# Planer question.



## Mad Professor (Nov 7, 2008)

I found a used foley belsaw planer/molder for sale, appears to be in good shape and well built. 

12 1/2 X 6 1/2 " capacity, 5 HP/220V, also has ripsaw and dust collector attachments. 

Owner said I can bring over a board or two to test it out.

Although I'd like to be able to plane wider stuff, this sure seems to be built way better than most of whats available these days unless I spend big $$$.

Anyone have one or have used one? Comments? Will the ripsaw work well for low volume edging? By edging , I mean cleaning up boards, not flitches off the mill.

If it runs well what's it worth?


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## Dennis_Peacock (Nov 7, 2008)

One thing I can tell you is that it uses High Speed Steel knives in the cutterhead and anything that allows you to change what it does will be a problem keeping it aligned and working smoothly. I've been through several planers and I finally settled on a Powermatic 15" with a Shelix cutterhead. The cutterhead is spiral and loaded with small square carbide cutters. This baby runs "quiet" and will cut MANY more board feet of lumber or cants without needing to change out a set of knives.

I've never owned a Foley, but I've seen a lot of them for sale. IMHO, a dedicated machine is worth far more than a combo machine when it comes to woodworking. I learned that at a great cost out of my pocket as I used to own a nice European combo machine and after 2 years, sold it and bought all dedicated machines. I've been thrilled ever since. 

Just be aware that Your Mileage May Vary....and all this info is worth exactly what you paid for it.


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## woodshop (Nov 7, 2008)

Dennis_Peacock said:


> One thing I can tell you is that it uses High Speed Steel knives in the cutterhead and anything that allows you to change what it does will be a problem keeping it aligned and working smoothly. I've been through several planers and I finally settled on a Powermatic 15" with a Shelix cutterhead. The cutterhead is spiral and loaded with small square carbide cutters. This baby runs "quiet" and will cut MANY more board feet of lumber or cants without needing to change out a set of knives.
> 
> I've never owned a Foley, but I've seen a lot of them for sale. IMHO, a dedicated machine is worth far more than a combo machine when it comes to woodworking. I learned that at a great cost out of my pocket as I used to own a nice European combo machine and after 2 years, sold it and bought all dedicated machines. I've been thrilled ever since.
> 
> Just be aware that Your Mileage May Vary....and all this info is worth exactly what you paid for it.



Pretty much ditto what this wise man says. I agree that a dedicated machine is often way ahead on many counts if you have enough room in your shop for them. I too have a 15 inch 4 post with shelix spiral cutterheads, and will never go back to knives again. At this point (I've only had it one year so far) I'm getting more than 3 times the bd ft of wood planed with those little carbide cutters than with my knives. As for 12 1/2 width being enough... that depends on your shop and your stash of wood. In my case it would be enough for probably 75% of what I run through it... but then the beauty of the full 15 inch (or larger) bed is you can run several through at the same time, and also spread the wear out across a larger number of teeth so over all you can go longer between changes. downside of course it price... you're looking at around $2K for a new 15 inch with spiral cutterhead. As for what that saw your looking at is worth... ball park figures ( and this is very general of course) for used equipment is to START at half the cost of a new one, and work down from there depending on how beat up it is. Are the bearings beat to death? Does the bed move up and down cleanly and smoothly? In other words, how many years has this thing been planing boards? How many hours are on that motor?


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## Sawyer Rob (Nov 7, 2008)

I saw one at a local auction not long ago in really nice shape, (i looked it over) and it went for $375.00...

There are no alinment problems with a Woodmaster planer... When you change heads, it goes back perfectly. Also, i can change the knives in my Woodmaster in 15 mins or less...

Rob


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## woodshop (Nov 7, 2008)

There was another thread on here not to long ago that discussed planers...


