I was once a big fan of my Wagner Safe-T-Plane that I had bought sometime in the early 80s. I saw it at a tool show and thought it was the neatest thing. I used it often for small stock I didn't want to run through my planer or joiner.It took me a while to trust it, but once I did, my fear was just about gone of the spinning, somewhat exposed cutting edges. I never could quite feel 100% though. Then, one day, it happened: I was running a strip of mahogany (using a fence), about the size you have here but longer, which I had done many times, and for some reason yet unknown to me, the cutters grabbed the wood and jerked it out of my hand at about what seemed like the speed of light. I managed to just in time avoid hitting the tool with my hand, but that was the very last time I used that planer. I still have it and have looked at it many times closely to try and figure out what exactly happened. Frightening thing I guess was I just didn't see, hear, or feel any distress signals at any time. I called the company and actually got to talk with Mr. Wagner's son. He was super nice and very understanding, and basically said that while using this tool you always have to be alert and careful. He mentioned some things that might cause it having to do with grain structure and such, but also warned me to use the tool exactly how the instructions explain it. To this day I thought I was well within the envelope of safety, but since I cannot find any fault in the tool, I must believe I did something to cause the tool to bind and grab. But, my hand came so close to the tool that I just can't use it again and not be worried about it. So, please, please, beware. Interestingly, I saw an on-line tool review of the Wagner Safe-T-Planer several years ago, and I chimed in with this story just as a balance to all the "best tool I ever used" comments. The grandson of Mr. Wagner rebuked me personally and said without a doubt I used the tool improperly as there was "no other" way it could have happened. He maintained the tool was 100% safe when used properly. I certainly did use it successfully several times, but the older I get, the more precious my extremities are to me I guess (should have been precious all along!), so it lives in the tool box.
I know a lot of fellow guitar builders who swear by these. They use them for thicknessing stock for fretboards and guitar tops, thus the reason Stew-Mac carries them since Stew-Mac is basically a guitar builder's supply shop. I'd like to have one, but I have other means of thicknessing my stock so it hasn't been a priority to go get one.
The 3 day Shopsmith class in Cleveland used the Safe-T-Planer to cut flat areas on the round table base for leg mounting. I’m currently rebuilding the base and have the planer but had forgotten how to use it, so special thanks. Incidentally, Leitungs was a short distance from the Shopsmith store.
Very cool. We used it for that same purpose in all of the Shopsmith Academies and it really did a great job, as ling as the instructor knew one critical tip, which is you should mill and drill the spindle on the same Mark V to ensure that the holes are drilled square to the flat cut by the Safe-T-Planer. I remember one instructor who complained that non of his student's legs were tight against the post and that all of them had the exact same gap on the same side of the leg. It turned out that he had one Mark V set-up for planing and another for drilling, mass production style. Because there was a slight error in one or both of his Mark V tables, the error showed up on every leg! Thanks for reminding me of that. Scott
Nice presentation and comparisons. Nifty for the hobbiest with very limited shop space. I have a few of the 1940's vintage Barron made out of Detroit. Bargain buys from ebay. Ironic but the company promoted 5 tools in 1, like Shopsmith. Made of robust steel, the shank is stepped. Easily found replacement carbide tool cutters and or to sharpen.
I remember the Barron. I don't care for how exposed the cutters are on it, but I'd bet that Wagner took a close look at it when they were inventing theirs.
@@MyGrowthRings very informative Scott. I’m glad you showed why not to use your drill chuck as I was most certainly going to out of instinct. Just had an idea about using this on my guitar headstocks. Great stuff Scott. Did you do a vid on calibrating the depth adjustment?
Thanks for this! I have the StewMac version but haven't given it a try yet. This was great info and a great demonstration. I probably wouldn't have thought it would handle such a deep cut if I hadn't seen you do it first. Looking forward to the follow up video.
Wow. As I’m new to this, I have several attachments that I have no idea how to use. As you know, I have a Medallion Planer and this episode is so useful to me. Standing by for your next addition.
Another great video. I have an original Wagner planer that I bought in the 1990s and I love it. I think I'll give it a little love and sharpen the cutters. (I still have the original stone.) The stone was made by United Abrasives, Vulcan, Michigan. It has two numbers stamped on it, 8280 and #299-2.
Thank you for another informative video!! I bought a used Shopsmith serval years ago, and a Safe-T-Planer was included in the parts and pieces. I found some instructions online, but have never used it. Now, I'm ready to give it a go!
I love mine. The original was made in tulsa Ok made from accompany called G& W trading works. (Gilmore and Wagner) I went to their plant right off of skelly dive in the early 2000's and picked up a new set of blades for my dads. So I they made it through the90's The guy whom it was named after died in the 70's and Gilmore in the late 80's To many knock offs is what killed them. That and the heart of the Idea died decades ago. It is a tool you have to see working to want it. Likely why shop smith did s well with them!!!!
Sad story. I’ve had the pleasure to visit many factories that are now gone, I’m happy to have the memory but it makes me mad that so many of them are gone.
