Porter Cable 126 as Edge Jointer
DCCarpenter
| Posted in Tools for Home Building on
Hello,
I caught the many posts on here about the great Rockwell/Delta door planer the 126. I need a new power plane, I’d sold my previous one and was relying on a hand plane for my jobsite edging work but with a big extension jamb job coming up I think I need to reaccquire a power plane. How is the 126 for smoothing the edges of ripped down trimp stock? Is it useful for anything besides door work?
Also, I seem to recall someone mentioning clamping it upside down for jointing…I regret to say I often clamp a skillsaw upside down for quick rips in the absence of a tablesaw, I’d be interested in hearing if anyone has done this with the 126 as occasionally I’ll have a piece of rough stock on site I want to flatten.
Replies
It depends on how wide your extensions are. I have a 126, and I wouldn't use it on narrow stuff, right side up, up side down, or sideways.
I got a little delta jointer that we use to clean up jamb extensions. It's not much for straightening long stock, but it's nice for cleaning up blade marks. The push blocks that come with it are the best I've ever used, too. Use 'em.
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I've clamped mine in a carpenter' vise to use it as a jointer. It’s not terribly stable. Making some sort of stand that supports both ends would help.
Another problem is that the shaft-cover housing is designed to direct shavings down. that mens it blows shavings upwards. So I remove one of the housing screws, swing the housing down, and the chips blow straight out to the side. A lot of cutter, exposed, though. I don’t recommend it.
My favorite jobsite jointer uses a long Plexi base with a maple 5/4x3 screwed tight to it at one end, oversize hole and washer for adjustability at the other. The outfeed portion of the fence has formica glued to it.
The depth-of-cut is not adjustable, but it is predictable -- just rip everything 1/16†over. And it’s easy to get a nice square edge with the work lying flat. A spiral cutter minimizes tearout.
If you have a router insert in your jobsite tablesaw, you can rig the jointer setup there. I drilled down through the fence into the insert plate, and tapped the table for the two mounting machine screws. Then I enlarged one of the holes in the fence to get my adjustability.
Very easy to use -- the wide, flat table, combined with gravity, makes it really easy to get a square cut while keeping your fingers clear of the cutter. And it’s easy to add a guard if you want.
Now I only use the Rockwell 126 when I’m traveling fast and light, and don’t have all of my tools with me.
AitchKay
Aitchkay,
Thanks for the reply. I'm often travelling fast and light(lots of 1 day commercial jobs in the city) so even having a tablesaw on site isn't always possiblity; sounds like when I need it the 126 will work well. Clamping the work flat and running the 126 along it is definitely a possiblity most of the time so I'll plan on that (including the 1/16 oversizing).
Out of curiosity which jointer is it that you are using rigged up in your tablesaw? I had considered the Makita 3 1/4" which I've used on jobs before.
Sorry, DC! I just re-read my post, and it’s unintelligible! I had cut-and-pasted it from a post I made recently in Kit Camp’s thread, “What do you use your router for?†(last posted to on 3/4 in the TOOLS section), but I left some info out.What I should have said was, “My favorite jobsite jointer uses a ROUTER-TABLE setup with a long Plexi base...â€And the laminate offsets the fences to give that non-adjustable depth-of-cut.The router-table consists of just the base and the fence. So I either set it in a B&D Workmate, with the router clamped between the jaws, or screw it down to a pair of horses, because I can’t seem to find room for a tablesaw most of the time.Anyway, as an accessory base, it doesn’t take up much room at all: only about 1 3/8†overall height, and 6â€x16†works fine, although 8â€x30†is sweet.If you don’t usually carry a full-size router, you can substitute white aluminum flashing for the laminate, and use a laminate-trimmer-type router. Doesn’t sound like much of a cut, but I have one set up like that, and it’s surprising how well it works -- for tapered extensions, the steps between overlapping cuts are smaller, and easier to hand-plane out.Sorry again about my misleading post!AitchKay
I think the 126 is to big for most work. I like small planers for most work because they are light. You just take mutiple passes.
The 126 is really for BIG work where the piece (door?) is stationary.
Thanks for the input(thanks to Snort for his earlier comments as well).
Unfortunately the 126's I was following on eBay took off and nearly tripled in price over the last couple days of auction so it doesn't look like I'll be getting one(unless a cheapie shows up on craig's list again..someone was unloading one for $75 at one point...).
I pulled out a few more hand planes, got a new wheel for the grinder, pulled out my sharpening stone and plan to just get the hand planes in top notch condition. I've found I can be quite fast and efficient with them when set up properly. There were a few other vintage power planes on eBay going for short money so I might jump in on an old 5 dollar craftsman one or the like if it looks solidly built.
I think you have tool lust. Not that I haven't had the same thing.
I had a 126 a long time ago. The one I have now works great.
It has a large cutter head made out of aluminum with reversible indexing carbide cutters.
The large cutter head makes the approach angle better. The carbide inserts last a long time if you don't run into something.
And file away that router trick for future use. To try it out, start with a throwaway scrap of lauan, and just use double-stick tape to glue on your laminate. You could be up and running in about 15 min.AitchKay
I had lusted for years for a 126. I found one last summer on EBAY. Paid a great price and it came in brand new condition with box and manual. It takes some getting used to because it's so narrow. I don't know if I'd use it on anything other than doors, (which is what I use it for now). The sprial blade is so far superior to the regular blades in my Makita, there is no difference. I'm not sure I'd clamp it upside down, however!!!
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