Work(shop) in Progress #9: so, what's the plane?

Nice get…thats a great planer and you got all the accessories for it. I have seen a few on CL but if you don’t jump right on them they disappear immediately..
All the reviews I have read on this machine, the main complaint is the knives dull out fast….but I think thats a product more of how people use it….one reviewer was barking that the knives dulled out after he put 200 BF of white oak through it trying to take 1/8” passes…duh! I know several guys who own this planer and if you maintain it properly, and take light passes it works great.

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Hey congrats on the new planner .How long is tough , It depends on how much you use it an what you plane. If you run 400 ln ft of hard rock maple every day . your probably going to replace or sharpen your blades every 4-6 weeks if you use it like most hobbyist make it 6-12 months hard to say for sure but it’s a ballpark.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Congratulations, this is supposed to be a nice planer. I think you can slow the cuts per inch down on this model and save your blades a little…then you get to take your #4 to it and smooth it out by hand.

-- "We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act but a habit." ---Aristotle

Well, congrats on the find.

Hand planning can be a real pain on larger projects.

Be sure to wear hearing protection!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

thats a really cool planer

-- kosta brownsville brooklyn my home

I”ve got the 734. 12.5 inch.. love it. I don’t know about the blades. They seem to last.. I’ve only built a few furniture projects though.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

where’s the pic’s mate

andy

-- cut it saw it scrap it

Thanks guys… I’m not going to be a heavy user, so just trying to estimate how long it would take me until I dull those knives (in BF) – I don’t mind finishing it on my #4… as long as it’s just smoothing out – I’m all up for that keeping some hand planing for a perfect finish. I guess I was trying to see if I should hold on to the extra set of knives, or if I’m better of selling them to reduce the overhead expense.

Lee- WHAT DID YOU SAY? ... it’s actually quite annoying, I used to work religiously with ear protection, but since I switched the tablesaw from a direct drive motor to a belt driven one, I find that I sometimes will “forget” to get the ear protection on (I usually do though…) but with this beaast – there’s no way I’ll forget… it’s LOUD, like “HEY I”M DOING SOME WOODWORKING HERE” loud…lol

Daniel – I think I might end up sharing your experience… they’ll last (I hope).

and Andy – stop being so materialistic…. pics pics pics…. they all look alike (but this one looks better)...lol. pic is coming… just couldn’t wait to blurt the text out first mate.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Glad to hear it, Lev! I still don’t understand how you guys accomplish anything with planes. I’m convinced it’s witch magic.

Oh, and yes. My Craftsman 13” planer is so loud, I actually avoid using it if at all possible. Something made it get louder awhile ago, too. I think something might be rubbing. I wear ear protection pretty much only when I use the planer, as all my other tools are comfortably quiet. This one actually makes me feel bad for my neighbors whenever I turn it on.

-- Gary, Los Angeles, video game animator

Gary, I never did either – until I experienced what a sharp blade is… and what a tuned up plane is - took many years... with several failures, and getting back at it, till it just clicked… and its not white magic- it’s actually black magic when you consider all the metal you have to take off from the blade and sole to get it tuned up properly…

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Congratulations on the new addition! These lunch box (not that I would eat anything out of it!) planers are so convenient! I have the Ridgid and use it a lot. I am still on my first set of blades (reversible). I trim a fair amount of walnut, maple and purple heart. Works like a charm. That machine makes me wear hearing protection! They are all loud!
Ellen

-- Ellen on Cape Cod

Lev, I’m going to get that book. I’ve been wondering where in the world people ever learn about these things, as being in LA, in an office-with-computer job, literally no one I know knows anything at all about this stuff, or they’re just keeping it all secret :)

Come to think of it, they probably are keeping it secret. Last year I got into trees, and being me, and talking about my interests openly and often, I found that everyone had all kinds of tree knowledge, collectively way more than me, but also individually, it seemed most people knew 5 or 10 trees I didn’t, and things about ones I did know that I did not. I bet I’m going to find out several of my friends are hand planing experts once I get this book. Thanks for the links! (btw, your first two links have the word “really” at the end of them, but I removed it after clicking, and they worked).

-- Gary, Los Angeles, video game animator

so, I was really smoothing things out with that #3, and I restored a #2 I got from eBay last night, and … oh , hey – here come Gary… shhhhhh….... Hey Gary – wassup? how you like that new E-nternet thing? ... yeah… have a good one….. so anyways… I got a new Hock blade for it..

Gary- you should start eavesdropping for the good info at the office … LOL

and thanks for the link pointers… I fixed that.

Thanks ellen, I was thinking about the Ridgid as I’ve seem to find they make good woodworking products all in all, when this opportunity knocked, and I just couldn’t say no – heck, I didn’t even try to counteroffer the guy… I felt he was more than reasonable.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

your always first to gloat mate lol…....

