It does look good. I’m definitely interested. If you’re looking for questions, here’s some you may have already addressed in earlier threads and I apologize if you have. Which Safe-T-Planer are you using? I’ve read that the Wagner and StewMac ones are different and the blades don’t interchange? Also what drill press do you have and do you feel the side loads from the planer have caused any accelerated wear on it? I have a bench top drill press that I’ve used a RoboSander with and the quill has some amount of play, however, it’s a Harbor Freight press so that could be more the issue then the sander. I may have pressed what I was sanding into the drum rather hard when I was young and foolish as well.
Hi Matt,
I mostly use my Wagner STPs. I have 4 of them, as my dad was also a user and I inherited his when he passed. We both purchased a couple replacement cutter sets for each of our planers, so I was set for many years of use.
I also purchased one of the "Woodtek" knock-offs from Woodworker.com to see if it worked as well as the Wagner.
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I prefer the Wagners, but the Woodtek is a close second.
I do not own the
Stew Mac planer, as I have never seen any evidence directly from them that their planer has the same functionality. The instructions on their website still pull up the Wagner STP instruction sheet.
The Wagner (came with) and the Woodtek comes with a sharpening stone and the cutters can be easily sharpened many, many times before requiring replacement. There are short videos on my Youtube channel showing removal, sharpening, and replacement of the Wagner cutters, as well as a few short demos of surfacing wood such as fretboards.
I have no evidence that the StewMac planer can be sharpened, and it appears they have configured the cutters with two positions which ensures that a user will need to spend lots of money to keep replacement cutters on hand.
There is /was at least one other rotary planer available from South America that looked well made, but I don't have info for that.
The side load issue is much overblown, and there is actually very little side load from a rotary planer. You set your speed for 3400 rpm and with three cutters sharing the work each revolution all you get is a huge number of small shavings as the drill press doesn't even break a sweat.
A good floor model drill press is optimal, and the biggest drawback is cleaning up the mess it makes. I didn't realize it when I purchased my Craftsman Commercial Heavy Duty drill press new something like 30 years ago, but it had a GREAT quill lock that is ideal for use with the STP. It's simple to set the depth accurately and solidly, or even reset it to take a few thousandths deeper cut. Most drill presses today adjust by raising or lowering the table, since the quill lock isn't very good on many of them. My dad had the exact same drill press and I salivated when I saw his. When he saw them on sale a few years later he insisted that I purchase one and loaned me the $300 I didn't have so I could have my own. He had some great qualities that shall stick with me.
Is the STP a necessity? For me, yes. We all find the path to do the things we need to do, so there are other ways of planing, surfacing, forming edges, edge jointing, etc. but I prefer to use the STP. I've planed a LOT of lumber in 30 plus years!
