I have been offered the opportunity to purchase a 12 3/8" Foley Belsaw planer molder. The seller nor I have any idea what the planer should sell for as it belonged to his father who is deceased. The planer is one owner, purchased new in the early 80's with what the seller tells me has probably less than 30 hours on it. It has a 220 volt, single phase 5 hp motor and a rolling stand. It also has sliding adjustable rollers at both the infeed and output side of the table. The seller let me run a poplar 1"x 8" thru it multiple passes and all sounds well and cut well.
If I buy this it would be a starter planer for me. I currently don't have a real demand for it but will in the upcoming future with building projects I have planned. I know that eventually I will want something with a wider capacity but for now if the price is right what the heck.
I know that some of you either have one or have had one in the past so my question is what is your opinion on this planer and what would be a fair price range for this used machine?
Thanks for your input!
I was at a auction last fall and there was a Craftsman (I think Foley Belsaw) went for 150.00 looked perfect. I kicked myself on that one. I have had 2 and still have 1. I keep it just for making moulding. I think I sold the one for 600, but I have seen the for 300 lately. I would not sell mine for that. Sorry a wide range of prices, but they seem lower now compared to 20 years ago. Mine were all used.
For some reason I've had a lot of those planers. They are a pretty good machine. The rubber feed rollers are a wear item. With 5 HP it will eat about anything you throw at it. The standard feed rate is 12 fpm which is pretty slow. Sprockets can be had to increase the feed rate. The chip breaker is crude and no anti-kickback fingers so only feed one board at a time. No dust collection but you can fabricate something.
They can also be used to make molding and do it just as good as anything out there on short runs.
Some rendition of Belsaw is still in business to supply things like feed rollers, sprockets, and miscellaneous items. A google will find them.
I've bought them for $100 and resold some in the $500 range. The flood of imports on the used market keeps the price down now.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy one at the right price and if I needed it.
They had always given me the impression that they were designed and built by farmers. Nothing wrong with that, I was raised on the farm, but it's nothing like an old cast iron industrial machine. Way better than a Chinese machine, but as mentioned, plan on replacing rollers right away.
Sounds like I overpaid for my Woodmaster 712 at $700 with two heads and rolling base. But I paid for it with what I made selling My Powermatic that I couldn't find a good single phase motor for (other than new).
I would ask if there are any other accessories. They had optional moulding knives, sanders, etc. Could get lucky.
Current company is Woodmaster which is affiliated (or the same company?) as TimberKing. Parts are available as are spiral heads and other upgrades.
I consider it high grade hobby equipment or light grade production for a small shop.
I got a cast iron 20" American sawmill from 20s-30s with an almost brand new 5 hp single phase motor this past summer. He was asking $600 for it but we made a deal and I traded it for some lumber. A lot of the newer desk top planers can be bought for around $400-500. I would say somewhere in that range at the most. But i would probably shoot for $300 or so.
I bought a new 12 inch folew belsaw planer/molder years ago and it has a gang saw option. The rollers and knifes are the only thing I have replaced. Two speeds are available on the one I bought new. I bought one for 250 with extra rollers and a big selection of molding sets, some new. I hope to set it up to make stickers. I used my original many hours. Only drawback was getting it to job sight and rollers.
Thanks all for your input. I have added a photo so you guys can get some idea the actual planer itself and the vintage of the unit. The seller hasn't made me aware of having any additional molding knives or gang saw capabilities. I don't even know if this unit has gangsaw capability ???At any rate thank you all for your feedback. I was able to make the seller an offer today and am waiting to hear back on his decision. (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/43417/IMG_0259.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1492812114)
Mine looks the same but no rollers. It has extension tables instead. I get a snipe on the end of the board quite often with it.
Every planer has snipe. Helps to hold the end of the board up when entering and exiting . also feed back to back when planning more than one board. Steve
Those are nice little machines. New a guy who had one years ago and he even made curved molding on his.
Ive run mine everyday for the past couple weeks. Great machine, mine doesnt look near as nice as the one pictured. Mine has a box of T&G and a bunch of moulding cutters. The rip saw would bolt up and run off a second pulley on the main shaft. Only drawback in my opinion. Rollers wear, and its kind of a pain to adjust the feed drive belt. But it can hog out almost 1/4" with ease. Mine was $700.
Yours is probably a little newer than mine. Mine is a 1980 and all green paint. Haven't used mine a lot but never had any trouble with it. Put an 11 horse Briggs & Stratton on it a few years ago. Had an old 7 1/2 hp on it before that. Paid $625 for it new.
I paid 500 for mine. Put a 5hp motor on it and use it to skip plane. It will eat a lot of wood. It's one of the all green models. I have the rip saw part of it and trying to build a conveyer feed slr out of it.