Woodstar PT 85 Planer
- Rational Root
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- Location: Dublin, Ireland
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Woodstar PT 85 Planer
A while back I asked for advice about planers and thicnkessors and I got a lot of replies, in return I promised to pass comment once I have actually bought and used one....
Setting up the Woodstar PT 85
First I had to replace the power plug. Annoying but trivial.
The PT 85 is small enough to put on a standard Black and Decker WorkMate and there are holes in the base of the machine to clamp it down. (Do set it up along the length of the bench to give yourself a longer base.)
Then I ran a scrap piece of Oak over the planer. Very nice except for the ends which suffered horrible sniping. The result for the middle of the board was excellent.
Time to break out the articles from old woodwork magazines about setting up a planer.
The Woodstar is really quite simple to set up for planing. There are two settings
The infeed table
This is set up by twisting a knob at the end of the table which moves it up or down. Moving back down is by means of a spring, which tends to catch and then slip. So to get any sort of accuracy, bring the table lower than you need, and then adjust it back up.
The Cutter Blades
These are held in place by four allen bolts perpendicular to the blades. The are adjusted by two more allen bolts which are parallel to the blades. Here, the manual is less than helpful. What you need to do is to loosen the allen bolts holding the blade, and then adjust the blades so that they are exactly level with the outfeed table. then tighten the bolts. This is fiddly and time consuming, and will probably require a number of iterations. And each time you sharpen the blades, you need to re-adjust them.
In order to align the blades, get a straight edge and run it from the out feed table over the blades. Each blade should just touch the straight edge as you rotate it. See the diagram opposite. You may find a little bit of trial and error is required here. Patience and small adjustments is the key.
Take Good Care
There is a push stick provided. Use it. In spite of the gaurd, and through my own foolishness, my push stick already has a nice little notch in it. Had that been my fingers, typing would now be somewhat difficult.
Unfortunately about now, it started to rain, and since my "workshop" is out of doors, that necessitated a quick cover and tidy.
Next time, I'll play with the thicknessor function. I plan to thickness all the peices for a given frame in one session so that they are all done with the same machine setting.
On the whole I'm happy with the Woodstar. With a little setup work it looks like I will be able to get excellent results.
Incidently I bought this in McQuillans Tools in Blanchardstown shopping center. They don't appear to have a web site, so I can't provide a link. If anyone has a link, stick a comment in and I'll add the link here.
Setting up the Woodstar PT 85
First I had to replace the power plug. Annoying but trivial.
The PT 85 is small enough to put on a standard Black and Decker WorkMate and there are holes in the base of the machine to clamp it down. (Do set it up along the length of the bench to give yourself a longer base.)
Then I ran a scrap piece of Oak over the planer. Very nice except for the ends which suffered horrible sniping. The result for the middle of the board was excellent.
Time to break out the articles from old woodwork magazines about setting up a planer.
The Woodstar is really quite simple to set up for planing. There are two settings
The infeed table
This is set up by twisting a knob at the end of the table which moves it up or down. Moving back down is by means of a spring, which tends to catch and then slip. So to get any sort of accuracy, bring the table lower than you need, and then adjust it back up.
The Cutter Blades
These are held in place by four allen bolts perpendicular to the blades. The are adjusted by two more allen bolts which are parallel to the blades. Here, the manual is less than helpful. What you need to do is to loosen the allen bolts holding the blade, and then adjust the blades so that they are exactly level with the outfeed table. then tighten the bolts. This is fiddly and time consuming, and will probably require a number of iterations. And each time you sharpen the blades, you need to re-adjust them.
In order to align the blades, get a straight edge and run it from the out feed table over the blades. Each blade should just touch the straight edge as you rotate it. See the diagram opposite. You may find a little bit of trial and error is required here. Patience and small adjustments is the key.
Take Good Care
There is a push stick provided. Use it. In spite of the gaurd, and through my own foolishness, my push stick already has a nice little notch in it. Had that been my fingers, typing would now be somewhat difficult.
Unfortunately about now, it started to rain, and since my "workshop" is out of doors, that necessitated a quick cover and tidy.
Next time, I'll play with the thicknessor function. I plan to thickness all the peices for a given frame in one session so that they are all done with the same machine setting.
On the whole I'm happy with the Woodstar. With a little setup work it looks like I will be able to get excellent results.