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## BlueRider (Nov 7, 2008)

there are a handful of brands that are at the top of the list for best 12" planer for vintage tool junkies. Belsaw is one of those along with Boise Crane, Parks, Yates J-line, and Powermatic. it is a heavy duty machine capable of production use. There are several reasons some prefer the Bellsaw. first is the availability of new replacment parts from Belsaw along with new moulding knives. The second reason for it being a favorite is that is is a nice little moulding machine. I know of a couple of door shops that have them so they are not limited to making doors out of what ever woods the available moulding is made in as well as for making curved moldings with the avalable atachments similar to a Williams & Hussey.

You asked about if it would work for edging boards. It would work but it is not a practical solution for edging boards off a mill. A rip saw is great for making many of the same width board such as rails and stiles,firing strips or even stickers. 

Price is a huge variable. Is it single or three phase? what kind of condition is it in? is it in true plug and play condition or does it need to be adjusted? it can take a full day to clean and inspect a vintage machine and another to adjust it, and that is if it is in good condition with no need for replaceing any parts or bearings. Unlike a simple planer the value of a used Bellsaw is also dependent on what knives and accesories come with it. 

I am not as familiar with the Belsaw as some of the other 12" planers. I recently picked up a restored 1948 12" parks in plug and play condition for $250. it was a smoking deal and probably worth closer to $600-$800 in a good economy.


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## Mad Professor (Nov 7, 2008)

BlueRider said:


> there are a handful of brands that are at the top of the list for best 12" planer for vintage tool junkies. Belsaw is one of those along with Boise Crane, Parks, Yates J-line, and Powermatic. it is a heavy duty machine capable of production use. There are several reasons some prefer the Bellsaw. first is the availability of new replacment parts from Belsaw along with new moulding knives. The second reason for it being a favorite is that is is a nice little moulding machine. I know of a couple of door shops that have them so they are not limited to making doors out of what ever woods the available moulding is made in as well as for making curved moldings with the avalable atachments similar to a Williams & Hussey.
> 
> You asked about if it would work for edging boards. It would work but it is not a practical solution for edging boards off a mill. A rip saw is great for making many of the same width board such as rails and stiles,firing strips or even stickers.
> 
> ...



First of all thanks to EVERYBODY! Thank YOU!!! The more you can tell me the better!!!

Time being I don't have ANY planer, but I have +5000 bd/ft seasoned 5/4 cherry, mostly heartwood, all > 8". I'm hoping it will pay for itself shortly.

As far as edging, I worked in a production mill, as an edger (did everything else besides sawyer too). So I understand that, wood in general, and how to get the most out of a flitch.

I'm just looking for final square up and finish. The ripsaw takes 11" blades. I can handle setting up knives/moulder blades, height adjustment is not a big deal, further the knives can be ground many times, they are not throw aways.

Any other useful comments suggestions???

Thanks in advance,

MP


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## Suz (Nov 15, 2008)

Mad Professor said:


> I found a used foley belsaw planer/molder for sale, appears to be in good shape and well built.
> 
> 12 1/2 X 6 1/2 " capacity, 5 HP/220V, also has ripsaw and dust collector attachments.
> 
> ...


I know this is a old posting, but because I'm not out in the woods, I am looking at some old postings and I found your question.
The Belsaw is a older version of the Woodmaster Tools planer/molder. I have a Woodmaster 712 which is a nice powerful planer that you can "hog off" up to 3/16 of material in one pass. Also with the infinite variable speed feed you can adjust the feed rate. 
Some will argue about the small width (12 inches) but how many times is a board that is more than 12 inches used for woodworking? Granted if you are planing lumber for sale, that might be a different story where you would want a 20+ inch planer.
The gang saw is a super tool for when you want to gang rip lumber to mill molding. Each piece comes out exactly the same width. Again, if you are going to try to use this gang saw to rip millions of board feet, you will be disappointed. 
I "think" you can use the Woodmaster molding knives in the Belsaw. But, a call to their customer service will tell you for sure.
Again, the Belsaw or Woodmaster will not compete against the $200,000 milling machines, but it will hold it's own in a small custom woodworking shop. 
Jim


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