‘PLANNER JOINTER COMBO’
Hey all, I’ve just bought a planner jointer combo and it has the brand name M and an E.W underneith, all in a circle, My question is does anybody know anything about this. I”m trying to find out info ’bout this and have had no success.Not sure if is an early model of makita. Also there is some scripture on it in korean or japanese.
Thamks a bunch
The Jamar Hammer
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Replies
I'm pretty sure that lettering is "Makita Electric Works".
Is that a 15" planer and 6" joiner?
If it is, that was one sweet machine. I gave up trying to find one a few years ago after talking with the Makita North America rep at a trade show. He said that was discontinued (at least for N.A. import) quite a while ago, maybe mid 90s. Good friend of mine (best man at my wedding in fact) had one he bought in the early 80s. I never had any luck finding one. Folks who had one, kept it, or by now it has probably passed down a generation.
Tipi, Tipi, Tipi!
http://www.asmallwoodworkingcompany.com
hey jim, thanks
I'm still here on the net trying to dig up something now I'll try the mew. Its 12' PLANNER and a 6' JOINTER . The infeed rollers are new and the knives are pretty good.Once again thanks a bunch.The Jamar Hammer
"Its 12' PLANNER and a 6' JOINTER "
Wow, I've never seen a 12 foot planer or a 6 foot jointer, but I'm definitely jealous. ; )zak
"so it goes"
I still have a Ryobi from the mid 80's 12.5 planer and 6.25 jointer combo...I love it. Cept for some noisy bearings I have to get swpped out, still runs great.
Planed enough Oak for a pipeorgan surround on the front lawn of a church in Chicago, in a foot of snow. And in 100 degree heat in Mobile...one tuff machine.
I couldn't afford the Makita back then, and then, like you said, poof..gone from the market. I think the MAk retailed about 2200.00 and the Ryobi was closer to 1500.00 around '86.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
Never saw the Ryobi, but that Makita was on my wish list for a long time.
Isn't that something about various tool makers? Here you are talking up that planer/joiner combo and I have a great 3hp Ryobi router, but a lot of what they made in the 80s was so low end I hardly give Ryobi a thought as a high quality tool. They could make a great whatever tool and I'd never even give it a look.
Got to try to get over my prejudices.Tipi, Tipi, Tipi!
http://www.asmallwoodworkingcompany.com
I have the same router I bet. They were a great tool maker when Tiawan was rockin and rolling, now the PRC has been buying the manu facilities and the quality is no where near what the 80's Tiawanese were putting out.
Did ja know that Elephant Machinery was Twan? That included Grizz, Jet, Pennstate, and a host of others..they bought the molds from Delta/Rockwell that were wore out for Delta's QC limits, and remanufactured them to make all the knock offs, esp the 14'' bandsaws.
Ryobi has has it's share of ups and downs for shure, but that router and my planer are still working.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
Jim, check this out NOW, from craigslist seattle....Makita Jointer/Plainer - $1000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: [email protected]
Date: 2006-06-02, 6:56PM PDTI bought this new in the mid 1970's has had light use, its a Makita model 2030 300mm Jointer/Plainer. Its a great heavy duty tool. I will delever local. Tool has been inside all its life.this is in or around Poulsbo
jamar
I have a Makita combo 12 in planer 6 in jointer like you are describing. What was it you wanted to know?
Fz
Hey there Fonzerellie.I was just wandering about part replacment for future reference and maybe the possible era of this wonderful device.I think I got a great deal ($560) Canadian dollars that is. Like I said the auto feed rollers look brand new. The only thing I think is not right is that the rollers seam to be hanging a little low. What I mean is they are down about 3/8 of an inch below the cutter so I tend to have to really push to get the wood started. Also there is no depth gauge , it is MIA. I have a friend who can make up a piece of alloy round stock so thats no big deal, and the fence on the jointer doesn't have a positive stop for 90' or and other gauge for setting the bevel. Well hope to hear from you soon FonzieThanks The Jamar Hammer
Ok, jamar kinetic assistorinoI'll get my manual and see what you might want to know. If you want I could post a pic of the depth guage. It's been a good tool for me. I think it's a little "underpowered". You can't plow through - you have to use finesse. It's not a production planer in my opinon. But I'll dig out the manual for starters and if you want more I can probably get it for you.Fz
"I think I got a great deal ($560) Canadian dollars"
A "great deal"? I hope to shout you got a great deal! That's what, 50, maybe 60 bucks in real money? Tipi, Tipi, Tipi!
