Steel City Tool Works 40200H 13-Inch Planer with Helical Cutterhead

You looking to find the "Steel City Tool Works 40200H 13-Inch Planer with Helical Cutterhead" Good news! You can purchase Steel City Tool Works 40200H 13-Inch Planer with Helical Cutterhead with secure price and compare to view update price on this product. And deals on this product is available only for limited time.

Price: $589.99    

Product Feature

• Motor: Universal 15 Amp, 120V, 60Hz
• Cutter Head Speed: 9000 RPM
• Max. Width of Stock: 13-Inch - Min. Thickness of Stock: 1/8-Inch
• Feed Rate: 26 FPM
• Warranty: 2 Years

Steel City Tool Works 40200H 13-Inch Planer with Helical Cutterhead Review

I have had this planer for a few months and put a lot of hickory, hard maple, soft maple, and red oak through it. This is and upgrade for an older Dewalt 2 blade cutter head. I upgraded because I was tired of having to get blades sharpened frequently and tired of dealing with tearout from the coarser grain woods.

The planer came shipped in the in is own box with no problems. Once out of the box you will need to clean off some grease from table of the planer, but nothing to major. After the you attach the 4" dust collector port you are ready to go.
I did have to adjust the level of the infeed and outfeed table to eliminate snipe, but still have some on the first and last couple inches of the board. I know some people find snipe to be a big deal, I plan for it and just cut off the ends.

The first thing you notice when you first start using it is how quiet it is. This does not matter to me so much because I have a loud dust collector and I always use hearing protection. But it is significantly quieter then straight blade planers. The part that I am disappointed with is you still get a fair amount scallops and tearout from the coarser grain woods. I was under the impression that the spiral head was supposed to significantly decrease tearout or eliminate it. But I have not noticed a difference for from my older dewalt planer. I have tried taking lighter passes of 1/32 of and inch and changing the directional feed of the board but with no success. Maybe I had too high of expectations for this planer. It does have plenty of power to push through and species of wood at its 13" capacity. Dust collection catches about 95% of the chips, so nothing to complain about. We will just have to see how long the knives stay sharp for and how it is to change them. Will keep you posted.

I give it the three stars because I expected better result regarding tearout.

UPDATE: 12/8/2012
I have been using this planer for about a year know and I have to say I am more pleased with this purchase now then I was a year ago. I have put thousands of board feet of wood through this machine and it has held up wonderfully. I have not had any problem with this machine. Changing knives is so fast and easy it does not even compare to straight knife planers. This is a huge advantage especially if you nick or damage a knife insert it can easily be changed. I am able to change out all 26 cutters within 20 min, AWESOME!

Since I have switch my knives to Amana RCK-70 carbide inserts I have had a much improved experience with tearout. These inserts are even four sided and less expensive then the steel city HSS replacement blades. Check it out.

For the money you will not find a better planer, especially with a cutterhead like this.

Now I would give this planer 4 stars.

Most of the consumer Reviews tell that the "Steel City Tool Works 40200H 13-Inch Planer with Helical Cutterhead" are high quality item. You can read each testimony from consumers to find out cons and pros from Steel City Tool Works 40200H 13-Inch Planer with Helical Cutterhead ...