Incidently I bought this in McQuillans Tools in Blanchardstown shopping center. They don't appear to have a web site, so I can't provide a link. If anyone has a link, stick a comment in and I'll add the link here.
Hey! I built a boat ! No Really, I did !
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/
- Graham Knight
- Posts: 2031
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 6:37 am
- Location: Shepperton, England
That's interesting, so there's no height adjustment on the outfeed table? My planer (eBay bargain, a good old solid cast iron job, £10 plus the cost of a new 1hp motor) has adjustable infeed and outfeed tables.
Good tool review BTW, we should do more like this.
Good tool review BTW, we should do more like this.
Graham in Shepperton, England
Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.
Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.
-
- Posts: 192
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- Location: NH
I think you are refering to what we call a jointer here in the U.S. We use it to square up finished edges on stock.
A thickness planer is used here for planing stock to thickness and it has a power infeed.
Also I have some semi-circular plastic jigs with magnets in them that allow you to position and hold the blades at the same height as you tighten them up, takes about 5 minutes total for 2 blades. I think I bought them in a woodworking catalog.
John H.
A thickness planer is used here for planing stock to thickness and it has a power infeed.
Also I have some semi-circular plastic jigs with magnets in them that allow you to position and hold the blades at the same height as you tighten them up, takes about 5 minutes total for 2 blades. I think I bought them in a woodworking catalog.
John H.
As Conan the Barbarian says, " It's not how hard you can hit, it's how hard you can get hit and remain standing".
- Graham Knight
- Posts: 2031
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 6:37 am
- Location: Shepperton, England
These different terms for the same tool are tricky! I have to keep reminding myself who I'm addressing, the problem on this forum is that I'm addressing people on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond, and I can never remember who calls what tool by what name!
The tool I'm referring to which you call a jointer is usually known as a surface planer in the UK, or just a planer. I think I've always known a thicknesser as just that, but some of the older guys I work with call that a planer too!
The tool I'm referring to which you call a jointer is usually known as a surface planer in the UK, or just a planer. I think I've always known a thicknesser as just that, but some of the older guys I work with call that a planer too!
Graham in Shepperton, England
Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.
Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.
- Rational Root
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- Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:28 am
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
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This is a Planer/jointer AND a thicknessor
It's BOTH a thicknessor and a Planer/Jointer
You pass the wood UNDER the planing/jointing panel to thicknes the wood. There's a winder to move a plate up and down to set the thickness.
Where did you get the jig for setting up the planer ?
You pass the wood UNDER the planing/jointing panel to thicknes the wood. There's a winder to move a plate up and down to set the thickness.
Where did you get the jig for setting up the planer ?
Hey! I built a boat ! No Really, I did !
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/
- Bill Edmundson
- Posts: 12617
- Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:45 am
- Location: Birmingham, AL, USA
- Contact:
I just got a Ridgid Thicknesser/Planer for my B'day. Can't wait to run those big, full, rough cut 8/4 mahogany boards/timbers through it!
Thanks for your comments here. I'm sure some will apply to mine.
Bill
Thanks for your comments here. I'm sure some will apply to mine.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Edmundson on Sun Nov 05, 2006 6:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mini -Tug, KH Tahoe 19 & Bartender 24 - There can be no miracle recoveries without first screwing up.
Tahoe 19 Build
Tahoe 19 Build
Using rollers
I have a bit of problem when planning long pieces (above 16') without a helper. Do you guys use rollers at the feed-in and exit of thicknesser and jointer? I don't have any roller at the moment and not willing to spend more money for this item.
Regards,
Bob
If your boss is driving you nuts, build a boat.
Growing older is mandatory, getting wiser is optional.
Bob
If your boss is driving you nuts, build a boat.
Growing older is mandatory, getting wiser is optional.
- Bill Edmundson
- Posts: 12617
- Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:45 am
- Location: Birmingham, AL, USA
- Contact:
I have a couple of 10' "Church" folding tables that I build up to the saw level to support the in-run and out-run. I just bought 2 rollers with the planner I got for my B'day. Can't wait to see/feel the difference.
Bill
Bill
Mini -Tug, KH Tahoe 19 & Bartender 24 - There can be no miracle recoveries without first screwing up.