http://www.asmallwoodworkingcompany.com
I have the 2030, though it's a little different than Fonzie's. It's green, for one thing, and the shroud is slightly different. I bought it in 1983 and it's seen many thousands of feet of hardwoods through it. The squeak when turning it on seems 'normal'. I've changed bearings once and belts a couple times and it is squeakless for a very short while, then squeaks again. I don't worry about it. Wax the uprights well and blow the chips out of the handcrank gears regularly or it gets to be a pig to raise and lower if you don't. I don't use grease in the gears - it gets ugly quickly. The knives, i was told by my repair shop guru about five years ago, would soon not be available, so i bought an extra pair for $80 for the 12", can't remember on the 5". I use HSS in mine. If you mix up knife sets in the middle of a change-over and they end up unbalanced, you will replace the bearings. <G>I have two dedicated walnut blocks in my knife-changing kit, about 1/2" square by 4" long. After i've cinched down the bolts holding the knife as far as i can and still nudge the knife, which is standing proud of the throat a teeny bit, i lay them across the throat. The walnut blocks are sitting barely forward of the edge of the throat, then i rotate the knife into it. I aim for a quarter inch of movement - which is a permanent reference mark on the throat, BTW. I crank down the bolts and check it. The block movement always changes a teeny bit, but i leave it, and do the other, see if after i adjust it as i did the first one and tighten it down, if the knives are relatively equal. This is most important, that the knives move the blocks and equal distance, no matter if that is 1/8" or 3/8". You can get excellent results if you are very picky at this point. The two holes in the raised switch cover were for green push-on/red push-off buttons on Makita's proprietary switch that is hard to find, expensive, and carbons up very quickly. I used to carefully pry them apart, clean the contacts, reassemble (no small feat as there are some nasty little springs in there), and be good for a while longer. I finally replaced it with a toggle switch i mounted inside a fender washer sitting on the plate (tossed the raised switch cover); the fender washer supports the switch while covering up the too-large hole. No more problems.There is a safety issue with the jointer. When the fence is edged over near the outboard edge of the jointer beds, there is no guard protecting the inboard side of the fence. For some reason, the knives turning there do not register with many people as a danger area as they are concentrating on the outboard edge, and they let their fingers drift in. I read about this in some report a long time ago, and i've seen the tendency in people who've helped me in the shop, even experienced people. If i have a lot of work to do with the fence extended, i cover the knives with a purpose-made guard that closes up that space.There is no positive stop on my jointer for any degree angles; it came that way. There's no adjustment on the outfeed table either, so you just have to be picky adjusting the knives there, too. I used the same technique with the beds in a straight line as i do to set the planer blades. (Check the beds with a reliable straingtedge to be sure they form a straight line and don't need surgery.)I've generally seen the opposite problem of your stiff upper rollers. The bushings in which they run tend to wear rather quickly; i've replaced mine three times. Apparently your machine is indeed in very good condition. My rubber rollers are not pretty anymore, but they can be livened up with thorough cleaning with lacquer thinner.Well...all i can think of for now. Oh, i used Trewax on the bed...doesn't screw up the wood for finishing.
hey there Splinter''Thanks for some great advice, and the pros and cons.I'll have fun adjusting to this machine and i'm sure it'll get lots of use.The Jamar Hammer
If you type <Makita 2030> into Google IMAGES, you will get the exploded drawings for the machine which you can print off.
Edited 6/6/2006 9:08 pm ET by splintergroupie
Dammmm.
And you gave me credit for being savvy or saavy or salivatory..