Scott… I passed up on a Safe-T-Planer at a garage sale a couple of years ago. It was in decent shape but, I was unfamiliar with how it worked. One of us made a mistake.. My question is… was I ignorant? Or, did you wait too long before posting this video? How many times have you said… “If I only knew then what I know now!”
I have one from when I had a redial arm saw. The thing scared the heck out of me so I only tried it once. About 6 months ago I saw a video and it showed holding the stock against the fence and pulling as if you were making a cut. It is a Sears and, as I recall, has a 5/8 thread. Thanks for the video Scott.
Scott, back in the early 80's say possible 83-84 I attended a Shopsmith 3-day class in Atlanta, GA. Since my memory has faded some since that time, we made a 5" X 2" wood bowl and I believe we used something light the Wagner, Medallion Safe-T-Planner. Could these planners have cut the center of the bowl out? Thanks for your great video's I have just retired and have dusted off and cleaned the rust off my Mark 500, a 1983 version by serial number. Woodworking is such a great and satisfying 'New Job'.
Hey Mike. No, back in those days we would prep either the bottom or the face of the blank with the Wagner Safe-t-planer so that we could mount the faceplate to the blank. Depending upon how the class was progressing we would either simply turn the bowl with the faceplate screwed to the bottom of the blank, or it time permitted we would turn the bottom of the bowl with the blank screwed to the waste portion that would eventually become the interior of the bowl and then transfer the blank to the Sorby Precision Chuck. Hollowing out the bowl with the Safe-T-Planer isn’t possible due to the lip that limits the depth of cut. Scott
@@MyGrowthRings Thanks for clearing this up. Again thanks for your videos, they are a great refresher class to brush off the cob webs. Since my Mark 500 has some age on it, I so do appreciate your maintenance segments. Mike
And this is why I watch each & every one of MyGrowthRings videos. I always learn new things, tips n tricks & learn about new ways to use my SS. Now - Scott, you think this can be run in the normal horizontal position as well.? Thanks!
It appears as though you could get a 3rd and 4th cutter edge from the newer version of this cutting tool IF you put the cutter in 'backwards' and ran your drill press or Shop Smith in reverse. This is not an option that all will have available, but if you have the new Power-Pro headstock you can run in reverse.
I bought something like this for my craftsman radial arm saw a few years ago. The radial arm saw was discontinued for likely removing one too many fingers... then when I started using this janky planer attachment, on it after about 5 attempts and 5 nasty catches i realized it was no planer, but merely a more effected finger/hand remover attached to the original finger remover. It went straight to the garbage.
Yes, I've never liked the RAS versions of these tools. If you look at one of those they always have a honeycomb of large voids in the bottom that are prone to grab knots and splinters. Not a good prize! Scott
Great question, Mark. If the stock is very small or thin I usually attach it to another, larger piece with two sided tape. With that the biggest risk isn't the cutter damaging the piece, but rather me damaging it whole trying to remove it from the tape! Scott
Great video Scott. I recently used the DeWalt 50's/60's era rotary planer on my mid 50's DeWalt RAS and was most impressed with the results. I planed a 10-in wide, 6/4 thick, 7 foot piece of white oak. I don't think the finished product was as smooth as your Wagner though. Mine threaded right on the arbor. Great demonstration. I would use this for small pieces on the SS, but for large boards, I think I'll stick to the RAS. The DeWalt can't take nearly as deep a cut as your Wagner.
I know that one well. It has one feature that's sort of like the Wagner, in that it has a flat bottom, but only in the center, if I recall correctly. It also limits how deep of a bite you can take, but it won't stop you from feeding too much too fast. If it works fine I'm just being a naysayer! Scott
Really like your videos. I have learned a lot about operating a SS. My question is how well does this cutter work on end grain? Slot of cutting board makers use a router sled for leveling their boards, how does this compare?
Boll, thank you for your kind words. These cutters do OK on end grain, but that have to be freshly sharpened to give the type of results I would want. A mortising bit or flat bottom bit on a router guided by a sled would probably be my go-to choice if I were in the production of cutting boards, though these would work. Great question!
I'm still very interested in your answer to the question you posed in the video title: "Do you NEED a Wagner Safe-T-Planer or the StewMac, or any Rotary Planer for that matter?" Looking forward to the follow up. I think one great thing about this type of planing setup is that with a little jigging you can use it to plan weird small surfaces on larger pieces. These are for sale on stewmac because that is exactly what people to with these on guitar necks, perfect example.
I'm also very curious about that fixture you describe. Holding your piece with a clamp works but was making me nervous watching you. Ideally you'd have something that held the piece *down* and prevented it from either binding and yanking the piece around. I've seen plenty of router table videos where that happens and this seems worse because the piece can get caught between the table and the cutter.
