power feeder recommendation

[D6c]

In order to flatten and then plane some of the hardwood lumber I've sawed and dried I'd like to get a power feeder for my 12" jointer.
Most lumber won't be 12" wide but I'd like a feeder capable of doing it.
Been looking at a Powermatic PF-31 (1hp 110v, 3 wheel)  Would a 3-wheel feeder be big enough for my jointer or do I need to go to a 4 wheel?
I might also mount it on my wood shaper, and if I get a better table saw some day, it might get used there.

Any recommendations on brand/model, or advice on setup, will be appreciated.

[YellowHammer]

I used that exact same one.  I would probably look at a belt feeder for a jointer.  My 3  wheel had plenty of power, but traction was an issue.  

[scsmith42]

I used that exact same one.  I would probably look at a belt feeder for a jointer.  My 3  wheel had plenty of power, but traction was an issue.  

My experience as well.  I have a 3 wheel 1 hp that I use with a 5 hp shaper.  Plenty of torque but occasionally the wheels will slip.

[farmfromkansas]

I have a 3 wheel 1hp power feeder, bought from Grizzly, was having a terrible time with it slipping on my shaper, waxed the table top and ran some sandpaper against the wheels, and the slipping stopped. Have read the urethane wheels slip much less than the rubber.

[D6c]

I have a 3 wheel 1hp power feeder, bought from Grizzly, was having a terrible time with it slipping on my shaper, waxed the table top and ran some sandpaper against the wheels, and the slipping stopped. Have read the urethane wheels slip much less than the rubber.

Good to know....I jointed a few 2" thick 8-10" wide 8' long Ash boards today.  Was taking a pretty shallow cut just to clean them up but it was pretty much a 2-man operation.  Fortunately I know the customer and trusted him to help.

[YellowHammer]

The issue with a power feed with a jointer is the trade off between traction and down pressure.  As boards get thinner, 4/4 and less, in order to get the necessary traction, the three wheel feeder was squashing the flexible boards down to the bed, and doing more planing than facing, and not removing bow.

I have looked hard at the "Jointer Feeders" with the fingers, but they have a huge lead time and I'm not sure they will do what I want.

As an aside, I've talked to Jake @customsawyer  and I'm very interested to see if his big carpet planer will remove bow from long, flexible boards.  So I'm bringing a party pack of 4/4 and 3/4 boards of different species and lengths, very similar to the boards we face by hand with success, (but very time consuming), to the Project, and we are going to see which adjustments and setups are possible to get the same results with his two sided, high speed, planer.

Last year, Jake ran a pallet of 8/4 slabs in just a very few minutes, and they came out as flat a steel plate.  Dead flat.  Very impressive.  So I'm thinking of buying one, but want to push its limits and see how thin a board it can flatten and feed.  It should be very interesting.  
 

[scsmith42]

The issue with a power feed with a jointer is the trade off between traction and down pressure.  As boards get thinner, 4/4 and less, in order to get the necessary traction, the three wheel feeder was squashing the flexible boards down to the bed, and doing more planing than facing, and not removing bow.

I have looked hard at the "Jointer Feeders" with the fingers, but they have a huge lead time and I'm not sure they will do what I want.

As an aside, I've talked to Jake @customsawyer  and I'm very interested to see if his big carpet planer will remove bow from long, flexible boards.  So I'm bringing a party pack of 4/4 and 3/4 boards of different species and lengths, very similar to the boards we face by hand with success, (but very time consuming), to the Project, and we are going to see which adjustments and setups are possible to get the same results with his two sided, high speed, planer.

Last year, Jake ran a pallet of 8/4 slabs in just a very few minutes, and they came out as flat a steel plate.  Dead flat.  Very impressive.  So I'm thinking of buying one, but want to push its limits and see how thin a board it can flatten and feed.  It should be very interesting.  

Robert, my 25" Oliver jointer/planer will remove bow and cup.  The trick is to make multiple passes over the jointer head and set the planer head high enough so that you're not getting much downforce on the first pass or two.  It depends upon the amount of bow but usually I'll make 3-4 passes if it's a large slab.
If the boards are very flexible, wouldn't the woodworker be able to address the bow during the glue-up or build?