Come tweak out my Ryobi AH115. I got the bearings.
Check goes to you in the AM (G)
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
Bring it here and i will work my magic, darlin'. The vise has arrived?
Nope, nadjet. S'ok. Patience is a virtue and all that.
Can't wait to see it.
I'll send a pic of its happy home next to my old vise on the benches other end...if they mate, I am golden. LOL.
All else fails, I'll be writing a book..mucho conglomerante in my life..might be a good read for the wizzened.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
Splintergroupie,We went over all the adjustments today after I took the pics and used the method (walnut block moving about 1/8 - 3/16 in)you described on the joiner, but on the surface planer I did something different this time that really worked good. After locking it I pushed the blade down and checked the clearance by tugging a dollar bill between the walnut straightedge and the blade. We didn't have any snipe. I must not have used mine as much as you - I have the "screech" some on startup and stopping but have never changed the belt. I didn't go for the carbide blades ($ and nails) but I have a friend that can really put a conk on them. It really came through again today. Fz
I'll try your method next time i change knives. Snipe on the planer can also mean the bed rollers need adjusting. I set the rollers just the teeniest bit above the bed. I only get the squeak on start-up.I wonder if Jim snagged the one in Poulsbo......
Edited 6/7/2006 3:00 am ET by splintergroupie
Splintergroupie,I forgot to mention that (thanks to this whole discussion and getting out the manual...) we did re-adjust the infeed rollers (as you just mentioned), and the manual said those could cause snipe. But the dollar bill trick gave me a check on that tough "down under" adjustment.Have you ever tried the magnets for adjusting? Have you heard if they work good (and how expensive are they)? Fz
The problem as i perceive it is that if you use the magnets, the knives are necesarrily loose enough under the bolt to allow them to be easily shifted, and you can't get to the bolts to tighten then when the head is locked to use the magnets. Just running the bolts home on my machine changes the knife position enough that i need to start with the bolts as snug as possible before i do the tweaking to get it just right. If i ever need another planer, i'll get one with adjusting screws under the blade. :^(
splintergroupie,Thanks, makes sense, hadn't thought of that - you might have saved me some magnet $ there. But you're right, in the locked position you can't tighten the blades on this planer. Makita's hand electric planer has a neat system (mine's an older one) that has a jig to pre adjust the clip on the blade to the right depth and then it just snaps in. They were thinking there.
ThanksFz
"I wonder if Jim snagged the one in Poulsbo......"
No, but thanks for the lead. I just got done rebuilding my 12" this winter. The one I want is a 15". Scarce.Tipi, Tipi, Tipi!
http://www.asmallwoodworkingcompany.com
Sorry, Jim, i got confused when you were responding to Sphere about the size of his combo machine. OK, then, i'll be on the lookout for your 15"!
Thanks. The rep told me they stopped importing (maybe making) the stand alone 15" earlier this century. But the 15" planer/6" jointer combo machine apparently didn't sell well in North America and he couldn't remember seeing one since maybe the 80s.
Anyways, I'd love to find one. It will probably be when some old(er than me even) fart dies and his heirs go through his basement shop.
Hey. Does anyone happen to know about the electricity in Japan/Asia? You know, like the European power is different cycles and voltage than ours, right? What do they use in Asia? Australia? South America?
While I'm thinking about it, is the Canadian current slightly weaker than ours? (sorry, that was a cheap shot, even by my low standards)
Tipi, Tipi, Tipi!
