April Review: Woodmaster Feed Rollers

This month I’ll be reviewing the Woodmaster feed rollers. Woodmaster carries two different styles of feed roller for their planers. The first is a rubber coated steel core roller that comes stock on the planers. The second is a solid steel serrated roller.

Pros & Cons of the rubber roller

Pro; The rubber roller leaves no makes on the stock.
Pro; The rubber rollers will grip and conform to odd shapes.

Con; The rubber roller does not have near the strength or rigidness as the solid steel roller.
Con; The rubber roller wears and allows groove to be cut into them if the stock gets stuck in the planer.


Pros & Cons of the Steel roller

Pro; Super grip due to the deep grooves.
Pro; Unparalleled rigidity due to it solid steel design.

Con; Rollers leave marks on softer stock.
Con; Steel roller does not absorb shock or adapt for unevenness in stock.

Final Thoughts:

I currently use both types of rollers on my equipment. For Log Siding and moldings I always use the rubber rollers. When gang sawing, for stakes and hubs or sizing hardwood stock to size, I use the solid steel serrated roller.  


Best Regards,
Justin

Woodmasters Customer Service

I’ve noticed several posts on the web regarding Woodmasters good customer service. Let me say there is no better service anywhere, period! This week I experienced my first warranty issue. The feed motor one of my WM718’s finally gave out, keep in mind this motor has run well over one hundred and fifty thousand feet through it. Over the past few months I’ve noticed a loss of power so I changed the brushes, and as long as the weather was warm I had no issues, but in extreme temperature changes such as this winter, it would stall and sputter. So I called Woodmaster spoke with the customer service department and the very next day a brand new motor was sitting on my front porch. Since it was under warranty there was no charge and all they asked was that I send my old motor back to them. This is the first time I’ve not needed to fill out a form, send my old motor in and six weeks later a new motor would arrive. Again all I can say about Woodmasters customer service it's the best!!

Best Regards,
Justin

March Review: WM718 Planer/Molder

I’ve owned my WM718 planer/molders for about four years now, so I’ve been through all the ups and downs. I picked up my planers from Woodmaster located in Kansas City Mo. and eagerly raced home with them. I purchased mine with the optional 7 1/2hp motors, everything else was standard equipment. 

After uncrating and installing the casters I was done! I rolled the two WM718’s into place and I was off. Keep in mind that this was the first time in my life I had ever touched a planer/molder.

I ran the planer for about half a day with the stock planer knives in it before switching to the log siding knives in which the WM718’s were purchased for. I removed the dust collector hose and the machine hood to revile the cutter head. I unbolted the morse taper ends and carefully removed the cutter head. The log siding knives were ground perfectly and I was able to install them quickly. I set up the stock guides and by the end of the day I was cutting log siding like a pro.

Now a few years later and at least 250,000 ft. of siding, molding, gang sawing, and flat planing run through these two machines. I can say I’ve experienced nearly every problem that could ever happen.  

Now for the highlights

Frame & Design
The machine frame is built from stamped steel. Although I would prefer a cast iron frame. This frame is surprisingly strong and stable. The machines design is fairly common with a rigid head and adjustable table. The footprint is compact but adequate, approximately 2 ft. by 4ft.

The Drive motor & cutter head
The standard drive motor for the WM718 is a 5hp single phase AC motor. This motor is more than enough power for nearly anything you could put through the machine. As for the cutter head it comes stock with a solid steel head with three flat planer knives factory installed.

The feed system
The standard feed motor is a 1/6hp DC gear motor with a variable adjustment from 0 to 16 feet per minute.  
This motor uses a belt system to drive the rubber coated steel core feed rollers which are spring loaded.

The table & height adjustment
The main part of the table is cast iron and has stamped steel in and out feed table extensions. The table extensions are slotted for adjustable guides to keep stock running straight.
The table height is adjusted with a hand crank. This crank is connected by a chain drive to four threaded rods.  


Pro’s and Con’s

Pro’s

Dollar for dollar Woodmaster has some of the best deals in the business, this machine is no exception. With its strong motor, 5 year warranty, and ease of use. This machine will make money!!!!!

Con’s

I’m not in love with the spring loaded feed rollers. I would have preferred something that moved the rollers up and down evenly in order to keep even pressure on the board.

Best Regards,
Justin

Something I wish I would have known when I purchased my WM718 planers.

The stock feed rate for the WM718 planer has a maximum feed rate of 16ft. per minute while the WM725 planer has a maximum of 23ft. You can order your Wm718 from Woodmaster with the WM725 feed motor if you need the extra speed.

If your like me and did not know about this option, rest assured you can purchase the WM725 feed motor from Woodmaster for around $600. In about an hour you can change out this DC gear motor and be on your way. 

If this is not in your budget, the below modification will increase it to 23ft. per minute for around $75 and take the same amount of time to do. Please keep in mind that while this will increase the feed rate it will also slightly decrease the motors torque. 

This modification is super easy all you need is the following:

• 1ea. Gates 2500 4L550 truflex v-belt
• 1ea. 7"O.D. drive pulley with 3/4"bore
• 2ea. 3 1/2" O.D. roller pulleys with 3/4"bore

The only modifications to the machine that is needed is to drill one new hole in the tensioner 1" higher that the stock location.

Welcome

After no response from Woodmaster Tools about having user forums and expanding there website to support there users. This is my way of sharing my modifications, tips, and tricks.  I have two model WM 718's. Both have been modified, one has a second spindle. I'm currently in the process of changing the feed system on one from the stock DC feed system to an AC motor with a gear reducer. I will be adding pictures soon.

I've seen various modifications done to these planers to improve surface finish and feed rates. If you have modified your WM712 thru. WM725 planer I would love to see and post pictures of what has and has not worked for you. 

Best Regards,

Justin