Needs to be calibrated and set up properly but the blades, rollers, and everything else looks brand new.

This nicely solves the problem of what am I going to do about the old Dewalt 733 that has seen MUCH better days.

Some of the mounting hardware for the motor needs to be updated and it is missing one of the mounting bolts to hold it to the base which is easily sourced locally.

 

Other than that, this thing is in great shape, just needs a little cleaning, maintenance, waxing and it will be ready to be put into service.

Sweet find LV. Is certainly does appear to be very clean. Just curious, what is the planing width? Two blade or three?

Usable width of 12” and 3-blade cutter head.

 

That planer is on my bucket list to get for my Smith, the reviews are great on it, it has dual variable speed drive correct? You can adjust the speed of the blades and the speed of the feed separately? Heard nothing but good about that machine.

Since my space is very small, I'll be looking for a Smith mounted planer, those seem harder to find than the power stand type you found.

The secret is that it is the same planer.

I was looking at it last night, and the cutter head drive pulley shaft is 5/8” keyed on one side and the other is a typical shopsmith taper that you can put a drive hub on.  You would have to source/make the clamps to secure it to the carriage tubes but other than that it would go right on there.
As far as I can tell, this one has a fixed cutter head speed and a variable feed speed when mounted on the base.

 

I found that one locally for $200 so deals are definitely out there for these.

Edited January 12, 20224 yr by StaticLV2

That's right, I was confused regarding the feed rates on the cutter and the feed, I just looked it up, the benefit is the two motors are separate, the feed motor and the cutter motor, that sounded appealing to me as Shopsmith states:

 

"Separate Feed Motor won't rob cutterhead power. Both Shopsmith Planer models offer a separate feed motor that's completely independent of the cutterhead motor. As a result, you'll achieve better, more consistent planer performance since each of the two motors is dedicated entirely to its own function."

 

I knew it was the same machine, power stand or smith mounted, but I'd rather have the factory fit to the tubes instead of building something to fit. I just like things that way.

Oh, the planer itself has the tube imprints built into it.  I will see if i can get a picture of it.  The clamps just hold the planer to the tubes in that factory orientation.  

John,

 

Shopsmith still sells parts for those planers. The clamps are available for around $20 each, so $40 should get you what you need. Once you find the machine itself, of course! 

1 hour ago, Static_LV said:

Oh, the planer itself has the tube imprints built into it.  I will see if i can get a picture of it.  The clamps just hold the planer to the tubes in that factory orientation.  

THanks for the clarification Static!

27 minutes ago, Headhunter said:

John,

 

Shopsmith still sells parts for those planers. The clamps are available for around $20 each, so $40 should get you what you need. Once you find the machine itself, of course! 

Thanks! I used to see them being sold frequently with power stand and I always thought I could not use it for my Smith. But between you and Static, my world has opened up.

Now I gotta find one. Just did a search on Craigslist in my area and even Smith machines are rare to find anymore, just a few months ago you could scroll through pages of them, and the planers too. Hmmm

Here is a picture of the casing.  The tube indexes are already there and on the SS mounted version a threaded 3/8” bolt goes through the clamp and secures in the casing to hold it in place.  The stand uses the same 3/8” bolt to hold the planer to the frame.  I actually traced these to use as a template for a tube clamp idea I have for the drill press but thats another story.

 

For whatever it is worth, the belt tensioning system on the stand configuration is one of the worst pieces of design I have ever seen and I can’t hardly believe that it came from ShopSmith based on how clever their other designs are.  This is a big enough pain in the arse that I almost decided to just screw the stand, get some clamps and run it on the SS directly.

Basically there are 4 long screws that hang down from the base in long slots.  These are held in position with by lock washers and nuts.  then another nut is threaded on and then the motor and then another washer locked nut.  You mount the motor, put the belt on and then lower the second nuts to tension the belt, trying to keep everything level.  Then use the last locking nuts to hold it in place. Now here is the fun part, the legs slope so the motor has to be in the correct position so that the belt pulley can clear the legs.  If your top adjustments are off in the slot, you have to take everything apart and start over. To further complicate everything, all of this is hiding up inside the lip of the stand and due to the motor itself getting in the way there is no way to get a socket on any of it and the available throw for an open end wrench is about 30*.  It took longer to get the motor leveled and belt tensioned properly than it did to break down the whole planer, clean it, lubricate it, wax the bed, reassemble it, and calibrate the cutting height.

 

Now for the good stuff….

 

Ran a couple of scrap pieces of red oak through it to test and I am impressed by a few things.  The test pieces came out nice and parallel which is great.  Now I can actually do S4S instead of S3S and a 1/32 slope across a 4” board which was what I was getting with the baby DeWalt.  The second thing is the dust collection works WELL.  Really well.  It looks absolutely hokey and flimsy and doesn’t look like it would do the job at all.  I stand corrected, it works better than expected by a fair margin.  Lastly the finish.  The finish is excellent.  I ran the first couple passes to get the work piece to the proper co-planer spec and calibrate the height adjustment, then I slowed it way down and ran a 1/32 cut on the slowest speed possible and the surface is remarkable.  It isn’t quite the finished surface you can get with a really sharp hand plane but it isn’t far off either.

You’re going to love that planer. I had one for years and it’s now in my sons shop. I think it’s the only planer made with independent and variable speed feed rate and cutter head speed. You can achieve some pretty smooth wood with that planer. They make a spiral carbide cutter head for it that really improves the performance. 
Paul

What motor would be required to run the blades? As in what RPM do the blades run at so I know what motor to use. I assume it is about 3400 ROM!

1 hour ago, vince1ltd said:

What motor would be required to run the blades? As in what RPM do the blades run at so I know what motor to use. I assume it is about 3400 ROM!

This is the motor I am running on mine.

Thank you

I figured as much, I have a couple of motors sitting around, but are only 1725 for RPM.

I like my Shopsmith, but want the planer separate from the unit.

Vince

I've had my Pro Planer as a stand alone machine since new back in 1986!  Yes, it's been that long.  Four years ago I made some big upgrades to the machine.  First, I purchased a new outfeed roller from Shopsmith along with keys, springs and pins.  The crown jewel was a helical cutter head from Canada.  WOW!  What a difference in both noise levels and quality of cut and finish!  To say I am impressed is a gross understatement!  I used Sheartak for this part.  New bearings, the works! (Spiral Cutter head for Shopsmith 12"Planer, Pro-Planer M5990-B, 505990 (sheartak.com))  The price has gone up since I purchased, just like everything else.  I wouldn't go back to the 3 knife configuration if you paid me!

 

Thanks for listening!  Good luck with your machine!

On 5/9/2024 at 6:12 AM, Robert Melchionda said:

Thanks for listening!  Good luck with your machine!

Great report Robert! Thanks for all the tips and news about your machine.

On 5/9/2024 at 9:12 AM, Robert Melchionda said:

Thanks for listening!  Good luck with your machine!

First, welcome to The Patriot Woodworker Robert. Glad you found us and came aboard.

Appreciate you sharing your insight, experience and input on this topic. Thanks for sharing with us here

Hope to hear and see more from you and your shop.

Thanks for becoming a Patriot Woodworker.