Yea what Chris said!;)

John, I hope you have many plane ol' days with your new Yorkie.

Congrats

JOe

Hey guys, as much as I love my Shelix and, especially since Wilke is also marketing them, I would love to do nothing more! But alas, I need for the money tree to bear some more "fruit"!:D For right now, I'm really quite happy with it "as is" plus, let's not forget that Tom did throw in that extra set of blades, so I'm good to go for a while!:) :cool:

[Jim Hinze]

Great review. Towards the end of the year I'm looking to upgrade to an 8" jointer and I'd like to get a 15" planer, as my lunchbox DW733 is a bit loud for me.

I'm going to have to put the yorkcraft on the short list...

Thanks agian for the review!

[Dan Forman]

John---Nice aquisition. Just what the Dr ordered for your rehab. Have fun with it.

Dan

[larry merlau]

john goes and gets another tool :( but hey at least he got a good one and from a great vendor. glad its working well for ya john. i will have to check out that foam rubber trick on one to see if it helps. those chips do affect the finish some huh. tyler you had better start making plans to see the great one from spring green before he gets to specail for us peasents :D

[John Miliunas]

And more "thanks" to you guys! Yeah, I'm quite happy with it.

Jim H., whether it's the Yorkie or a similar one, if you're looking for something a bit quieter, the bigger floor units will be a big help AND give you a lot more power, to boot.

Dan, "rehab" is right!!! First pieces went through the puppy with a real fresh brace on my hand/arm!:D Didn't feel a thing!:)

Larry, Larry, Larry....What am I gonna' do with you? I will never be too *special* for anyone here at SMC! Fact is, I really DO feel special to be in the presence of so many skilled, talented and, above all, plain old great human beings! Kinda' restores my confidence in society or, at least, that segment of society, which has elected to partake in woodworking!:D Thanks again, folks!:) :cool:

[Jay Goddard]

John,

I’m almost ready to place my name on the order list! Just one more question:

My understanding is that with the larger planers the infeed or outfeed serrated rollers will leave impressions in the wood when taking very light cuts. So, have you had a chance to take some very light passes with the planer (hardwood or softwood)? How did it look? Really, how light of a pass can you take before the feed roller marks start showing up?

I can only assume that this problem will show up with any planer with serrated rollers. I'm just curious as to what I can expect with the Yorkcraft.

[John Miliunas]

John,

I’m almost ready to place my name on the order list! Just one more question:

My understanding is that with the larger planers the infeed or outfeed serrated rollers will leave impressions in the wood when taking very light cuts. So, have you had a chance to take some very light passes with the planer (hardwood or softwood)? How did it look? Really, how light of a pass can you take before the feed roller marks start showing up?

I can only assume that this problem will show up with any planer with serrated rollers. I'm just curious as to what I can expect with the Yorkcraft.

Jay, what you speak of is true but, much of that also depends on the wood. I took some extremely light cuts on some BE Maple and the impressions were virtually undetectable, though I had not yet tried wiping any mineral spirits or such on it. Those passes were right about 1/64th, at best. I also took some light passes on the Black Walnut I was prepping and again, hardly even detectable. I'd venture to say that would not be quite the case with softer woods, but that's only speculation, as I've not done any yet. In either case, we must ultimately remember that the function of a thickness planer is NOT to have your material ready to accept finish. You would still need to process that by whatever your preferred method is or allows for. BTW, on the Yorkie (and most probably any of the larger planers) you can also adjust the pressure of either feed rollers. FWIW, I've not found that to be necessary, though YMMV.:) :cool:

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Hey buddy! Congrats on the planer! Just one more reason that I need to get back out to your place!!

Maybe next weekend ;)

p.s. Log onto AOL sometime :)

[Dave Malen]

John,
Very nice score. Would love to have one of those myself - but I'd never get that down to my basement shop without killing myself.

