The planer

[sawdust]

I finally made a video of the planer that I play with.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=NNiid9yytag

I think that link should work.
we were making 1x4, we had just finished doing my rain barrel profile. The planer does not normally get used right there but we were blowing the shavings up into the attic of the shop.

sawdust

[backwoods sawyer]

Is that an old woods planer?

[Kelvin]

Howdy,
so how does that thing work day to day?  You say "play with" but do you use it a lot?  Were you making t&g and was that kiln dried wood?  Looks like it was running real well did you have to rebuild things when you got it?  I'd like to do something similar someday, do you have it setup to be portable to take it places or just to move around your place?  How about the heads and knives do you have a grinder or do you just buy them?  Would this have been babbit bearing?  boy that looks pretty nice!  Sorry about all the questions but its good to see someone actually using something that most people would consider not practical for using anymore.  I like the idea, as i don't have a building to setup in so outside would be nice and i don't have the electric power for it so diesel or gas would be handy.
Thanks for taking the time to post the video,
kelvin

[sawdust]

The planer was made in Edmonton by a company called Alco I think in the 50's. I wish it were mine I could have bought it a few years ago, the price keeps going up. All bearings are actually bearings no babbit.
The wood is not kiln dried, it has been dry piled for a couple years before planing. In the video we had just changed to 1x4 We have knives to do lots of different profiles though some there is little demand for. The knives are purchased. Though it is on a trailer it is not road legal. The motor at present is a 350 and it really has to work at it. If a person ran it daily then changing settings would be easier to remember. We run it maybe 15 days a year and i tend to forget all the little tweaks it takes to get it all set. It has incredible capacity for wood, Bruce is not a very accurate sawyer and it can shave a 3x7 rough into a proper 2x6.
Once set it will plane an incredible amount of wood in a short time. It has two feed speeds, I don't really enjoy piling in high. We had Bruce's son planing that day and it is really a two person operation, I had time to dig out the camera. I am the nut on the ladder filming.
sawdust