# Alot to like about this planer...



## twokidsnosleep

I gotta say I am a little leery of this brand from the reviews and after heavy salesman-ship while I was bandsaw shopping at a local cheapo tool store. I am leaning toward Grizzly again.
Keep us posted on how she runs, hopefully yours will continue to perform well


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## superstretch

I saw one of these in Woodcraft a few weeks ago. Looks exactly like my Ridgid TP1300.. Even the same dust catcher


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## lc48

nice


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## woodworkerscott

2-3 years ago I bought a new Steel City 13 inch planer, but it does not have the helical head. Not sure they made one back then. Hopefully the helical head makes all the difference because I am not happy with mine. The knives are disposable, not to be sharpened. If I had know this I might not have bought it. If you run a planer as much as I do, it can get costly…and I baby mine to keep the knives sharp as long as possible. It helps that the knives are double edged, but still costly. Helical heads are oh so nice.

I loved my planer too, at first. Then certain features started to not work, etc. I take great care of it and all my equipment, so I have to blame quality. Not in a hurry to buy Steel City again even though they have a great reputation. In fairness, I might just have gotten one of the not-so-great ones that got past quality control.

Thanks for the post. Glad to see you are enjoying it. It is a relief to have a planer in the shop. Have some fun with it!


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## Beginningwoodworker

Nice looking planer.


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## Cato

Congrats on your planer Brad. When I was looking this one was high up on my list but it was $100 more last spring.

Ended up getting a really super deal on the DW735 that was too good to pass up.

Planers and jointers are amazing tools, and so fun to watch the grain emerge as you mill the stock.

The helical head seems the way to go these days, and I am sure you will like it a lot!!


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## TheBossQ

Where was the deal on kitty litter?

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/steelcityportableplaner13helicalhead.aspx


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## JonathanG

I'll be curious to see how this holds up and works for you. My neighbor also just picked one of these up on sale from Highland as well. I'll have to make sure to tell him about your oil experience.


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## Brad_Nailor

This planer is identical (except for the helical head) to the older Rigid two knife planers. The planer I was borrowing was this style, and it was over 5 years old and still functioned perfectly. It didn't plane wood with as nice a finish as the helical head does, but it worked well with no snipe. I hope it holds up well..I p[payed alot of money for this thing!

There is no kitty litter in those containers. I re purposed the empty plastic containers to hold sand for counterweight for my pickup truck. That unfortunately, until I get a jointer to put in that spot..is where they live.


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## Bud1m

I have had this planer for about a year now, and the best thing I can say about it is, I can't wait until I get rid of it. The planer worked great for the first few months, then knife marks started to appear and snipe on one side. I worked with tech support, when they answered, rotated the knifes, it helped some but just moved the marks to different sections of the board. Snipe has never gone away after it showed up. I have spent hours adjusting the planer to specs - no luck. 
My experience has taught me to stay away from inexpensive helical planers.


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## AaronK

Bud: I am no expert by a long shot, but I'm missing the connection between the planer having a helical cutting head and snipe. Snipe is usually due to movement of the board with respect to the cutting head, and this comes about by either movement of the board or movement of the head… so i dont really get that. my planer has a cutter head lock, which is supposed to help, but i can still get nasty snipe if my in/out feed tables are not set correctly. in fact, if the planing bed surface was flat and very long (like a jointer bed) a planer wouldnt need a cutter head lock at all.


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## Brad_Nailor

Bud..
I am a little confused. A helical head cant leave "knife marks". Steel City makes another planer that looks exactly like this but with conventional knives. This is a helical head planer with individual index-able cutter heads.You can get a cutter head with a mark in it, but if you rotate the cutter head that edge that has the imperfection in it doesn't make contact with the board any longer. Also, you are getting snipe on an edge of the board? Do you mean one end? Usually snipe is associated with the ends of the boards..I have never seen a planer that snipes the edges of the board? I know with the standard two knife version of this planer, or the older Rigid that's identical to this planer, you are going to get knife marks. Also, you have to be very careful when you flip or change the disposable knives because if you tighten the knife down unevenly, you can get non parallel planing..which might be what your experiencing, with snipe on an edge..just guessing..If you do have the helical cutter head..I did read where you have to be very careful when rotating or changing the cutters. If you don't seat them properly, or there's some sawdust under the cutter head it wont lock down flat and parallel, and that might lead to some uneven "knife marks" in the board. Steel City recommends you take each cutter head all the way out screw and all and blow any debris out with compressed air and wipe the cutter head before re installing it.


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## 8iowa

I saw one of these being demonstrated at the Woodcraft in Towson MD last year. Even though it was in the "shop" in the back of the store the noise level was stupendous, with a lot of noise in the higher frequencies. One would need to get the very best hearing protection available.

I wish manufacturers were more concerned about noise level.


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## jackass

*Have been considering one of these. Perhaps someone could do a video of planing a board, or let us know where a video could be seen. Very good post on the planer Brad. Wish I could get my shop to look as good as yours.
Jack*


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## Brad_Nailor

8iowa…Its noisy, but not much noisier than a shop vac, or any other portable planer when idling. Where this planer excels is when you put materiel through it it doesn't get any louder. I was taking half turn (1/32") passes on hard maple and I could hardly tell the difference between the idle noise or when it was planing…a huge difference from my conventional knife planer.


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## JonathanG

Sounds like it's much quieter than, say, a DW735, or comparable knife planer!

Brad_Nailor, Do you have the ability to shoot a quick video of the planer idling, then feeding a piece of stock through it for us? That would be great!


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## Brad_Nailor

Ya..I can do that…I bailed on work today because of the snow/ice/freezing rain here in CT, so I have lots of time on my hands!


