What's this?

[Lowlife]

OK clearly it's an old planer, but does anyone have any idea what make/model?

I picked it up a few years ago for a Tenner on eBay, I also have a cast iron fence for it, what look like a pair of home-made roller table extensions, a pair of new blades, and a few bits and pieces that may well come from something else as I can't see what they are or where they might fit! It also came on a home-made wooden cabinet stand, but I ditched that because I can make something much better.

It's had an attack of tinworm but nothing serious, just a bit of surface rust on the tables that'll come off easily enough, the fence is a bit worse and I may have to skim that on the mill.

Length is 33" overall, 6" wide tables, underneath the tables is cast the number DMT205-1 and both are adjustable for height (presumably because the blades are not), and it has a two blade cutter.

 

[Digit]

Can't tell you the make, but I'll bet it's a Brit.
All the decently constructed planers of age have two movable tables, one reason was to produce rebates.

Roy.

 

[Lowlife]

I think you're probably right, either British or a copy of a British machine, it's not unlike an old Wadkin that I found photos of but I don't think it is one.

I'll take it into work on Moday and start cleaning it up, I have a new 1hp motor sitting around that might be suitable for it, or maybe it needs more power than that? There was a rudimentary guard when I bought it but I can't find that now, easy enough to make something up though.

 

[Digit]

My planer is also 6 inches wide LL, it came with a massively heavy stand and a 3 phase motor with flat belt drive.
The motor was 3/4 HP, now that it is single phase it has a 3 HP motor.
HP is HP, but for full width cuts on hardwood the extra torque is usefull.

Roy.

 

[Lowlife]

Think I'll give it a go with the 1hp as I already have it, I can always get a more powerful one if it struggles.

 

[Digit]

It won't necessarily struggle LL 'cos you're not stupid, you'll set cut and feed speed to suit, it's just handy to have all that power if you need it.

Roy.

 

[xy mosian]

Arcoy used to do something like that but there is a corner of my mind shouting Red Paint.
xy

 

[dickm]

The shape of the tables suggest the Myford ML8 planer attachment, but I'd expect that to be grey or yellow. As someone else has said, quite possibly a nameless copy of the Myford/Coronet/Dodd, or one of the other 1950's/60s small British manufacturers' design.

 

[neilyweely]

Hi
The Myford had a 3 blade cutter block, and was a 5 inch wide cut. i have one outside, just checked as myford are advertising on ebay their blade sets, three in a set, for £99.00!!!! Lor-lummee (Desperate Dan?); I paid a fraction of that for the whole unit with a brand new set of blades. Myford are rather a clique-y bunch, aren't they?

Hope this helps
Neil

 

[dickm]

Hi
Myford are rather a clique-y bunch, aren't they?

... and sadly, it will only get worse now the parent company has disappeared and become part of RDG tools. RDG are trying to strong-arm the use of the word Myford as being their unique property; they've even tried to prevent any company advertising secondhand Myford stuff under the Myford name on Fleabay.

 

[Lowlife]

Can anyone recommend a really good rust removal product? I'll get the worst off with a wire brush in the drill chuck, but it always seems to leave a bit, I was looking at this stuff yesterday http://www.bilthamber.com/pro-introduction.php?cname=Corrosion Removal&name=deox-Gel anyone ever used it?

 

[marcros]

electrolysis. there are a few threads on here if you search for either that or electrolytic rust removel etc

 

[Lowlife]

Well I have this fully restored and working now, I just used a wire brush in a drill chuck to remove the worst of the rust in the end, then soaked it in WD40 and finished off with wire wool. I built a cabinet using mostly scrap from work, I had some white melamine and walnut veneered MDF left over from making display cabinets, it has an efficient chip extraction chute inside with a 100mm hose connection at one end, and the motor is housed inside the cabinet.

I suspect the cutter head runs a bit slower than it was intended to, but it seems to work fine and gives a good finish provided you don't feed too fast, and there's plenty of torque, it has no problem with full width planks and barely slows at all.

This is so much better than the SIP one that I bought and had to return, I now regret leaving this to languish under the bench for so long, I should have got it working when I bought it and could have been using it all this time!

All together it's cost me about £85, a tenner for the machine itself on eBay, and the rest on the motor, switch, and a drive belt which are all I had to buy, the rest was just stuff I had lying around. Going through the bits I had I even found there was a spare pair of sharpened blades, I hadn't noticed them before as they were wrapped up in a greasy rag, so I fitted those and sent the other ones off for sharpening.

 

[Digit]

What! No pictures?

Roy.

 

[Lowlife]

Sorry, no!

It's at work and I'm not so I can't take any right now, but I'll take some tomorrow and post them.

 

[chunkolini]

Rust removal? the Bilt hamber stuff is excellent.
I bought a 5kg tub of the powder years back. Instead of buying the gel soak kitchen tissues in the solution from the powder, wrap the metal in that and cling film it. Loads cheaper.
Leave it on over night and wash the rust off, the solution turns a hideous green colour.
I am informed that you can buy citric acid as a powder much cheaper, and that is the main active ingredient in the DeoxyC, but cant reccomend it as I have never used it.

 

[Benchwayze]

Yes. Coronet made a planer much like this. Similar design to the Coronet planing-attachment, but 1.5" wider.

Hope you get it working. it should be a good 'un.

 

[Benchwayze]

Well I have this fully restored and working now, I just used a wire brush in a drill chuck to remove the worst of the rust in the end, then soaked it in WD40 and finished off with wire wool. I built a cabinet using mostly scrap from work, I had some white melamine and walnut veneered MDF left over from making display cabinets, it has an efficient chip extraction chute inside with a 100mm hose connection at one end, and the motor is housed inside the cabinet.

I suspect the cutter head runs a bit slower than it was intended to, but it seems to work fine and gives a good finish provided you don't feed too fast, and there's plenty of torque, it has no problem with full width planks and barely slows at all.

This is so much better than the SIP one that I bought and had to return, I now regret leaving this to languish under the bench for so long, I should have got it working when I bought it and could have been using it all this time!

All together it's cost me about £85, a tenner for the machine itself on eBay, and the rest on the motor, switch, and a drive belt which are all I had to buy, the rest was just stuff I had lying around. Going through the bits I had I even found there was a spare pair of sharpened blades, I hadn't noticed them before as they were wrapped up in a greasy rag, so I fitted those and sent the other ones off for sharpening.

Just whack a slightly bigger pulley wheel on the motor? Should speed it up a bit, as long as you don't 'chance it' with something ridiculous! Bester luck!

 

[Lowlife]

I am informed that you can buy citric acid as a powder much cheaper

Yes you can buy it from any chemist, a small pack is only a pound or so, I use it for preparing copper for soldering.

Just whack a slightly bigger pulley wheel on the motor? Should speed it up a bit

Yes I was thinking I might try that, of course it would reduce the torque a bit though and I'm not sure it's really neccessary, as I said it seems to work OK as it is so I may just leave it.

I think I mentioned I have some table extensions for it? They don't fit though, the tables each have four bolts to attach them, but the hole spacing is wrong so I assume they've never been fitted, I guess they must have either come from a different machine or else the holes were drilled wrongly. Easy enough to drill new holes though, the extensions could be useful.

 

[Benchwayze]

Hi LL,

It's just occurred to me,
The bits and pieces you don't recognise might be the thicknessing attachment. ISTR that the Coronet Planer had such an attachment.
Have a look here, and see if there's anything you recognise on the Capitol planer.

http://www.coronetwoodworking.co.uk/Machines.html