# AMT 15" planer - ever heard of it?



## Lumber2Sawdust (Jul 22, 2010)

Greetings LJs

I've been lurking on the site for a while, and I've gotten a lot of inspiration to do some more projects. There is a wealth of knowledge here.

What finally lured me from the fringes and made me sign up is to pose a question about a planer. I found an ad on CraigsList for an AMT 15 planer

I did a little searching and found that AMT has been out of business for quite some time. I've also found that it is possible that parts can be gotten through Grizzly since they tend to be pretty interchangeable.

Has anyone heard of AMT? Had any experience with their tools? I'm trying to go check it out tonight. Any recommendations on things to check on this planer? It's 220, which isn't a problem for me, but I'm not even sure the owner has 220 available to see it run.

Thanks for your insights.


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## Toolz (Feb 26, 2008)

My experience with AMT was with a power carving unit. Similar to Foredom. It worked great and was fairly inexpensive in comparison. I also have a marking knife and very solid carving vise made my AMT. I was disappointed when they went out of business. Good tools and good prices.


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## Planeman (Aug 9, 2008)

Out of curiosity I did a little research and come to the conclusion that the AMT planer is a Taiwan copy of the Rockwell planer.

For a review of an AMT-made bandsaw locate a copy of the March/April 1987 (No. 63) issue of Fine Woodworking.

In my opinion if the use is for home shop and the price is right, go for it. Replacement planer blades for almost any machine are easy to come by through internet suppliers, and if it is a copy of the Rockwell planer the Rockwell blades probably fit. I looked at the planer photo at the link you furnished and the planer looks well built. Just look it over carefully and understand repair parts may be hard to come by. On the other side of this, I have only had one problem finding a repair part on a machine in my well-furnished shop over the forty years I have had it and . . . it was made by Rockwell. So getting a machine from a manufacturer still in business is no guarantee.

Here is what I found:

"Anyone considering purchasing a bandsaw in the near future should probably pick up a copy of the March/April 1987 (No. 63) issue of Fine Woodworking.

This months issue has an article "Home-Shop Bandsaws/Selecting and tuning a mid-size machine".

The article discusses what to look for in a bandsaw, how to evaluate trouble spots, etc. There is also a special inset on bimetal blades, another inset on the three wheel machines, and a third inset on "Delta, the imports, and Sears".

An interesting note on the discussion of the imports follows: "The AMT bandsaw is a Taiwanese low-cost version of the Rockwell. It's made by the Yung Li Shing Electric Works Co. Ltd (whose trademark is an
elephant cast into the plastic knobs) and sells for about $300. Elephant also makes bandsaws for such familiar names as Jet, Sunhill, Bridgewood, Bratton, Grizzly, Andreou, A.J. Tool, etc."

It looks as though all the clones may well be the same machine, at least as far as bandsaws are concerned. If your looking for a bandsaw pick up the current Fine Woodworking. You won't regret it."

Then there was this:

(Question) "AMT 15" Planer

Hello Everyone, Does anyone have a manual or know how I can get one for an AMT brand 15" Planer?
I was given this unit awhile back, and have just decided to get it up and running. I have a friend who needs a planer, and I am planning on gifting it to him. Thanks, John"

(Answer) "Hi John
If that's a generic Taiwanese planer from the '80s, it's probably made by GeeTech. You should be able to get a close approximation from Grizzly's owners manual archives online. Otherwise, you could ask Sunhill in Seattle to email you a copy, as they have been using the same design for decades (according to them) of GeeTech 15" planer.

BTW, if the stand is ratty on yours, Grizzly has a nice closeout on 15" planer stands for around $30 in their discontinued section. They are predrilled for casters, so it's a cheap way to get mobile."

And then this:

"Hi, I have an AMT 15 inch thickness planer and do not have the owners manual. I bought the machine in the late 80s, early 90s and lost the manual. I don't know how to adjust the blade parallel to the bed and cant use the machine accurately until I do. I was hoping someone out there might have one they could copy. I'd be happy to pay a fee for it. Thanks, RK

If this machine is a copy of Delta 15 inch I would go to the Delta site and download a manual and try that. You can probably download a parts list just to ensure they are the same."


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