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## JonathanG

That'd be great, thanks! I'm looking forward to it.


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## NBeener

Lots of people … probably for good reason … get a bit nervous when "Steel City" comes up, but …. this one DOES look an AWFUL lot like the Ridgids, so … my primary concern-what if I needed parts-wouldn't be a concern if it truly DOES have parts interchangeability with other current offerings from manufacturers who DON'T seem to frequently teeter on the brink.

*David*: Nice !!!! Every time I think about putting a helical head on my Ridgid R4330, I take a deep breath, and remind myself that-as an upgrade-it's just too much $$. I'd sooner look at an Old Iron Delta.

But … if I'd bought a 13" planer WITH the helical head … I'd be bragging about it, too 

Looking forward to the video. Got Orville Reddenbacher on deck, in the microwave…..


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## TheBossQ

I just thought you had a really BIG cat! ;^) Those are great containers.

HA HA! I posted the link to the planer thinking *Where was the deal on kitty litter?* was just some sort of saying. A euphemism of sorts for "where did you get that product" ...

I declare Where was the deal on kitty litter? a Barryism. I'm using it from now on …


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## Brad_Nailor

So lets say..if you scored a really nice set of chisels for a ridiculous price, I would have to ask "Wheres the deal on the kitty litter?"

@ Neil….I was borrowing that planer for a while and this machine, aside from the badging, color scheme, and helical head IS EXACTLY the same as the RIGID planer! The motor even sounds the same…I went back and forth between this and the 2 speed three knife DeWalt…I guess i got lured in by the helical head..i read a bunch of positive reviews…and I know the rap on Stelel City….but the same people that have been saying those things were guaranteeing they were going out of business …and so far that was a couple years ago and they seem to still be around…


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## TheBossQ

Brad_Nailor - So lets say..if you scored a really nice set of chisels for a ridiculous price, I would have to ask "Wheres the deal on the kitty litter?"

Yep. Or if responding to someone asking, you can say "the deal on kitty litter can found at …"

The key is to act surprised that they aren't familiar with the saying. "WHAT?! ... you've never heard of …"

Barry, I have cats too and litter is expensive.

I would buy this planer, despite my poor experience with Steel City. I would buy it @ $499, but probably not $599.


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## Bud1m

I will elaborate about my comments. When I say knife marks, I mean ridges in the surface running the length of the board, it looks like a nick in the knife, it's one of the individual knifes not seating right so a corner is digging into the board, actually its about 4 knives. This is what I mean by cheap helical designs, the knife set is very sloppy. Have worked with SC several times, can't get it right.

What I mean by snipe one side is, front to back, the side with the locking handle snipes, but the rear side does not. I have set many planer in feed and out feed tables, so i am thinking it's not me.

Countless hours have been spent on cleaning, set up, adjustments. When this thing came out, it was $699 - now it's $499. That has to tell you something. And Yes it is the Rigid design.


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## Brad_Nailor

Here it is guys…..a short video, a quick walk around of the planer, and I planed a piece of cherry in the video..unfortunately, it was already s4s…I didn't have anything rough….but you can get the idea about the noise level..





Bud…you are correct..it does leave very small ridges in the length of the board…I would say very slight and about the same as knife marks in a conventional planer. They can be easily sanded out with the first sanding pass. Mine does not snipe side to side..or on the ends…not yet anyways. But like Barry said, we don't expect a finish ready surface from a planer..but aside from the slight ridges, it leaves a glass smooth surface, that if you start sanding at 80 grit, your actually roughing it up!


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## araldite

I bought one of these a few months ago and have planed quite a bit of tiger maple as well as other woods. I am very happy with mine. It is much quieter than my old Delta planer. I get no snipe or tear out. I get faint ridges, which I would call more like scuff marks than deep ridges. They clean right up with a couple of passes of 180 grit on a ROS. It is no worse than boards I got from a professional supplier who put them through a planer with a Byrd head. If it continues to hold up, I think it's a great value for the money ($499 at Highland). I don't own any other Steel City machines for the same reason others have expressed, but I took a chance with this because of the price and, like I said, so far I'm very happy.

My understanding is that it is identical to the Ridgid but the helical head is patented by Steel City, so you won't see it on the Ridgid. The head design is different from Byrd and Byrd is probably better if you can afford it. For me Steel City was as high as I could go, so it was that or nothing if I wanted a helical cutterhead. Retrofitting my old Delta just wasn't worth it anymore.


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## jackass

*Thankyou Brad,
Very informative, and good visuals, and surprisingly low noise level, even with the dust collector.
Thankyou again
Jack*


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## JonathanG

Brad, thanks for posting the video. Doesn't sound bad at all… certainly didn't seem to be screaming.

I hope it serves you well for a long time.


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## Manitario

thanks for the review; that is a great price for a planer with a helical head. It also is impressive that you don't get snipe: I have the Dewalt 735 and snipe is a constant issue for me.


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## cmmyakman

Thank you for the review and video. I realize it's an older review, but it is still useful.


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## colvinatch

Brad~ I agree totally with your review, I have run this planer in my shop almost non-stop for 6 months without any problems or complaints whatsoever. With proper adjustment of the infeed and outfeed tables and support of the boards I have had zero snipe, tear-out is a non issues except on the most curly of curly maple. The knives are great, I have rotated the ones from the outside of the head (those that see less use) to the inside once and after hundreds of BF of Cherry and hard maple the knives are just now getting a little dull. I had the same issue with too much oil / grease on the cutterhead but a couple of cleanings and a few scrap boards later it was not a problem. no mill marks at all, the boards come out perfectly flat and smooth. All in all a great tool!


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