Tool gloat

[Bryan Somers]

At least a new to me gloat. Picked up a used Delta 22-540 12" lunchbox planer last Sunday and finally today got to give a test drive.

56855

This is my first planer so I was not sure what to expect but I was very pleased with the results. I had some cypress still around and ran a couple of pieces through. The finish was better than I expected.

56856

I'm the 3rd owner and it looks like this planer was well cared for and seams to have some good years left in it. The best part just $75.00 with a new set of knives still in the package.
Now I've just got to find the LOML's bird magazine because there's a bird feeder in there she wants me to build for her.

[glenn bradley]

Very cool and a great price. Here birdie, birdie, birdie . . .

[Eric Shields]

Bryan,

I have been "loaned" that very same planer from my FIL. Though I feel the loan is on a pretty perminant basis. Mine has seen plenty of BF prior to my use, but as with you it is/was my first planer and I've had no complaints. Shop Notes did a Planer Tune-Up article (vol16 issue 91) in their latest release. It's on my "things to do list." Hope you enjoy it, it may be top of the line, but it does the job.

Eric

[Jim Becker]

Great deal on that planer, Bryan...you'll enjoy having it in the shop.

One thing that can seriously improve your enjoyment of the 22-540 is to make a long and continuous infeed-outfeed surface...make it so it goes all the way through the machine. Yes, you lose a little total height, but you reduce the chance of snipe given the 540 doesn't have a cutter head lock.

[Joe Mioux]

Bryan:
Congrats on the new-to-you planer, it will serve you well. Those lunchbox planers are really very good at dimensioning and leaving the surface smooth.

Joe

[Don Bullock]

Congratulations on your new planer. That's something I need to find. At $75 I could even afford it right now.

[Jim Stastny]

It is a good deal. I got mine from a BIL. In the couple of years of having it I've run hundred of board feet through it and have no complaints.

[Laurie Brown]

I have the same planer (I paid a lot more for it on Ebay), and I made a long bed for it from one long piece of MDF that goes all the way through the machine, with blocks on each end to just slightly elevate the ends. I cleaned and lubed the whole thing when I first got it and put new blades in it and it works great. Throws a LOT of chips, though. ;) Makes good rabbit bedding.

[David G Baker]

Bryan,
I have the same planer and I also got it used. The former owner installed a long piece of Corian to act as the feed bed. I clean it once in a while and add some Minwax paste wax and it works great.
David B

[Bryan Somers]

I like the idea of a longer piece through the machine for extra infeed/ outfeed support

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I also have this planer for many years. The model you have is the initial revision of this model with the removable outfeed tables.

When Delta first came out with a benchtop planer, the only other choices at the time were a Ryobi 10" planer and a Makita 12" planer. When I ordered my Delta, it was so new that I was put on a waiting list. I paid around $420 back in the early 1990s via The Tool Crib (mailorder).

It's a very good machine and has proven itself reliable. It does snipe as it does not have a cutterhead lock. Also, when the blades get dull, the height adjustment crank will want to rotate and change height setting.

I'm not sure if Delta still offers an optional dust hood. Their hood was quite pricey so I made my own by modifiying the existing dust chute.

-Jeff :)

[Alfred Clem]

I bought my identical machine about eight years ago. It has given very good service, other than its tendency to snipe. Like others, mine has the removable infeed-outfeed attachments. These should be replaced by adding longer flat surfaces, as cited by other owners. This greatly minimizes any tendency to snipe.

Be particularly aware that feeding it short pieces of wood (less than 12 - 16" long) can be very dangerous. They can be kicked back with great force. The planer seems to work best when material is fed into it at a slight angle. Keep the infeed rollers clean, otherwise the machine seems cranky and won't feed properly. I made a big mistake once upon a time by trying to remove old varnish from some wood. This gummed up the works, and I had to disassemble it to clean all its innards. The machine can be very noisy, so wear ear protection.

As to the price you paid, you got a great tool at a bargain price.

[William Hamilton]

great info here... I picked up the same model a few months back for $100. I installed new knives and gave it a test run and it was having trouble feeding. I will have to try cleaning the rollers and also cleaning and waxing the bed... new infeed will have to wait a bit...

[Frank Guerin]

I have that same planer. I made a long in feed and out feed table for it but still give a little uplift on the board when entering or exiting and have found minimum snipe. Because I'm poor and cheap I still have no chip collection for it and it continues to work.

[Bobby O'Neal]

Sweet. This will really expand your options.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I own two of those machines. One with the removable tables. Bought new in 1995, for about $400. Bought a second a couple years ago, used for $75. HD got rid of the blades for this machine, at $5 a set. I bought all I could find, as I also have a couple of friends who has the same machine. Despite owning a Delta 15", and a Rockwell 13" , I still use these planers a lot. Loud, snipes, but leaves an excellent finish. The handles are worthless for picking up machine. I found myself picking machine up by edges of the top. To make it more comfortable to do, I split a couple of pieces of garden hose and put them on the edges of the top. They are held in place by a couple zip ties. I made my own chip collection chute for one machine and have the Delta version on the other.

[Larry Edgerton]

I am on my third one of those, or is it the fourth? Not sure. I like them.

I had two when I first started out and would run them in tandem, putting the faster one in the back with a board in between them to keep them apart. You have no Idea what loud is to you have two of those things planing at the same time! Must have been 130 Db!

I still use on on site on occasion, and I use it to clean up beams when doing post and beam work. I'll put the beam on three horses and start the planer on the end of the beam, and then move the horses so that the planer goes down the beam instead of the beam going through the planer. I catch it when it comes off the end, rotate the beam and do it again.

They are tough little buggers, and nice and light compared to some of the newer ones, and at that price you made a good score. New knives are about 25 bucks give or take.

[Larry Edgerton]

The handles are worthless for picking up machine. I found myself picking machine up by edges of the top. To make it more comfortable to do, I split a couple of pieces of garden hose and put them on the edges of the top. They are held in place by a couple zip ties. I made my own chip collection chute for one machine and have the Delta version on the other.

You are absolutely right! The first one had usable handles but after that they were too hard. I like your hose idea, I am going to steal it!