# Need Input on older Makita 2012 or Makita 2040 planers



## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

I'm looking into buying one of two older Makita thickness planers. One is the 12" model 2012 for $250….it's in very nice condition with little use, and looks to be "plug and play". The other is the 15" model 2040 for $275. Both have universal motors that run on 110v. The 2040 obviously has more capacity, but needs more TLC, and parts are likley harder to come by and more expensive for it. The 2012 has a dust chute, the knives for the current 2012NB will fit and are available. I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments about either machine.

*2012*:

















*2040*:
(actual pic)









(file pic of similar):









Thoughts?


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## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

I would think you can do better for those prices.
They are very high for very old equip.

Like you said these are universal motors.
I would think closer to 100.

I would look for a Dewalt, or a floor model with an induction motor.

That's just my opinion… That's very old machinery which normally I seek out, but not for a benchtop planer.

For heavy machinery.


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

I have never owned a planer with a "universal motor". I have heard nothing but good things about the 2040. From the looks of the pix the 2040 looks to be in pretty sweet condition. From what I understand they are like the foley and belsaw, in that a used one needs rollers. There are companies out there that recover rollers. If the 2040 needs rollers the you might as well look at this "15 grizzly. By the time you get rollers you are in the same neighborhood.

Just my thoughts, good luck in you ventures.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Thanks for the input guys. I do have an inquiry about the G1021 asking what his bottom line is….no reply yet. $250 for the 2012 is down from $350.

The 2040 in the top pic is the machine for sale…the one in the lower pic is just a file photo to show what the rest of the planer looked like. Rollers for the 2040 could easily double my cost. The 2012 rollers are cheaper, and doubt they need replacing yet.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Makita used this weird compound in the rollers and they
don't last. Hitachi rollers last better. Recovering rollers
is going to cost something like $150 for the pair, if
needed.

The 2040 is, I believe, a 2 knife machine. It has a cutterhead
where the knives are bolted to flats on either side, covered
with a rounded cap. It's a 110v machine and has limited
capacity to plane wide and deep.

I had a 2030 jointer/planer for a few months. I never got
the planer head to move on the columns (in its defense,
the tolerances seemed pretty tight) and sold it to somebody
who was more eager to fix it up.

I sold my Belsaw not long ago (pretty good planer with 
bad dust collection) after I found a 15" Taiwan made
knockoff of the 13" Delta/Invicta. I see these planers
for sale in my area from $250-$400 on a regular basis. 
Mine is accurate and has great dust collection. It
has metal feed rollers. If you can run 220 I really 
recommend looking at one of these. They also have
a 2-speed gearbox though I haven't figured it out
on mine.

Another thing to not is that Makita's engineers have 
decided to move the table of the 2012 rather than
the cutterhead. Most portable planers move the cutterhead
and this may of may not result in a better or worse
cut than moving the table (who knows?), but
moving the head does simplify setting up additional
infeed and outfeed support.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Great info. I do have 220v, and am still waiting to hear about a G1021.


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

patients OLL TS guru, The right one will come when you least expect it.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Yes….patience is a virtue for sure. The problem is that I need one asap.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

I think I would go for the 2040… It's obviously a beefier planer… more capacity vertically as well as Horiz…

I also think that you could give it the TLC & then some that it needs… Even after new rollers, it would still be a good buy, based on a GOOD condition planer wouldn't it?

That 2040 looks super good to me…

Just my opinion… worth every penny you paid for it…  LOL

Good Luck… let us know what you decided & how you like it afterwards…


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

That 2040 is built like a tank and is a pretty good deal at that price if it is in working condition. It's in a whole different class than the lunchbox planers, and mounted on 4×4's with casters, weighs in at 300+ pounds. Rollers may or may not need attention and that is about the only weak link on those machines. You can get them recovered at plasses like Western Roller for a few bills and they would then be good to go for another 30 or so years. It also has about the easiest to set blades on the planet.. like on the 2030, you drop the indexing pin, put the knives in, push them down with two blocks of hadwood and your done. I'd be all over it if it were anywhere near my house 

Cheers,
Brad


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

I'd want to check out the table raising/lowering on the 2040. My local hardware store had one on display years ago. You couldn't move the table up or down, probably because of binding. They never did sell it, as far as I know. That one experience with the single table raising screw made me leery of that design ever since. 4 screw posts are more reliable, though some of them have a tendency to creep down as you plane, no matter how hard you tighten the lock knobs. Not good for getting perfectly parallel faces, in my opinion.