-- cut it saw it scrap it

I”ve had my 735 for just over 5 years now. While not a heavy user I’ve put a lot of wood through it in that time including a pickup load of walnut, quite a bit of red oak and smaller amounts of purple heart, zebrawood, a couple of wide pieces of teak, hackberry, soft maple and a small amount of hard maple and bubinga as well as some pine. I have no idea how many board feet all total but it’s a lot. I flipped the knives a couple of years ago for the first time and I’m still on the original set of knives. Have had a new set hanging on the wall in the shop for a year and a half now and haven’t had to use them yet. I only take small cuts, 1/32 or so. It takes more time to get to thickness that way but it’s easier on the machine and the knives. The knives on it still plane very smooth with no tear out so I’ve not seen the need to replace them. I have the infeed and outfeed tables and they work great. Just be sure to keep an eye on them and keep them leveled up to prevent snipe. Yeah, it’s loud but not as bad as my router. Add in the DC and it definately calls for hearing protection. I use protection with all my tools anyway so that’s not an issue for me. Hope you enjoy it I sure like mine.

-- Darell, Norman, Ok.

Thanks Darell, sounds good to me. your description of lumber you ran through it gave me the rough idea of what I was referring to – thanks. I take very light passes on my jointer as well, so I will be doing the same on this one- 1/16”- 1/32”. do you usually work on the higher speed, or lower speed?

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Sweet machine, Good find! I don’t notice much difference between the high and low speed on the wood, just run it on high, then switch to low on the last pass or two. As Darrel said, the infeed / outfeed tables make all the difference with snipe, and keep them waxed.

-- Tim: Remember, if it doesn't say Binford, someone else made it.

Hi,

From what I could gather around the web, it seems like the very first units of this thickness planer came with good quality blades. Now I apparently got a newer ones because the fresh edge of the other side of the blades dulled in less than a month of regular but “hobby type” usage.
For the story, I bought mine on Craigslist just like you with dull blades the the previous owner did not know the blades are reversible.
Anyway, I searched online a bit and found these blades :
(the HSS version) and I’m very satisfied by the result so far. Now I haven’t used them a lot (probably ~20bf of curly maple) so I don’t know yet if they will hold the edge longer.

They are a little bit more expensive than the DeWalt replacement blades but they cut better (so far..)

Hope this helps

-- 100 fois sur le metier remettez votre ouvrage

Nice score on the planer. This one has gotten good reviews and it should be a nice addition to your shop.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Tim if I lived any closer to you, I’d probably had taken your ridgid planer… but I guess I’m trying to copy every machine you have…. so far so good…lol. thanks for the input. do you have your infeed/outfeed slightly angled inwards? or are they perfectly flat and flush with the planer bed?

Loupitou – thanks for the link, I’ve heard there is an alternative, nice to actually see it.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Hi and low speed on mine, Delta, is the difference between first cuts and finish cuts. Mine, faster speed is finish cuts. Really can’t tell much difference. One thing I watch tho, since I get my wood from the mill….I really watch to see that there is no dirt or grime on the wood. I usually bursh it off before running it thru the planer. That grime, dirt, etc helps to dull the blades faster, just like it does on the chain saw.

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

I run both speeds but run the higher speed most often. I can’t tell much difference although I think the higher speed is just a bit smoother. As for the infeed and outfeed tables I keep them level with the planer bed. I use a 4’ level to align the tables and then check that with a Pinnacle straight edge just for fun. With the level I can get both infeed and outfeed at the same time, front to back and side to side. That’s just my way of doing it. It works though. Loupitou06’s post on the knives is interesting. I hadn’t heard that. I guess when I finally get to my new set of knives I’ll find out. Meanwhile, I’ll keep his link just in case. I found some carbide knives for the 735 awhile back. Seems to me they were around $250 a set. That’s pretty salty for me. Gary makes a good point too on cleaning dirt and grime. Something I should do but don’t is to check for metal. That might bite me some day.

-- Darell, Norman, Ok.

I just checked Loupitou’s link. Same one I found awhile back.

-- Darell, Norman, Ok.

PurpLev-I could provide you with an equipment list lol.
I also have the infeed/outfeed tables flat. I have not used it enough to dull the blades. Interesting note: A friend has this model also and has changed the blades twice because they were dull, he knew they were because it would not feed the wood through, but he has not waxed the tables. So I’m wondering if not waxing the tables is the real problem with short blade life.
Gary- good point on brushing off the wood prior to planing, something I don’t always remember to do!

-- Tim: Remember, if it doesn't say Binford, someone else made it.

Gary – thats a good tip to clean the wood prior to running it through. most of my wood I had already done so, but a good thing to keep in mind for future use – heck, worth posting a sticky note on the planer on the infeed side: “Have you washed your wood with soap and water already?”

Darell, and Tim – thanks for the leveling info. I’ve read some people claimed they had to “unlevel” the in-out and install it at a slight angle, but I like the idea of having it flat – easier to align that way. I guess experience will tell. and waxing the table is also something I’ll do.

Thanks again to everyone that contributed to this – there are very useful and good ideas and tips here for planers in general.

Sharon.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Updated – pictures are up (above)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Hi Lev;

That looks like a brand new machine.

I would keep the blades. You wont get the price of replacing them if you need to, and if your luck is anything like mine, I only need it if I don’t have it. Meaning, the first set will last forever, if you have a spare set, but get rid of those, and you’ll hit a nail or something hidden in the wood in about 25 minutes. LOL

My luck isn’t really that bad, but getting caught in the middle of something, without having a back up drives me nuts

I hear there really good planners.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com