# CRAFTEX 15" HELICAL PLANER & CRAFTEX 20 HELICAL PLANER.



## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

I do not understand your comment about the cast iron. You say that the cast iron is of poor quality because you had a spot from a drop of water. Typically, all cast iron will have a spot if drop water on it. The first thing to do with a new tool is to clean and wax the surfaces. Now if had porosity, holes or cracks, then I would agree it was poor quality but your comment is just not correct.

Sorry about the oil leakage. This seems to be a common problem with the gear covers. My 15" has a very small leak but not enough to do something about it.

Snipe is a common problem with planers. I had to adjust my bed rolls and pressure roll to reduce the snipe.

I would love to get a perfect machine but I find it normal to have to properly set up a new machine and check things out.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

It looks like you gave it five stars.

I am sorry to hear about all the issues.


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## Bentley2021 (Jun 29, 2021)

> It looks like you gave it five stars.
> 
> I am sorry to hear about all the issues.
> 
> - ChuckV


Hi. I don't know why this forum only shows part of my review/rant. I also updated the review to 1 star. I would have given it negative 1,000 but they don't have that as an option.


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## Bentley2021 (Jun 29, 2021)

CRAFTEX 15" & 20" Helical Cutterhead Planer Review/Rant.
It had way worse snipe than the Dewalt. The Dewalt was over 8 years old when I sold it with the upgraded cutterhead. I had absolutely ZERO issues with my Dewalt DW735.

So now onto the Craftex 20" Helical planer. Like I mentioned above the machine leaked as soon as I got it home and tried running it. I made sure I pointed this out to Busy Bee immediately The build quality of this machine was a bit better than the 15" model but not by much. Afterall here in Canada these planers go for around $4,600 plus tax. It had a bigger motor than the 15" so at first I thought maybe this would be better for me and wouldn't have the issues like the 15" model. The surface finish on the planed wood was about 180 grit sandpaper. Not much better than the 15" model. This is supposed to be one of the key selling points of the Helical cutterhead. This was extremely disappointing considering how much these things cost. 
Afterall my Dewalt, with even the knives gave me a smoother finish than this thing. Again, I gained planing time verus quality. It was quieter than the 15" model though. This was probably due to the extra weight of the machine. It was a cast iron beast. Too bad it wasn't of good quality cast iron. I even waxed all the infeed and outfeed extensions of both machines. Even the bed of the machine itself. The cast iron was of such poor quality that if a drop of water was to land on them, you would have a black spot that you couldn't get out no matter what you did. I used a high quality car wax for the surfaces.

So long story short. Both the 15" and 20" Craftex planers were of poor quality. Both in materials and wood planing. If I were to do it all again I would have avoided Busy Bee Tools and their machines. Their repair facility is sub par. Their repair staff doesn't know how to fix machines properly. You have to either have your machine that you purchase from them either shipped to them for repair or you have to bring it to them. They will not give you a refund even if the machine(s) are defective even from the minute you run them. They have to try and repair them even if they don't have a clue what to do. I'm trying to warn others to buy somewhere else. This is more of an issue with machines sold by Busy Bee Tools, under the brand name Craftex. They have some machines made in Taiwan. These are of good quality. I had enough time in their showroom to view these machines. You could tell right away where they were made just by looking at them. This probably goes for almost all sellers of machines for the smaller shop and homeowner. Others like Grizzly, Powermatic, Jet, General. They all do this. They try to get by on the cheap and hopefully their machines get through the warranty period without any issues. So maybe if enough of us buyers of these pieces of machinery started complaining more and get these sellers to start selling a better product we can all benefit. I also think these sellers know hat since most of the machinery is large and heavy and that most of us will just live with the poor quality. I mean how many have a trailer or vehicle which to transport the machine to a repair facility . Or have it shipped back to be assessed for the warranty claim to be valid. I for one wasn't going to stand for it. I paid good money for a machine and hoped it would run decently for several years. I know that I'm not the only one to have had these issues.

CONCLUSION:
If I were to do it all again I would have just kept my Dewalt until I thought it was necessary to buy a really good Helical Planer. A lot of the lunch box or workbench models now are coming stock with the Helical type heads. Some are HSS cutters and some are carbide cutters. For most these type of planers will suffice. I unfortunately needed something to do the job faster. So this review/rant will hopefully inform some of you who are thinking about buying a larger 15, 16 or even 20" model to think about the service and issues that most guys aren't going to tell others. Most feel even too embarrassed to say that their machine is leaking oil or the belts are wearing out prematurely. Just like when buying a car. You don't like to tell everyone out there that your new vehicle has issues. 
Bentley

It's a shame that ALL the planers we buy in North America are made overseas somewhere. The average ones are made in China, the better ones are made in Taiwan, the really good ones are made in Europe. So guys and gals I hope this review/rant was informative. Even though I lost a bit of money from the restocking fee, I feel that I used the original machine for almost a year. I planed at least 2,000 board feet through it. If I were to have sold it to someone I most likely would have lost more than the restocking fee. I wouldn't sell it to anyone because I would have felt horrible when the person would have contacted me after and asked if the machine leaked and ran extremely hot. So in the end I ended up purchasing a Laguna PX 16. Now that's a machine. It has the Sheartec II cutterhead. Man it cuts silky smooth. Now that is another review.


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## Bentley2021 (Jun 29, 2021)

> I do not understand your comment about the cast iron. You say that the cast iron is of poor quality because you had a spot from a drop of water. Typically, all cast iron will have a spot if drop water on it. The first thing to do with a new tool is to clean and wax the surfaces. Now if had porosity, holes or cracks, then I would agree it was poor quality but your comment is just not correct.
> 
> Sorry about the oil leakage. This seems to be a common problem with the gear covers. My 15" has a very small leak but not enough to do something about it.
> 
> ...


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## Bentley2021 (Jun 29, 2021)

Hi. I am not sure if all the review is visible. I did remove all the thick coating of shipping grease. I used a high quality wax I use on all my vehicles. My Laguna bandsaw has a cast iron table. It has rain mist on it one time and all I did was wipe it off and there were no spots on it whatsoever. I couldn't even get the spots off no matter what I did. Also the cast iron bed itself was of better quality. The extension wings were of the lesser quality. And on my 15" the one extension was warped. I do realize some of these gear boxes may over time develop a leak or wet spot. But not from day one and especially after a so called warranty repair. Also I have no problem with telling people that I have a leak or whatever with my machine. This way maybe others may have the same issue and a fix can be found. To me its extremely poor quality control.


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## Bentley2021 (Jun 29, 2021)

I have to also add a comment about snipe. I do know how to eliminate snipe or at least most of it on these planers. My Dewalt when I sold it had I would say almost none. Even when I sold it I did a demo with the guy who bought it. He had the 12 1/2" Dewalt and was amazed at how I virtually had none on this one. 
So on the Craftex, no matter what I did there was a lot. Hence that's why I bought the drum sander. My new Laguna 16" has so little snipe I have to hold it to a high intensity light and then you can barely see it.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

You might want to check the car wax you are using. Some have reported that silicone in it can transfer to your wood and cause finishing problems.

There are many YouTube videos on fixing snipe on a planer. I adjusted both my DW735 and 15" Jet to reduce snipe to a minimal level.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

I put my new Powermatic 15HH to work this weekend for the first time. HORRIBLE setup at the factory they had the pressure rollers cranked down so tight man the snipe was ugly bad and that's on 8/4 Maple. I had to back WAY off on the pressure rollers. This reduced the snipe significantly but I could reduce the pressure rollers even further.

Next up with the oval cutout in the bed for the bed rollers. Burr all around it to the point the wood would get hung on the burr, stop feeding and the infeed roller would grind a depression in the wood. Had to file that down.

The Taiwan V belts are garbage, had belt dust within the first few minutes pouring out from the belt cover.

After the first round of tuning I'm getting quite acceptable results and a fine finish. Side to side thickness varies about .004 inch. More is achievable so I'll keep tuning it.

One thing though, it has to be the hardest starting planer ever I don't remember my old 15HH starting hard like that. It starts with a LOUD BANG.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

> I put my new Powermatic 15HH to work this weekend for the first time. HORRIBLE setup at the factory they had the pressure rollers cranked down so tight man the snipe was ugly bad and that s on 8/4 Maple. I had to back WAY off on the pressure rollers. This reduced the snipe significantly but I could reduce the pressure rollers even further.
> 
> Next up with the oval cutout in the bed for the bed rollers. Burr all around it to the point the wood would get hung on the burr, stop feeding and the infeed roller would grind a depression in the wood. Had to file that down.
> 
> ...


The loud bang could be the belt slapping the cover. Jointers sometimes do that as well.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

> I have to also add a comment about snipe. I do know how to eliminate snipe or at least most of it on these planers. My Dewalt when I sold it had I would say almost none. Even when I sold it I did a demo with the guy who bought it. He had the 12 1/2" Dewalt and was amazed at how I virtually had none on this one.
> So on the Craftex, no matter what I did there was a lot. Hence that s why I bought the drum sander. My new Laguna 16" has so little snipe I have to hold it to a high intensity light and then you can barely see it.
> 
> - Bentley2021


Thanks for the review.
Appreciate all the info on both your old planers and new one too.


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## Bentley2021 (Jun 29, 2021)

> I put my new Powermatic 15HH to work this weekend for the first time. HORRIBLE setup at the factory they had the pressure rollers cranked down so tight man the snipe was ugly bad and that s on 8/4 Maple. I had to back WAY off on the pressure rollers. This reduced the snipe significantly but I could reduce the pressure rollers even further.
> 
> Next up with the oval cutout in the bed for the bed rollers. Burr all around it to the point the wood would get hung on the burr, stop feeding and the infeed roller would grind a depression in the wood. Had to file that down.
> 
> ...


Hi. Its a shame even the Powermatic has issues. They are supposed to be one of the better units. I know they cost quite a bit more in Canada. I had a similar issue with the bottom roller opening. it to had a very rough edge and i had to use some high grit emery cloth to smooth out the area. This is where all of us should start to complain more to the Sellers of these machines. They really don't care about these issues because most of them don't even probably know what a planer is or does. Just some desk jockey behind a keyboard. Saying yes i totally understand your frustration and how upset you are. They have a sheet beside their keyboard with all the quotes to tell the customer.
Bentley


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

> Hi. Its a shame even the Powermatic has issues. They are supposed to be one of the better units.
> Bentley
> - Bentley2021


I waited 4 months for my PM1500 bandsaw, it arrived with a table so out of flat it's not usable. They told me to wait another 3 months for a replacement table, maybe, not confirmed by that date.

On the other hand the PM 2820 drill press is perfection so go figure.


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