Dave

[Nathan Barnard]

Matt, I am considering a 15" model, but am concerned with them being underpowered with only 3hp. How does your 20" handle near full-width passes at 1/8" on maple? Are you straining the motor? I want to be able to hog off as much material as possible per pass and then take a light pass at the end. 15" width is sufficient, but I don't know about 3hp. Also, how long do you find the knives stay sharp for? Wish you had spiral carbide?

P.S. I build kitchen doors and currently have a portable 12 1/2".

Cheers, Nathan


Nice review. I have the 20" version and I'm just as pleased. Unlike you, I tend to hog off the full 1/8" until the last pass and it handles 20" of hard maple and hackleberry (related to elm) without any trouble.

I'm not sure if that will translate to the 15" model. Mine does have a larger motor but it also wider knives to turn.

[keith ouellette]

Is this the one your talking about. This was a very old thread but I was interested when it came up because I had one.

It was my understanding york craft was no longer being sold new. I had a very bad costumer service experience with wilke and a jointer that was no good.

As far as the planer goes it does work. It is not under powered as far as I can tell but I have not planed 1/8" off a 20" wide board. Mine had a harmonic vibration that has let off a little now that everything has settled.

By a Grizzly. Same thing with better internal parts.

[John Miliunas]

Matt, I am considering a 15" model, but am concerned with them being underpowered with only 3hp. How does your 20" handle near full-width passes at 1/8" on maple? Are you straining the motor? I want to be able to hog off as much material as possible per pass and then take a light pass at the end. 15" width is sufficient, but I don't know about 3hp. Also, how long do you find the knives stay sharp for? Wish you had spiral carbide?

P.S. I build kitchen doors and currently have a portable 12 1/2".

Cheers, Nathan

Nathan, WOW...What a "blast from the past" on this thread!!! So much so that, if you try to find a new "Yorkie", you may have problems. Seems that Wilke Machinery no longer deals WW equipment, per se!!! :(

However, whether you chose any other brand, 15 or 20" and can swing it, I highy, HIGHLY recomend getting a Shelix head for it!!! Still saving to put one on my 15" Yorkie! Powermatic now has a 15" they're offering with the Shelix on it. Oh, and be sure that, if you do get a helical head, it's a *genuine* Byrd unit! The design of the head and cutters is better than the knock-offs out there! :)

[Al Willits]

John, you get the fancy head for that planer and haven't used the spare set of knifes you got, I know someone who could use them.

Also looking in the griz catalog their 15" planer looks exactly like the york, like to know what changes they made?

Al...who's still happy with his york 8" joiner and 15" planer

[John Miliunas]

John, you get the fancy head for that planer and haven't used the spare set of knifes you got, I know someone who could use them.

Also looking in the griz catalog their 15" planer looks exactly like the york, like to know what changes they made?

Al...who's still happy with his york 8" joiner and 15" planer


Al, I get that fancy-dancy head and the knives are YOURS, my friend!!! :) Got that head on my DJ-20 a few years ago and haven't looked back! :D :cool:

[Al Willits]

Thanks...maybe I see a Creeker visit coming up?? :D

Al...who might as well go to John's on the way to finding Karl's place..:D

ps...if ya do let us know how much difference between the two, I thought the York did very well with standard blades

[John Miliunas]

Thanks...maybe I see a Creeker visit coming up?? :D

Al...who might as well go to John's on the way to finding Karl's place..:D

ps...if ya do let us know how much difference between the two, I thought the York did very well with standard blades

Not sure how soon that might happen, Al BUT, you are STILL welcome to visit ANY time!!! :) Oh, and Karl's hacienda is just barely an hour from my humble abode! :) :cool:

[Joe Mioux]

John, where have you been hiding?

It seems you haven't posted in what, 8 months?

Good to see you pop up

Joe

[John Miliunas]

John, where have you been hiding?

It seems you haven't posted in what, 8 months?

Good to see you pop up

Joe

Yeah, well I figure I was about "due"!!! :D LOTS of stuff going on, not the least of which has been "life". Busy with both jobs, too!

Thanks! I still check it out as time permits! (In between installations right now...) :) :cool: