Interesting power planer

[Gene Takae]

I'll let the video speak for it's self.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plByNDFwlOk

[Derek Arita]

Wow! Pretty freaking amazing machine. Seems like such an easy concept. That said, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to set this machine up properly and maintain such a precise cut. Also, I have trouble keeping my plane blades sharp. What would it take to keep that blade sharp enough to do what it shows?
One question...with all that precision, why doesn't the board out feed flat to the table? Seems like it should...I'm just sayin...

[Peter Kelly]

Hitachi and Ryobi use to make smaller super surfacers with the knife mounted on the top, worth picking up if you see a used one for sale with the knife grinder. I believe Makita, Shinx and Marunaka now make these for use with disposable blades that actually last a lot longer than the resharpen-able type.

More on super surfacers: http://thecarpentryway.blogspot.com/2014/03/riddle-of-shinx.html

[Al Launier]

So many ???'s.

[Peter Kelly]

Wow! Pretty freaking amazing machine. Seems like such an easy concept. That said, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to set this machine up properly and maintain such a precise cut. Also, I have trouble keeping my plane blades sharp. What would it take to keep that blade sharp enough to do what it shows?
One question...with all that precision, why doesn't the board out feed flat to the table? Seems like it should...I'm just sayin...The machine isn't really intended for dimensioning or straightening stock, just for a finishing pass. Would be similar to trying to make a board straight with a widebelt instead of a jointer.

[Ben Rivel]

Ha, I almost posted that a couple days ago. Crazy machine. Very cool.

[Mel Fulks]

Is that a planer ...or a paper towel machine? Stewie kindly sent me some info on that. Amazing gizmo.

[John Blazy]

The demo is only showing straight grained softwoods, or really easily planed figure. The closeup pics even show tearout in the softer springwood between the rings. I would imagine that it would do great on poplar as well, but the tearout on ribbon stripe figure would be horid. The cleanliness of the lumber going into this would have to be insane, as normal shop dust would dull the blade rather easily, not to mention the silica in some woods that would dull it immediately. The genius is the angle you can set for the shearing type of cut needed for clean shavings. I must be missing something, because due to what I mentioned, I would never see a need for it that a good benchtop planer couldn't do.

What happens when the rubber belt gets coated with dust, grips less, and then the knife hits a knot, stops the board, and the rubber belt can't push the board due to the dust?

I was fully expecting a rotating cutter like you see in meat slicers, or some ingenious variation. Not expecting a stationary blade.

[Bradley Gray]

The Makita was pretty nice. These are very specialized - more like a 320 grit wide belt than a planer.

I remember hearing back in the 70's that they were being used on incense cedar just to make shavings!

[Rob Luter]

You can do that by hand.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=JrmCyADNhe0

[Robert Baker36]

I was mesmerized!

[Ron Kellison]

A couple of these traded hands up here in Ottawa about 2 years ago. I know they were in perfect adjustment because the owner demonstrated them for me. I think they moved for about $2,500 (C$) each and the owner definitely sold them at a loss. They ARE designed for softwood e.g., surfacing temple timbers until they gleam. I seriously doubt they would deliver the same results on a piece of birds-eye maple or rowed mahogany.

[Mark Hennebury]

A couple of these traded hands up here in Ottawa about 2 years ago. I know they were in perfect adjustment because the owner demonstrated them for me. I think they moved for about $2,500 (C$) each and the owner definitely sold them at a loss. They ARE designed for softwood e.g., surfacing temple timbers until they gleam. I seriously doubt they would deliver the same results on a piece of birds-eye maple or rowed mahogany.

Just in case anyone still suffers from these misconceptions.

The facts;

Supersurfacers can cut both hardwoods and softwoods.
Supersurfacers can cut knots without chipping the knife.
Supersurfacers do not leave tearout.
Supersurfacers can cut the grain in either direction and some have two knives and cut both on the forward and return stroke.
You can get carbide knives for abrasive woods.
You can get disposable knives.
The first photo is the blade shear setting recommendations from a Marunaka supersurfacer.
The second photo is of a variety of woods that i surfaced.
The next two photos are of Birdseye Maple, Curly Maple and Baked Maple surfaced on a supersurfacer, they are samples for a flooring company.
The fifth photo is just a piece of cherry, the sixth photo is just me playing around to see how fine of a shaving i could take.
the last photo is a top and bottom cutting machine that i rebuilt.



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[Lincoln Brown]

Japanese woodworker 'Ishitani', on YouTube, uses one in his shop. From memory it's a Hitachi, but I could be wrong. Amazing piece of gear.

[Mark Hennebury]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaClhzlpc_0

[Bradley Gray]

Wow, I want one. That looks so much better than the whole sanding schedule and much more pleasant to do.