# Woodmaster molder/planer



## Cyclone Hammer (Mar 27, 2010)

Hi. Im new here, i ve had my own construction business for 11 years. in a rural area such as mine we do the framing, shingling, siding and finishing. I would like to start milling the trim, possibly build the cabinets and interior doors in the houses we build and maybe sell some (doors,cabinets, trim not houses). First Question; I would like to hear from guys that are familiar with the "woodmaster molder/planer" I hope this hasent been discussed recently. If it has please tell me how far back, maybe I can find! Otherwise I would like to know about the good and the bad of the woodmaster. Can it do the job and for less money than just buying it like I ve been doing? sorry for the long first post. Thanks for any input.


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Cyclone Hammer said:


> First Question; I would like to hear from guys that are familiar with the "woodmaster molder/planer"


I've not touched a machine. I have received many of their mailings.

Their machines are not much use to me because I don't have the room to set up a commercial shop. Also I do NOT want to start a commercial operation. The machines do look like commercial models with commercial capabilities. 



Cyclone Hammer said:


> I would like to know about the good and the bad of the woodmaster. Can it do the job and for less money than just buying it like I ve been doing? sorry for the long first post. Thanks for any input.


I think that you need to look at these machines from a slightly different perspective. With everything that you intend to do, you're probably going to spend $5000 plus. The big question that you need to answer is, How much molding and at what price do you have to sell to break even? Then, will your market support that kind of volume? Who will be your competitors? Can you find a niche where you will be able to compete against them effectively? You KNOW what is going to happen when you enter the market place, your completion's prices are going to fall. Will you be able to survive in this "New" competitive market place?

Finally, if you set up the molding operation, who is going to operate the machines? Don't answer, "Myself". You are not going to run the machines! You are too busy running your business. Then there is Workman's Compensation Insurance, Pay roll taxes, liability insurance, etc. that needs to be considered.

One other thing... This is an issue in what is left of my mind. Much of the Woodmaster advertising is "Testimonial" related. I'm sorry but I'm skeptical when the majority of the good words are testimonials.


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## ash123 (Mar 14, 2010)

Cyclone Hammer said:


> Hi. Im new here, i ve had my own construction business for 11 years. in a rural area such as mine we do the framing, shingling, siding and finishing. I would like to start milling the trim, possibly build the cabinets and interior doors in the houses we build and maybe sell some (doors,cabinets, trim not houses). First Question; I would like to hear from guys that are familiar with the "woodmaster molder/planer" I hope this hasent been discussed recently. If it has please tell me how far back, maybe I can find! Otherwise I would like to know about the good and the bad of the woodmaster. Can it do the job and for less money than just buying it like I ve been doing? sorry for the long first post. Thanks for any input.


 

I've never built houses for a living, but I did own and run a 33,000 sf cabinet shop with a molding mill as well as a countertop shop and 32mm cabinet setup. I had a Mattison 202, three XL's, and one 2x6 Paulson molder. I sold the commercial business and set up a one man shop to play and work in. I currently have a 18" Woodmaster. If I was going to make moldings for cabinets and house trim, I'd buy a decent straight line rip saw and a 4 or 5 head molder. I liked the 2x6 Paulson because it was easy to set up and XL heads fit it, so there are a lot of used heads around. 

I just saw a like new used Powermatic chain drive slr saw for 8k. That rip saw and one 2x6 Paulson and maybe one 2x4 XL dedicated to casing would be a good starter setup for probably around 25k. The Woodmaster is a fun toy but I wouldn't want to make my living on one. The molders cut all 4 sides in one pass. They'll run 30 lineal feet a minute and that's 5,000 feet in three hours. I ran lots of stuff 3" and less in the rough. With a 5 head machine, the first head is a bottom jointing head. 

Next step is a knife grinder to make your own knives and sharpen existing knives to profile. I had a nice UTC 25A. That did everything up to 6". It even sharpened shaper cutters and router bits.