Tahoe 19 Build
Tahoe 19 Build
- Graham Knight
- Posts: 2031
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 6:37 am
- Location: Shepperton, England
You can build some feed tables or trestles yourself, they don't have to be particularly sturdy so needn't be expensive, dusting the tops with talc helps the wood to slide easily. Trestles are probably better as they are multi-purpose and fold away when not in use, and you can put a sheet of cheap ply on top to make it into a table.
Alternatively a couple of light duty roller stands are cheap enough.
Alternatively a couple of light duty roller stands are cheap enough.
Graham in Shepperton, England
Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.
Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.
Before I got my "serioius" outfeed roller stand, http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... ,240,41060 I rigged up my own with scrap lumber and a Workmate.
The scrap lumber is a "tee" with a few roller balls on the top. The Tee clamps in the Workmate to the desired height. I can use it with either table saw or planer.
The "tee" can be made from two pieces of 12" wide 3/4" plywood. The vertical piece is about 2' high. The cross piece (on which the roller balls sit) is about 3" wide.
It stores really easily when off the Workmate. I still use this one when I need a second support.
Let me know if a picture would help. (I'm away for a few days, but can post when I return)
Here are the roller balls:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... ,240,41060
The scrap lumber is a "tee" with a few roller balls on the top. The Tee clamps in the Workmate to the desired height. I can use it with either table saw or planer.
The "tee" can be made from two pieces of 12" wide 3/4" plywood. The vertical piece is about 2' high. The cross piece (on which the roller balls sit) is about 3" wide.
It stores really easily when off the Workmate. I still use this one when I need a second support.
Let me know if a picture would help. (I'm away for a few days, but can post when I return)
Here are the roller balls:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... ,240,41060
Bruce.
~~ Do what you love, and love what you do. ~~
~~ To me - only my boat is not yet perfect. Everybody else's is to be admired for I know the path they have walked (Dave Lott, 2010) ~~
Dow's Monaco Project
~~ Do what you love, and love what you do. ~~
~~ To me - only my boat is not yet perfect. Everybody else's is to be admired for I know the path they have walked (Dave Lott, 2010) ~~
Dow's Monaco Project
Thanks Guys.
Graham,
I already have two trestles. I ever fixed a self made roller on one. Very often the out-runs do not fit the height very well. I think that's why Lee Valley (Thanks Bruce) invented the metal plate to guide the lumber in.
I like your idea of using talc. I wil try in.
Graham,
I already have two trestles. I ever fixed a self made roller on one. Very often the out-runs do not fit the height very well. I think that's why Lee Valley (Thanks Bruce) invented the metal plate to guide the lumber in.
I like your idea of using talc. I wil try in.
Regards,
Bob
If your boss is driving you nuts, build a boat.
Growing older is mandatory, getting wiser is optional.
Bob
If your boss is driving you nuts, build a boat.
Growing older is mandatory, getting wiser is optional.
- Rational Root
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- Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:28 am
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
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Now that's a good idea. I need rollers, but spending €40 a peice on them seems a crime. I was trying to figure a simple way to make an adjustable height home made version, without spending a day to do it. Since I alread have a spare workbench, I see a solution.
Thanks,
D
Thanks,
D
"Bruce Dow"]Before I got my "serioius" outfeed roller stand, http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... ,240,41060 I rigged up my own with scrap lumber and a Workmate.
The scrap lumber is a "tee" with a few roller balls on the top. The Tee clamps in the Workmate to the desired height. I can use it with either table saw or planer.
Hey! I built a boat ! No Really, I did !
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/
-
- Posts: 157
- Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:25 am
- Location: Frozen to the shop floor
They are a simple thing to make. I use small caster wheels on a 12" piece of timber for a head, and mortise it for a single post. casters won't pull the material to one side, or the other, not so important with a thickness planer, but rather significant with saws, and shapers.
Supporting the material as the ends both enter, and exit the machine will help cut down snipe. With 10' of material hanging out there that's going to be a pretty shaky affair without some support.
Supporting the material as the ends both enter, and exit the machine will help cut down snipe. With 10' of material hanging out there that's going to be a pretty shaky affair without some support.
- Rational Root
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- Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:28 am
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Rollers are required
One way or another, I need rollers, trying to run 9 foot boards through without rollers is a joke.
For what I need now, short boards are fine so I just cut them in half, but later I will need to do longer boards.
D
For what I need now, short boards are fine so I just cut them in half, but later I will need to do longer boards.
D
Hey! I built a boat ! No Really, I did !
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/