# craftsman 13" pro planer



## Phone60 (Jan 17, 2010)

I was able to find a model 217430 13" planer brand new still in original packaging for $150. The guy got it for Christmas in 2006 and never took it out of the box.
We unpacked it and it ran great. He even gave me a extra set of blades. The only draw back mabye is that it has 2 blades. I am reading the manual now and figuring out how to use it. I'm new to woodworking with a limited budget so I figured this would be a good planer to begin with. Anyone have this planer or have any advice about using safley?
thanks,
Greg


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

A friend of mine has that planer and he is very pleased with it. It does all that he asks of it.

You found a great buy.

George


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## Phone60 (Jan 17, 2010)

Thanks George , does your friend have any tips/ tricks for using the planer since I'm a newbe to planers?


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Pretty much like using any planner. If you google "tips for using a planner" you will get a bunch of responses.

Probably the best advise that you can get when starting to use a planner is not to take too big a bite on each pass. Start slow and learn what your planner is comfortable with.

G


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

The most that planer should ever cut in a single pass is 1/16". Anymore than that, and you are going to start damaging components and start getting poor cuts on the wood. When you plane lumber, you have to feed the grain in the proper direction to prevent tear out. Building an auxilliary infeed outfeed for that planer will be of tremendous help. Those are good little planers, and if you don't get in a hurry and take small bites you will get excellent results.


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## Ogee Fillet (Aug 20, 2009)

http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodvision/?_requestid=20875

A little about making that planer do as you want it to do.


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## Burt (Nov 16, 2009)

Gosh, wish I could of found that planer in new condition for that price. I think you'll be very pleased with it.
Others in this thread have great advice. Would suggest a dust collector. These things will throw a substantial amount of dust/chips out that a conventional shop vac would struggle with. 
Oh yeah... wear ear protection!


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

Burt brings up a good point. It wil clog and hurt performance without dust collection. A shop vac helps .


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## Phone60 (Jan 17, 2010)

Thanks Burt and Colt,
:laughing: I was really lucky to find this on CL and had to drive 1.5 hrs to get it, and to find it still sealed in the box was a surprise. It does have dust collection and I have a 14 gal. 6hp rigid vac and got a chip separator that fits on a 5 gal bucket , so I think this setup should take care of the sawdust and chips.
Thanks also to Ogee Fillet for that video, it looks like the same planer that I have:thumbsup:

Greg

I love the smell of sawdust in the morning


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

I used a shop vac on my for years. It get most of the chips.


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## Paul Paddock (Jul 16, 2018)

*Good Planer/One Problem*

I've got that planer and although I've been very pleased with it, I've not used it in awhile due to two things:

1) My stupidity, and,
2) A poor design on one important aspect of the machine. 

In fiddling with the planer awhile ago, I inadvertently pulled the female part of the power cord off the machine. 
If this connection was easily accessible, all I would have to do, is simply plug it back in. The problem is, that 
the male prongs, that accept the female receptacle end, are buried within the machine, in such a way, that I can't 
see it, and the access is so tight, I can't get my hand in to feel around and get it seated. 

It looks like I'm going to have to do some fairly significant taking apart, to get to where I need to be. 

Wonder if anyone has a simple solution?


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