Added To The Shop

[Mike Hollis]

Took advantage of the current 15% off on Powermatic and purchased the 15” helical head planer. A dust collector is not in the current budget so does anyone have any tips to minimize the mess until I can afford a DC?

Any tips and tricks for the planer that I need to know?

Thanks

[Richard Verwoest]

No DC, only plane a board 1" wide, and keep the broom handy. But seriously, even the cheap HF DC is better than nothing.

Richard

[Matt Day]

Tune the planer. Get a dial indicator setup to check the knife alignment. Check extensions, etc. go through the manual.

You really need a dC on it unless you’re okay with shavings flying all over and making a pile. In the mean time, attach something like a sheet of heavy plastic or pond liner to deflect the shavings downward, but allows the board to pass.

[Keith Outten]

I did that once, the dust filled the air in 5 seconds and it was impossible to breathe. Unplugged the planer and went in the house and ordered a dust collector

[Zachary Hoyt]

I have an old 15" 4 post planer and a DeWalt 733, and no dust collection on either. I have a full sheet of OSB laid behind each one, and 90% of the shavings go on the boards and are easy to sweep or shovel up. Maybe a helical head would make more fine dust, I don't know, but with the straight knives it's not too bad. I do have a couple of small cheap dust collectors but they would fill up with shavings every 2 or 3 boards, and since the planers are in an outbuilding and not in the main shop I don't mind the mess too much.

[Andrew Hughes]

Your going to need chip/dust collection. The chips will cycle around the head the outfeed roller will press them into freshly planed board. Not all of them but some enough to mess up your enthusiasm for the machine.
I have that one pm15 hh.
Good Luck

[Rich Aldrich]

I have a Powermatic 209HH. The only issue I have had with denting wood through the planer is when I plane pine. The pitch tends to make particles stick to the feed and bed rollers. My dust collector is a Clearvue 1800 CV.

[Eric Anderson]

Congratulations on your acquisition of the Powermatic 15HH. I've had this planer for many years now, and have absolutely nothing negative to say about it. Its a wonderful piece of equipment. Now that said, it can bury someone in chips in a few minutes. If I'm really processing wood, I can fill a large DC bag in a few hours. I could not imagine not using this unit without DC. The chip collection with this unit is real good. I have an older 1.5 HP delta DC, and when I'm done planing, I have a few chips here and there, but easily get 98% of chips or more to the DC. Have fun and enjoy your new toy, I know you will be glad you made this purchase.

[Tom M King]

Years ago, before I had any kind of DC, I'd leave a sheet of plywood on the floor behind the planer. Any time a board came out of it, most of the shavings would be on top of the board. I'd tilt the board over on edge, and dump the shavings on the plywood. When it got piled high enough not to spill over, I'd drag it outside, dump the plywood, and put it back in place.

[John TenEyck]

When I had my 10" Inca, and not much else, I used my shop vac as a dust collector. It worked surprisingly well as long as I took light cuts and I used it that way for several years w/o problems except with maple which always jammed up. Two shop vacs on a 15" planer might work.

John

[Mike Hollis]

Thanks for the input all. Looks like I will be able to free up some cash by the end of the month to purchase a DC. Trying to decide between the PM2200, Laguna P3, or a CV 1800LH.

HEPA filtration is a must. Moving the shop from the basement to the recently added on 3 car garage (26’ x 36’). Will need till the end of the month to get everything moved anyhow.

Would appreciate any input y’all have on the 3 models mentioned above, or one I haven’t thought of.

[glenn bradley]

No DC, only plane a board 1" wide, and keep the broom handy. But seriously, even the cheap HF DC is better than nothing.

Richard

I'm afraid this may be correct. The DC should have come first ;-) Oh well, a great tool but a chip creating monster if anything of size is milled down. Roll it outside maybe?

[Andy D Jones]

I recommend you add the Oneida V3000 to your list to consider. It and the CV have more effective long-cone cyclone separators than the Laguna or PM, so less dust ends up in the filter.

Both Oneida and CV are made in USA.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[David Buchhauser]

I'm afraid this may be correct. The DC should have come first ;-) Oh well, a great tool but a chip creating monster if anything of size is milled down. Roll it outside maybe?

Yes. Roll it outside and wear a good respirator. You could do this for some occasional use until you buy your dust collector.
David

[Charles Taylor]

Yes. Roll it outside and wear a good respirator. You could do this for some occasional use until you buy your dust collector.
David

That's what I did, or at least aimed the exhaust toward the door, when I first had a planer and no DC.