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## Cyclone Hammer (Mar 27, 2010)

Thanks, you sound like you've been around the woodworking block. I dont plan on making this a fulltime career. Just something I could do in my spare time or less busy times. I think I could get a woodmaster, dust collection and other misclaneous tools for under 10k. I actually have a perfect 40X40 building to set up in. is your woodmaster dependable? hows set-up and operation? is it going going to last very long @ 300-400 hours use per year?


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## ash123 (Mar 14, 2010)

Cyclone Hammer said:


> Thanks, you sound like you've been around the woodworking block. I dont plan on making this a fulltime career. Just something I could do in my spare time or less busy times. I think I could get a woodmaster, dust collection and other misclaneous tools for under 10k. I actually have a perfect 40X40 building to set up in. is your woodmaster dependable? hows set-up and operation? is it going going to last very long @ 300-400 hours use per year?


 
The Woodmaster is fine. It's as advertised and it will make molding. I just make some project moldings in very small volumes and it works fine, if slow. For cap molding I have to first make S4S. For chair rail, I have to make S2S with uniform widths. I don't make any casings and I don't relieve the chair rail, or that'd be another setup and another step. My shop is 32x48 and I wouldn't want to try to make a living out of it. 

The heads on a Paulson or XL molder run at 12,000 rpm with a 4 knife head. Do the math for knife marks per inch on a Woodmaster. Another downside is there's no profile chipbreakers on the Woodmaster. The 4 head molders have inserts that can be ground to profile, the Paulson top and bottom head motor is 15hp, and the side heads motor is 10 hp. Both the Woodmaster and the Paulson make the same amounts of chips to make the same moldings. A production molder will fill a 55 gallon barrel every 5 to 7 minutes. 

Both machines require a straight line rip saw or a gang rip to make any money. Those will fill a 55 gallon barrel every 20 minutes, so a decent exterior cyclone on a tower over a grain truck is needed to not have to stop all the time and deal with chips. 

My first molder was a 2X6 XL and I built my first dust collection system from a cyclone and 15hp blower I salvaged from a grain elevator for less than a thousand bucks. I bought the steel spiral pipe and hired a contractor to help me set it all up. I had a steel fabricator make a cantilevered pedestal for the cyclone to set on. I used roll offs to dump the chips in and I filled two a week.


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## jim douglas (Feb 8, 2010)

I have the woodmaster 18" planer molder and really like it. I also bought it with the intention of making moldings. After a year of changing knives & running boards through 6 or more times to get a finished product I added a Logosol PH260 molder. Now I use the woodmaster to plane to thickness then I install the gang rip saw blades to make blanks to run throuogh the Logosol. Much more productive & a better finished job. 
jim


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## Trimworkz (May 21, 2010)

*Woodmaster 718*



Cyclone Hammer said:


> Thanks, you sound like you've been around the woodworking block. I dont plan on making this a fulltime career. Just something I could do in my spare time or less busy times. I think I could get a woodmaster, dust collection and other misclaneous tools for under 10k. I actually have a perfect 40X40 building to set up in. is your woodmaster dependable? hows set-up and operation? is it going going to last very long @ 300-400 hours use per year?


Cyclone hammer are you still interested in the woodmaster? I have a 718 with all the goodies includes along with 32 knife patterns I am looking to sell. Business has been good and i am upgrading my equipment. Let me know


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## Ghidrah (Mar 2, 2010)

I don't have a woodmaster, I've had a Jet JPM13 molder planer since 03. I use it mostly for planing. When it comes to contemporary housing I'd rather buy the trim stock from the lumber yd. It's cost effective, saves time and much less of a hassle. 
However when I'm working on one of the three 90 to 130 yr old houses I take care of its all restoration which so far has meant replication. This is where the molder comes into play and shines. 

Many of the old profiles still exist just not in the dimensions of what you have in hand. Some have been altered slightly so as not to match the existing. Quite often the money to replace all trim just isn't in the budget but more often than not a customer is willing to cough up the cash for the knives required to dupe the profile for future use.

What I have seen of the WM 18" it's a step up from the JPM 13 and I'd have bought it had I'd known of it. 2 winters back I maxed the JPM with a 12"WX2"H ext Plinth band.


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