http://www.asmallwoodworkingcompany.com
Edited 6/10/2006 10:42 am ET by jimblodgett
"While I'm thinking about it, is the Canadian current slightly weaker than ours? (sorry, that was a cheap shot, even by my low standards)"Yes it was a cheap shot. But at the rate that our dollar is climbing we will be having the last laugh soon. ;-)Now to add my 2 bits (27.5 cents Canadian at yesterdays exchange rate) to the planer/jointer discussion. My friend has one of the Makita 12"/6" machines (with the 2 guide posts) that he bought in 1978/79, and we shared his shop and each others tools and machines back in the "olden days". He bought 2 extra sets of blades for it at the time and still has a few sharpenings left in them before they will all be too short to use. He has used it on all kinds of domestic and some exotics, as well as piles of scrounged lumber. I think he replaced the feed rollers once (not positive) but the bearings and brushes are original. The startup squeal mentioned earlier is normal and I think comes from gear and belt reduction to the cutterhead. The depth indicator on his, if I remember correctly, is a round bottomed pin (like a clevis pin) that is pushed up as the board passes below. You gauge the amount of the cut by looking at the height it protrudes. Simple, effective but not used all that much because you put your thickest board in the planer with the table down and raise it until the cut starts. After that it's by the amount you turn the crank and by the sound. I can't remember if it had a thickness scale on the side. If it does it's rudimentary at best, and since we measure the boards as we cut, it's not missed.When he moved a bit further away and it wasn't practical to share the shop anymore, I bought the Hitachi version of the same machine. It ejects the chips to the side instead of straight out and uses the motor's cooling air to help push the chips out. Easier to hookup to dust collection.The blades are much easier to change than on the Makita because there is a built in cutterhead lock and the magnetic blocks that came with the machine locate the blades with the help of springs in the cutter head. Takes about 10/15 minutes to change both sets of blades.It also came with a guard that rolls down over the cutter head when the fence is moved out to the center or edge of the jointer. There is no rabbiting ledge on the tables like the North American pattern machines have. The jointer fence, like the Makita, has the angle adjustments made with a wrench and protractor.I did have the switch go on mine so I replaced it with flush start button and a mushroom stop button. Now I can slap the top and shut the machine off without looking. The magnetic relay stayed original.Both machines were solidly built and are workhorses for a small shop or hobbyist. The will do us for a long time yet and unless a bunch of money falls in the lap will not be replaced. I think that if I did get some bigger equipment I would still keep mine for final passes because with freshly sharpened blades the finish it leaves on the wood is so smooth.
Jamar,
The manual of course got soaked in oil. Mine is a Makita Planer-jointer 320 mm (12-1/2") Model 2030N. Two feed speeds, change while running.
Set planer blades in "locked position" level with adjoining surface (using wood straight edge on each end of blade). When setting joiner blades (level of course with outfeed) if blades are set at right height it says you should be able to push down on wood straight edge, turn blade manually and straightedge should move 1/8 in.
I found mine worked better when I removed the chip diverter (plugged up less).
I've had it about 20 years. It cost about 2200$.
Fz
Edited 5/28/2006 10:35 pm ET by Fonzie
Hey FonzieTHanks again for all your input. Sending a pic will be great. I just wanted to mention a couple more things, when it initially starts up ,I hear a little squeking noise from the motor, I took the belt off and the noise goes away which leads me to believe that maybe the belt is slipping at start. May it be time for a new belt/ probably. Anyways on top off the machine where the on off switch is there is another hole cut out that is about 5/8". Just eandering if yours is the same.My guess is that there may have been a led light to show power.One other question for you, Mine is set on casters at 30" I'm thinking it'll be more comfi at around 34" at the top of the joiter bed, what is your zone?(I'm 5'10") Anyways thanks again I really appreciate eeveryones input and opinionsThe Jamar Hammer
Hitachi made a nice p/j combo, maybe still do. An oddity of the late 70's, early 80's was a fixed blade planer. It didn't stay on the market long. The board was carried thru like a wide belt sander and an angled fixed blade shaved off the surface.
jh,
I plan to post a pic or two for you toward the end of this week. We are going to be using it and I'll have it out where I can do that for you.
(don't have a dream shop where I can get back and shoot it, it's back in the corner covered)
I did check the height. My jointer is at 30 inches. We have plywood pieces with a hole in the middle to lock the wheels.
Fz
jamar hammer,
I wanted to get the pics here sooner, but had to clean some embarassing rust off, get it on the job, etc. Sorry. I think I told you last week.
Well, here it is. It has proven to be a good tool. Notice the "anti-theft" "Federal Safety Purple".
Fz