One of the best planers I ever had was an old (1982) Rockwell/Invicta 13", with the power head, not the table, moving up and down. An excellent machine in every way, though it did take more muscle raising that much mass (motor plus cutter head plus feed rollers).


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Thanks for the all the input everyone….very helpful as usual. My concern with the 2040 is mostly timing and budget…..since I wasn't planning on trashing my current planer, I didn't really have a budget to speak of. The 2040 @ $275 was fine, but the prospect of new rollers would put me well north of $600, with no guarantee that everything else was fine, and it still has a universal motor….time to get it running would remain elusive for the next several weeks.

I also had concerns about spending $250 on a Makita 2012 that old….the prospect of needing rollers for that was also a huge detractor. I'd happily shell out that much for a newer 2012NB.

In the end I ordered a refurbed Ridgid R4331 for $310 shipped with a one year warranty. It should be here Thursday, was fairly priced, shouldn't have any surprises, and is said to have some nice improvements over the R4330. I can't say that I gave it a ton of thought and research because this all popped up since Sunday afternoon, but I gave it some thought, and am comfortable with the choice. There just wasn't a lot of great choices in my area now, and I need to get going with it yesterday!

I'll post back and let you know how it goes! Thanks again for the all the info….much appreciated!


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

I have a R4331 and I am happy with it. 
I installed a Shelix head in it.


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## realcowtown_eric (Feb 4, 2013)

I purchased a 2040 back in the 80' for 1.2k4s and have been using it ever since. Yep. the feed rollers have been disintegrating x 2 years, but no so bad that thghe thickness sander can't clean up the mess.

Best investment I ever made in sofar as tools go.

replacement feed rollers up her in Canada could cost me just south of 1k$. this is an issue to be considered.

I've racked my brains over the past few days to try to remember if I installed the slow-feed option some 35 years ago. I think I did

Why was I racking my brains. cause i had an option to buy another one, which I did, but not before feeling the feed rollers.Which seemed good and solid to the touch (???little use)

It's a little bit of a pig in poke but I think I bought it for a smoking price just to get the feed rollers. .

Last time I chatted with the local Calgary Makita service folks, they told me that folks were gettin up tyo 2K$ to rehab a 2040 planer, cause they ain't making them any more.

I think I got a good deal, but just have to get round to it!!!

My price on the 2040..about 100us$

Deals are out there to be had. just goptta wait for the tool god to shine on ya.

Love my 2040, really best investment in WWtoolage I ever made, even though it hurt at the time

Eric

Just my thoughts.


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## realcowtown_eric (Feb 4, 2013)

update on my rehab of makita 2040…..

Western Polymers here in Calgary rebuilt 3 of the 4 rollers for the two machines for under 120 ea. The 4th one had a badly scored shaft…an obvious serious problem, but as I found out they had a CNC machine shop, so they are machinging a new shaft (?185) picking up one roller, they had another there mentioned they had been doing a few of these…..

I'm still waiting for the 4th roller, which with the new shaft is still gonna be well under makita replacement cost.

Had a trashed pillow block, a couple of bucks….

On the drive chain, I tried to loosen it up with the usua; WD40, oil and lithium grease, but it wouldn't/ replacement cost was again 6 or 7 bucks. . If yer buying parts. better get a coupla e-clips too.

My old infeed rollers were about 1/2" less in dameter in the middle, the out feed worn about 1/4", but more importantly, they were contributing a gummy crap to the surface which necessitated a trip thorough the thickness sander to clean it up.

Western Polymers is a small friendly Canadian company, and I suggested to them why not run up another shaft and make a new roller so that if someone comes in wanting on, they'll have one on the shelf. They are considering it. They said they had done so many of them that they made a mold for the rollers, and now they will have the cnc programming for the shaft.

I have their permission to post this semi advert for their services

regards to all wood butchers out there

Eric
http://westernpolymers.com/?page_id=13


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