Powermatic 209HH Planer, what to expect?

[kevin nee]

Hello, I am in a Woodworking Guild that has recently ordered a Powermatic 209HH Planer. I will be picking it up for them in a pick up truck at a local Woodcraft. They can load me with a forklift. Has anyone here ordered this machine. What can I expect for a crate size. It will be going into a ground level shop with wide doors. I am assuming there will be some assembly in & out feed tables, height adjusting wheel, plug etc. I would like a little heads up on what to expect. How long did it take to get it set up once it is in place.
Thanks in advance, Kevin

[Travis Conner]

I think you have to put the cast iron infeed/outfeed tables on and level/align them but I think that's it. Mine was bought used, but I have a buddy that bought the same style 4 post planer and I think that's all he had to do. Now of course the tables are like 50 pounds each though so you may need a helper.

[Alex Zeller]

I can't help you with your questions but I would love it if you could document your experience. I'm looking at adding a 20" planer. It's really down to the Grizzly 1033X or the Powermatic 209 (without the Byrd head but add it down the road). That 10% off sale made the Powermatic real tempting but there's well over a foot of snow and ice in the way so getting it in my shop isn't possible for at least a month. Being 900 lbs it'll be a beast to move. I have an engine lift that I think will work well with a leveler but, like you, until I try I don't know.

[Rich Aldrich]

Expect it to be heavy. The lifting rods are a good feature.

I just bought a used Powermatic 209HH with an electronic thickness gage We loaded it in a uhaul by lifting (tipping) one side at a time and sliding 3-1/2” square x 44” long timber’s under it. It took 4 layers. The last layer was put under the casters and we rolled it in the trailer. Then I hauled it 550 miles, just strapped down.

To unload it, I had to widen out the are due to the crap ton of snow we got this winter. We put a piece of plywood in front of the door. The built a ramp with 3/4 plywood and put the cribbing timbers under the plywood to support it.

The infeed and outfeed tables had to br removed and it had to go through the door sideways to the built in rollers. I put a 2x4 -48” long under both ends and screwed 2x4s on edge sound the perimeter. I had a UHMW polyurethane strip 2-1/2 wide x 1-1/4 thick. I cut it in half and rounded the ends like skis. We put these under the 2 x 4s and screwed them to the wood. It took less than 2 minutes to slide it into the shop.

I removed the tables alone but had help putting them back on. I haven’t had to make any adjustments yet.

I was going to go with the Grizzly but this one just “fell into my lap” so to speak. I wasn’t in a hurry but it came along. It’s in really nice shape. I will post pictures in a separate post next week.

[Jim Andrew]

You would be better off to pick it up with a tilt bed lawn mower trailer. That way you can back it into the shop, tilt the trailer, and slide it off the trailer onto the floor. Otherwise, you need a forklift or other lifting device to unload it. Those things are heavy.

[Rich Aldrich]

This is the manual for the planer. http://content.powermatic.com/assets...296_man_EN.pdf

[Mel Fulks]

I've used a number of Powermatic planers and like them. Like most planers they are sold with the cheapest low grade
knives. Before you decide you must buy whole new head, buy a set of M2 or T1 knives from a reputable suplier.

[Mike Kees]

Hey Rich, glad you found a good deal on a used machine. I second Mel's advice on buying a good set of knives. I get 18 % tungsten which are the T1 ones (I think). There is no comparison the good knives hold an edge about three times longer.

[kevin nee]

Hello, I picked up the NEW Powermatic 209HH Thickness Planer Yesterday. In the crate it was 901 lbs. I rented a motorcycle trailer at U-Haul $14.99 a day. They loaded it quite easily onto a trailer at Woodcraft. I got to the shop and with the help of a couple guys we got it off the trailer using bars pipes under the crate to roll it into the shop. Only one 5 inch step. It was well crated and all parts were in bags or cardboard boxes. Everything was covered with a protective oil from the factory. We used mineral spirits to clean the oil off off the bed, bed rollers.the cast iron extensions were in separate boxes and needed to be installed and leveled. There are set screws that make this a relatively easy although a little time consuming.it came with no cord or plug. Had to wire it from the on off switch to the wall outlet. The bottom rollers came adjusted at about 3 thousandths as spec. Checked the oil in the gear box, it came with oil in it.
Plugged it in sounded good. When we ran a board thru a very smooth finish was achieved. There was still some oil on the cutter head and table rollers. Cleaned everything again and ran more wood thru using every inch of the table and cutter head. Cleaned again. They like oil at he factory! I will run some more wood thru today and clean a little more. Then it will be done. A days work for years of access to a 20 inch Helical Head Planer is worth it.