I have a Powermatic 15"... Motor below, in and out-feed rollers that {can} catch an unwary finger... 2 rollers on top that I use a lot! The in and out feed "tables" do get used as handles on occasion, but hasn't seemed to present a problem. Blades are easily accessible for honing and replacement. The machine comes with a roller (caster) at each corner so a mobile base is not needed. Tom as usual, YMMV
Actually I think I will let my local supplier have the business if he will work with me a bit and let him set the planer up. I would not think of not getting a mobile base.
I'll have a look but I sure like the Delta style in feed and out feed. Virtually no way to get a finger or hand caught. Thanks
I'll disagree. When planing more than one board to a common thickness, you can stack them on the top rollers (an infeed stack and an outfeed stack) as you plane them down pass after pass.
scott
Leon FWIW I have the Powermatic 15" with spiral head cutter, cast iron in/out feeds and like it very much. The Jet looks very similar. I couldn't tell what sort of dust collector port the Delta has. I seem to recall someone having size problems with the Delta collector adaptor
How often do you run the same board through the planer at the same depth of cut? It seems like you are saying you take the just-planed board from the outfeed, walk back to the infeed, and feed it through again. If I only have one board, I will move it from outfeed to the rollers on top, leave it there while I adjust the depth, pick it up off the top and run the next pass. I guess I'm wierd or I'm not understanding your method.
-jj
I do 10 to 15 boards at a time, and then walk the last board to the infeed side and start the process over.
You mean "balance them," don't you? Asking for trouble. I set up left and right using tablesaw and RAS table, moving from side to side with each pass. They lay easier with a couple-three feet of support, which is why we rolled a table up beside the one at school for the purpose.
I have always recognized this as a potential hazard before as well. I thought about this some more while I was in the shop yesterday after reading this. So I cut a piece of melamine, grabbed the drill and mounted the melamine between the planer and the outfeed roller. No more worrying about trapped fingers.
-jj
Good move JJ.
If your planer table were constant height, your melamine-topped off-riding helper could be a table in its own right. Don't need any rollers on the infeed side, because you're already standing there.
Put a bit of up-tilt on the far end of the table to prevent snipe should you forget to tighten the head. Helps Polacks like me if someone puts a feed direction arrow in there somewhere, too.
LOL.... Have you actually tried to feed in the wrong direction? I often find myself raising the cutter head instead of lowering after a pass. I really hate waiting on the board to go through with anything wood being removed.
No, but I have put the high end of the catch table toward the planer, which caused the end of the board to begin pushing it across the floor. The end close to the planer wants to be the same height, sloping up maybe an eighth every foot and a half to prevent snipe.
I'm not sure replacing my 20" planer JUST to get a fixed table would be worth it. The scrap melamine was pretty much free.
Don't need any rollers on the
Right, that's why I only put it on the outfeed side.
Instead of the arrow, I got the melamine to show me which end is out. :)
Thanks to all the responders.
I am getting the Delta 22-780X later this week delivered and assembled with mobile base. $1099 after $100 rebate. I bought it locally in Houston.
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