20" shop fox vs 25" oliver planer

[Mitch schiffer]

I just got in my new oliver 25" 4470 planer in. I am replacing a 20" shopfox w1864. Im considering making a comparison video for YouTube. Would anyone be interested in this? I had a hard time finding much on the 25" 2 post planers over the 20" 4 post. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the oliver the fit and finish is nice and it seems very well put together. They even included the quality control sheet with the tolerances of my exact machine hand written out. There was also some chips on the machine indicating that it was actually used prior to being shipped out. The shopfox is a good planer but the oliver is on a completely different scale in comparison. I know this isn't a apples to apples comparison but if you are looking to upgrade from a typical 20" 4 post planer the next models up are the 22" and 25" 2 post models. The oliver is the only 25" planer I could find that was available in single phase.20220211_203743.jpg20220211_195433.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Wow...that is a beast!!! 'Looking forward to your commentary for sure.

[Mike Kees]

Yes do a comparison for the 'tube'. What are the internals like ? Segmented infeed rollers ? Segmented chip breaker ?

[Mitch schiffer]

I think I will do the video but I'm going to wait till I have usedit enough to have a good idea of functionality. Mike i have attached a few pictures of the inside of the machine. It does have a segmented indeed and chip breaker, is also have 2 outfeed rollers, and quick adjust bed rollers as well.
20220212_123625.jpg
20220212_123635.jpg
20220212_123648.jpg
20220212_123657.jpg

[Mike Kees]

Looks a lot like my 20'' Cantek. Mine only has a single urethane outfeed roller though. That is a real nice looking machine ,hope you enjoy it for a long time.

[Mitch schiffer]

Looks a lot like my 20'' Cantek. Mine only has a single urethane outfeed roller though. That is a real nice looking machine ,hope you enjoy it for a long time.

Do you like the cantek? I looked at them but they didn't have a 25" single phase. Im looking at possibly buying a cantek dovetail machine in the future. I was leary since the cost is lower then the rest.

[Mike Kees]

Yeah it is an bombproof basic machine. Mine is the P20HV model. Helical head ,Segmented infeed and heavy chipbreakers (segmented) ,adjustable pressure bar ,Urethane outfeed roller and adjustable bed rollers. Works very well. Looked at buying/leasing it for a couple years .It was 7200 Canadian dollars. Actually got mine litely used for far far less. It was a mess because from new it had been used without cleaning the shipping grease off so was gunked up with sawdust. Spent an entire day cleaning it. Cantek machines I have seen are my planer and a 12 parallelogram jointer and a shaper. All are great looking/performing machines. There was a guy on here from Ontario that had a bunch of their stuff in his shop. I remember that he had a dovetail machine. His name was Andrew j Coholic I think. Search Cantek/Sawmillcreek ,would probably come up. Cantek has a very solid reputation across Western Canada as solid equipment with a good company behind it. (Ackhurst in Canada)

[Jared Sankovich]

Looks solid, certainly a significant upgrade from any of the 4 post planers. The only thing I was surprised to see in the spec was the 3.375" cutterhead diameter.

[Patrick Kane]

I would appreciate a review, sure. I have a similar planer to your shopfox--powermatic 201hh--and its fine, but ive always considered upgrading it. Quite a few times i nearly pulled the trigger on used Oliver and Powermatic 22" machines with 7.5hp single phase motors. I look forward to your thoughts, and the machine should more than impress you compared to the shopfox--its 3x the price!

Jared brings up a point that kept me from upgrading. A few of the design specs on these machines gives me pause. That cutterhead is essentially the same one thats in my powermatic 20" machine, only its 5" longer. The surface finish off the machine--even with brand new, freshly rotated knives--is 6/10 or 7/10 at the best of times. Theres minor tearout and scalloped ridges from the insert radius. I am skeptical that a bigger and more massive machine will produce better results with the same cutterhead. I either want a hermance head next time or a tersa. My jointer with a huge diameter tersa head leaves a glass like finish. Even when dull, those m42 knives give me a better finish off the jointer than the byrd in the planer.

[Mitch schiffer]

From the little use on it so far I would say the surface finish is similar to the shopfox. There is no noticeable snipe but there is the typical scallops however I have never found those to be much of a issue for me. My powermatic pj1696 has a different style of helical head that doesn't have the scallops but its not as foolproof when changing/flipping the inserts.

[Warren Lake]

Patrick did you put a tersa in the PF-500? what diameter same as the head in it and four knife of course. Memory was they were a five inch head at least the stock one.

[Patrick Kane]

Patrick did you put a tersa in the PF-500? what diameter same as the head in it and four knife of course. Memory was they were a five inch head at least the stock one.

warren, it’s the original head. I haven’t taken the machine apart enough to measure, but it is massive. Atleast 4” and 5”+/- wouldn’t surprise me. Correct, 4 knife.