Craftsman/Belsaw planer - $300 (Currie) GONE

[Henry W]

....
If I am reading things correctly, it will take a 12" wide board by up to 6" thick.
Unfortunately, not molding knives, but the seller did say he had the other feed table and he thought the crank too (which would be really helpful because using a set of channel locks and turning the shaft 1/2 way at at time took forever to move it down to be able to clean the bed.

I was gifted my version of this beast - Belsaw name plated in my case.
My gift included a few molding knives that I have never used - and likely never will. Happy to have these find a home where they would get used.
Interested? PM me. I'm in Raleigh.

 

[ralitaco]

Poke around in this thread I did in 2014 when I was rebuilding one of those planers. It was a slightly earlier model so some details will differ slightly
https://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=143202

Bob, that is a FANTASTIC tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

 

[ralitaco]

I was gifted my version of this beast - Belsaw name plated in my case.
My gift included a few molding knives that I have never used - and likely never will. Happy to have these find a home where they would get used.
Interested? PM me. I'm in Raleigh.

PM Sent

 

[ralitaco]

So after multiple trips to the store, actually various stores, I was able to get my 220 power run. I had to use a 60A breaker until I can get a 40A but I wanted to see if this thing worked...
and IT DOES!!! I ran a pallet board through and it did a way better than I thought.

That sucker makes a bit of noise when it starts but nothing out of the ordinary, and it ran quieter than I expected. That baby puts out some shavings too!

Before:

Pass 1:

Pass 2:

 

[bob vaughan]

I'm sort of envious of you. Those first boards through an industrial size planer is a thrill that's hard to beat.
Know that your planer will take off 1/8" per pass easily, and yes, shavings do happen.

 

[ralitaco]

I have never used any planer before so it was really cool.

I was surprised that it was a bit difficult to get the board started under that first roller.

Also what is that long handle for

 

[Craptastic]

I have never used any planer before so it was really cool.

I was surprised that it was a bit difficult to get the board started under that first roller.

Also what is that long handle for

Whoa! Really?

No wonder you were surprised at the amount of shavings. Yeah. You're gonna need a place to compost those so you best start considering where they can go now before you really get running.

 

[Craptastic]

And whatever you run through (pallet wood, store bought, sawyer bought, whatever) you are going to want to be real careful of steel and hard objects embedded in the wood going through the planer.

Resharpening knives is a PITA and new knives costs can add up quickly.

 

[bob vaughan]

That long handle is for taking off feed pressure. It lifts the drive mechanism up so the drive belt disengages the cutterhead. An emergency disconnect is standard on most industrial planers. If a rough board has a hump in the middle or gets too thick, the feed can be stopped so the planer can be shut off. One then lowers the bed some so the cutterhead isn't overloaded. Its rare that this feature is needed but when it is needed, its needed. 99% of the time that handle will just float up and down. Lift the hood and raise the handle to see what happens.

 

[ralitaco]

And whatever you run through (pallet wood, store bought, sawyer bought, whatever) you are going to want to be real careful of steel and hard objects embedded in the wood going through the planer.

Resharpening knives is a PITA and new knives costs can add up quickly.

Understood. I read in multiple places to be wary of nails and such left in pallet wood when running through the planer.

 

[ralitaco]

That long handle is for taking off feed pressure. It lifts the drive mechanism up so the drive belt disengages the cutterhead. An emergency disconnect is standard on most industrial planers. If a rough board has a hump in the middle or gets too thick, the feed can be stopped so the planer can be shut off. One then lowers the bed some so the cutterhead isn't overloaded. Its rare that this feature is needed but when it is needed, its needed. 99% of the time that handle will just float up and down. Lift the hood and raise the handle to see what happens.

ok. Thank you. I saw that the belt disengaged but I thought it was to remove the belt somehow.

 

[ralitaco]

Can someone with this planer post or send me some pictures of the handle with its measurements?
That is the only part that is missing and I have a friend that may be able to weld something together for me.

 

[Henry W]

Can someone with this planer post or send me some pictures of the handle with its measurements?
That is the only part that is missing and I have a friend that may be able to weld something together for me.

I can do that .... later this evening I hope, unless someone else beats me to it.

Later update/edit - sorry forgot to do this last night. Maybe I will remember tonight; any others with this info feel free to 'beat me to the punch'.

 

[Henry W]

Can someone with this planer post or send me some pictures of the handle with its measurements?
That is the only part that is missing and I have a friend that may be able to weld something together for me.

Sorry my planer is buried under - well, it's buried. I did not see the crank, although I know it is there somewhere.
Hopefully someone else can help you out with the crank dimensions. I wlll dig it out eventually (for usage), and will try to let you know crank dimensions then.

 

[bob vaughan]

I found this interesting make-do crank handle substitute.
crank

 

[Langd002]

This is the Woodmaster replacement crank.

Crank Handle Fits Woodmaster Drum Sanders and Planer Molder | Woodmaster Tools

woodmastertools.com

 

[ralitaco]

Thank you Bob and Scott.
I may try to fabricate one like the one Bob shared, but if the cost gets close to the WoodMaster handle, I may just order that. My only concern is that it I did not see the craftsman or Belsaw models listed

 

[zdorsch]

Meant to post this sooner! Hopefully this will help if you decide to fabricate your own handle.

 

[ralitaco]

Meant to post this sooner! Hopefully this will help if you decide to fabricate your own handle.

Thank you Zach!!!

 

[ralitaco]

I know you all are probably sick of hearing from me about this planer, buuuutttt
Anyone know how much they weigh?
I picked up some casters that support 110# each so total of 440#. I would think that would be good.