Craftsman (Parks) Planer Model 112.23490

[Ron Hampe]

Planer is in very good unrestored condition and I am trying to decide if it's worth installing a shelix head in it.

[Mike Kees]

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.

[Richard Coers]

Do you mill a high percentage of highly figured wood and hard abrasive exotic species? I get the feeling a lot of shelix heads are sold because it's trendy. That machine has gone it's whole life without a shelix, and I am getting really close to 50 years of woodworking without a shelix head, so 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. If it's because you don't like to change blades, I consider that a required skill to being a woodworker. I can't even count the number of blades I've changed, even done it for others. It simply requires the same patience that all woodworking takes. I guess if I ran a one man professional shop I would consider it for time savings and knife life. But then again I would have a much different machine if I intended to make a living on it.

[Ron Selzer]

Planer is in very good unrestored condition and I am trying to decide if it's worth installing a shelix head in it.


Definitely a well cared for machine
I am still running straight knives on my planers and jointers. I will switch over to segmented knives when/if I get a new planer or jointer due to noise issue. My shop is in the basement and only thing my wife complains about is the noise generated when I settle in and plane some wood (50 bdft or more) as i prefer to do this until the dust collector is full and then maybe fill it again in one session.
You have to decide if noise, cost, keeping up with the trendy ones, balances out against the cost and labor of changing over. I don't see the need on what I have. However I don't have a nice planer like yours. Yours looks like where I would end up not where I am at now.
Ron

[Mark Gibney]

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.

[glenn bradley]

Do you mill a high percentage of highly figured wood and hard abrasive exotic species? I get the feeling a lot of shelix heads are sold because it's trendy.

I think Richard is on to something. What is the drive toward a segmented head? I was wasting a lot of figured material. Having to start from scratch because the jointer took a large tearout on the piece I had already selected happened more than it should. The nature of what I work on and how I work it made a good case for segment heads for me. They also pay for themselves rather quickly if you are a regular user. That math is pretty much common knowledge by now but you can find articles about that in several periodicals.

That machine appears to have been well cared for. I would be tempted to get the knives sharpened and see how it does unless the compelling reason for an insert head is already known. If knives work for you, buy a second set and do not be sluggish in swapping to a sharp set and sending the dull ones out when required. The cost of an aftermarket head can buy a lot of things; this is coming from a user and a fan. If the need for an insert head is absolute, the folks at Holbren and other suppliers can help you with a fit.

[Bill Dufour]

Check the bearings on the bedrollers mine were worn out and sloppy. Easy fix if you have the tools. As is that is a huge step up from a lunch box planer with an insert head. It has a real chipbreaker etc. There is a fine woodworking article online of how to tune a planer that uses that exact model as the demonstrater. Not designed for dust collection but easier to adapt then a four post type planer.
Bill D.
PS: I had mine for years until I realize d the bolt on the infeed cover is not a knob. It is a critical adjustment.

[Mel Fulks]

I would try some high grade straight knives. REAL M2, or T1. Most planers come new with the cheapest knives.
Good knives greatly reduce tear-out.

[Richard Coers]

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.

[Ron Hampe]

I agree and beyond any needed maintenance I don't plan on "restoring" it.

[Ron Hampe]

Other than running one board thru it before I bought it in March, I have not reassembled it. There was a crack in the base and I took the motor out to reinforce it and inspect the rest of the base.

[Ron Hampe]

I would try some high grade straight knives. REAL M2, or T1. Most planers come new with the cheapest knives.
Good knives greatly reduce tear-out.

Thanks I will look into those.

[Ron Hampe]

Check the bearings on the bedrollers mine were worn out and sloppy. Easy fix if you have the tools. As is that is a huge step up from a lunch box planer with an insert head. It has a real chipbreaker etc. There is a fine woodworking article online of how to tune a planer that uses that exact model as the demonstrater. Not designed for dust collection but easier to adapt then a four post type planer.
Bill D.
PS: I had mine for years until I realize d the bolt on the infeed cover is not a knob. It is a critical adjustment.

My workhorse is an Oliver 399. I also have a Belsaw that I bought new from Sears 40 years ago and the Dewalt that I will likely sell and a W&H model W7 that I'm debating whether or not I want to keep.

[Ron Hampe]

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.

Thanks, I'll give that a try the next time these need sharpened.

[Ron Hampe]

Check the bearings on the bedrollers mine were worn out and sloppy. Easy fix if you have the tools. As is that is a huge step up from a lunch box planer with an insert head. It has a real chipbreaker etc. There is a fine woodworking article online of how to tune a planer that uses that exact model as the demonstrater. Not designed for dust collection but easier to adapt then a four post type planer.
Bill D.
PS: I had mine for years until I realize d the bolt on the infeed cover is not a knob. It is a critical adjustment.

I'll check those when I go over it. My friend installed a black plastic dust collection port on it that fits nicely, but I have no idea where he got it. I'll post a picture of it when we get home later today.

[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.