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Thread: Restoring Powermatic 100 vs 180 Planer

  1. #1

    Restoring Powermatic 100 vs 180 Planer

    Hi all, over the last couple years I have been slowly getting into woodworking as a hobby and have been accumulating older tools as time/money allows.

    A year ago I set out searching for a planer (envisioning a cheap lunchbox) but ended up being able to get a great deal on an old Powermatic PM100 planer. I have been very pleased with it, as other than cosmetic appearance it has worked great. This winter when I have time I've been considering tearing it down and restoring it, and possibly putting in a helical head. Am I crazy to consider investing a bunch of time and the cost of a helical head (~$835) on a 12" planer? The 12" planer will likely do most of what I'll ever do as a hobbyist, but I do wonder if I'll want a bigger planer at some point. I have plenty of room in my shop, but as this is just a hobby of course I'm budget conscious.

    Instead of restoring the PM100 I've toyed with the idea of waiting to find a deal someday on a old Powermatic 180 for the additional capacity. I'm also intrigued by the variable speed feed on the PM180 which seems like it might be nice to have. I'm curious as to everybody's perspectives and ideas what you would do in your shop - commit to the PM100 and restore it, or hold out for a bigger planer?

    Thanks in advance!
    Last edited by Evan Seiwert; 09-22-2020 at 8:22 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Lancaster, CA
    Posts
    49
    Hello. I'm also relatively knew to the forum, and I recently purchased a 1950's era Powermatic 16" planer (E-16) and have just started to restore it. Search by my username and look for a rust-removal question/thread to see some pictures of it.

    My vote would be...if it's just a hobby for now and if you're budget conscious in that you have other things that you'd like to spend your money on, I'd say work on what you have. These older planers should hold their value or likely increase as they get more and more rare, especially if they're taken care of. If you get tired of your 12" and want to upgrade, just take of it and then sell it when you're ready. Don't let the cost of the head dissuade you from upgrading a 12" planer with it... probably 99% of everything you put through that planer will be less than 12". Further, a Shelix head for a PM180 18" planer is around $1500 instead of $835 when you're trying to be budget conscious. I put a shelix head in a lunchbox/dewalt planer and it was worth every penny. Head was just as much as the planer, and I can feed the wood in any direction I please and not have to worry about sharpening or replacing blades. The super tiny scallops it leaves because of the skewed&curved segmented insert cuts are barely noticeable and come right out with minimal sanding, which you'd probably do anyway in the finishing process.

    How big is your jointer? Probably 12" or less, right? That would be my only caveat. As long as your planer is at least as big as your jointer, you should be in good shape for a 1-person hobby. Works for me, and i'm getting more 'serious.' Almost done acquiring a rebuilt 16" jointer (rebuild is almost done, pro doing it) and now I have a 16" planer to go with it. Reasons to get a bigger planer than your jointer are speed in feeding multiple pieces at once for large milling jobs or for cleaning up larger panel glue-ups...if the panel was bowed though you'd still need to put it over a suitably sized jointer again anyway to get the piece flat again. I plan to take great care of my machines and then sell them when I'm ready to upsize.

    My two cents.

    -Devin

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Phoenix AZ Area
    Posts
    2,505
    I have a Powermatic 100 that I purchased new in 1990 for the shocking sum of $2100. At that time lunchbox planers were not a thing. About 10 years ago I put a Byrd head in and I could not be happier. I have never planed glue ups and 12" has never been an issue for me.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Central WI
    Posts
    5,666
    The 180 takes up a lot of room for the extra 6". For me it isn't so much width as the build to pull heavy 12/4 through a 2-3 hp planer where the feed rollers run off the head motor. If you like old and want a small footprint, the Oliver 399 with a 5 hp motor isn't much larger than the 100 + 6". Dave

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    New England, in a town on the way to nowhere
    Posts
    537
    I own all three of the planers mentioned, and believe it or nuts, the PM 100 is my favorite and most used- easy to use, small footprint, easy to maintain and it cuts very smoothly once set up. Compared to the machines offered today, an industrial machine- the little planer that can. Since I break down my stock before machining, the 5 x 12 capacity is 99 percent of the time plenty.
    Yes, helical heads are pricey and have their downsides (I don't have one on any of my machines), but many people who don't wish to set knives love them.
    The PM 180 is a good machine also, heavy duty, but it does take up some real estate. Its why I got the 399, but it needs to be rebuilt.
    In the meantime, the 100 keeps planing along......

  6. #6
    I have a PM 100 and have never found the 12 inch width to be a significant limitation. I can only dream of a shop with room for a bigger planer, but if I ever get one, I would use that extra real estate for something else. I kept the original cutterhead on mine but replaced the knives with the ESTA/"Dispozablade" self-setting straight knife system, which works pretty well and costs a few hundred bucks.
    Last edited by David Stone (CT); 09-24-2020 at 2:55 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Porter,TX
    Posts
    1,517
    I also have the dark green 100 and have to say never have I look for anything else,but maybe its cause I also have a 12" jointer. To me what is a planer without a jointer. Unless your starting off with S2S, I just don't see how you can get any better than a vintage PM equipment

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