I've made several fixtures over the years, including a slick one that I used for creating three flat surfaces on the spindle of a three legged Shaker table. There's an old picture of that one in use in a class that I taught at Shopsmith back in the 90's on one of my blogs: www.tool-hunter.com/tools-that-make-other-tools-better/wagner-safe-t-planer-safely-planes-rabbits-raises-panels-and-more-
Thanks for another terrific and informative video demonstration! Years ago I purchased several items from a widow who was selling her husband's woodworking tools. One item stuffed in a box was a shop-made(I think)rotary planing blade that looks like a sharp steel miniature airplane propeller. It has a 4.25 inch diameter cutter on a 4 inch long 1/2 inch shank.VERY scary looking! (If I could figure out how to include a photo I'd send one along) I never used it because I haven't figured out the place for its use and even a typical circle cutter scares me. The medallion planer you demonstrated appears to be reasonably safe to use provided the work is held securely as you did with the large wooden clamp. I really appreciate your demonstrations of safety devices and practices. Thanks again for sharing your woodworking knowledge and experience. Jim
Hey, Jim. Yeah, RU-vid (Google) still hasn’t found a good way to allow viewers to add attachments. They did have Google+, which failed. Anyway, I would love to see that. I suspect it’s a fly cutter. You can email me at ScottMarkwood(at)gmail.com replacing the (at) with @. Scott
I so look forward to your videos as I learn something new about my shopsmith or it’s capabilities. BTW I snagged a couple of Klein SS tool boxes a few weeks ago, and am wondering what sizes other than the 5/32” hex does SS use on the machine? Thanks for another great video. Ron
great vid! fascinating tool, so which one to get, the old one you used isnt available anymore? dont know about using the hand clamp, its not clear how you make sure the bottom face will end up parallel unless you are super careful setting it up. i guess you could put a piece of wood underneath to contact the table. i really liked the idea of doing rabbet and other joints on it . looks good for cutting boards as well.
Thanks, Richard. We used to use a hand screw clamp to flatten one face of a turning blanc prior to attaching it to a faceplate, and when used that way the blank can ride on the table. You'll see some more practical uses in the follow-up vid. Scott
Great presentation on a very interesting tool. What were the improvements to the Medallion that were based on Shopsmith suggestions? I guess I missed those. Did the Medallion have any rust or damage to the cutters? It could have been damaged in the card back packaging.
Thanks Tom. Shopsmith suggested the double edged cutters. Sharpening of the Wagner cutters was always a challenge, and the Wagner had the added cost of including a special grinding wheel and arbor. By adding the double-edged cutters Shopsmith was able to justify not including the sharpening wheel while not lowering the price. BRILLIANT! No, the Medallion cutters looked great, but I'll give it a good once-over and make sure that everything is as it should be. Scott
That is a cool tool. It seems like it would be difficult to adjust the table accurately enough to get perfect (or nearly perfect) parallel planes? In your mid-week video could you use some calipers and a ruler so we could see the accuracy of the planed board? Also, I would assume we would need to joint one side before using this rotary planer? Thanks for the great video.
Hey, James. No, it really hasn't been an issue. Is your table square to your drill bits? It's all the same alignement. As for jointing, no, because there's a chance that the whole reason I'm reaching for this is because the part is too small to safely joint in the first place. You can always hit one face to the belt sander and then use double-sided tape to join it to a subtable. Scott
@@MyGrowthRings Thanks for the reply. It's pretty square to drill bits. I have a CNC and if the thickness isn't almost perfect the carving, especially with text, will be deeper in some areas and not look right. I use a Shopsmith jointer and a DeWalt planer. This rotary planer could be really helpful on small stock that wouldn't go through the planer. I might get one and give it a try.
Thank You Scott for the awesome video. Now I want one ! Do you think that both the Rotary Planer and the Conical disc sander would be a substitute for the SS jointer. Just a thought. Thanks again.
I have had a Wagner Safe-T Rotary Planer and adaptor for use on a Dewalt radial saw for many years. My radial saw runs at 3425 RPM. I bought a StewMac rotary planer which has a 3000RPM Max Warning. What are the consequences of running the StewMac on the Dewalt at 3425 RPM? I would prefer to use the StewMac on the Dewalt Radial Saw rather than a drill press.
That would be a good question for StewMac. I don’t know what is behind their recommendation, other than perhaps they just are comfortable with it being used on any RAS. Just a guess on my part. Scott
Just purchased a Wagner rotary in new condition. Finding replacement cutters could be very problematic when needed. Do the different brand replacement cutters work on all of the planers? Also are the plainer cutters able to be sharpened.
No, unfortunately the blades are not interchangeable. You would think that they would be, but they each took a slightly different approach. They can be sharpened, which is something I have yet to show, but it’s pretty simple if you have the right abrasive wheel. Scott
William, that would depend upon what you are trying to accomplish. The Safety Planer is safer than a jointer when machining parts that are too small to run a cross a jointer, with is anything smaller than about 9” long.
Scott I know you know what your doing, but I see this and something about it feels unsafe. It could be a number of reason why that screams at me. I'm also getting vibes of people using a radial arm saw to do this. I'm willing to admit if I'm wrong or being over cautious.
You can't be too cautious. The uses I usually use these for will be covered in the follow-up, and I think you'll be more convinced of its utility. Scott
I'll let you know for sure once I find mine, but at first glance and based upon the reviews, I believe that the StewMac version is a good option. Scott
I do. I don't like any of the Sears versions. Some have large, hollow cavities on the bottom that can get snagged on knots and splinters while others have extended cutters that can dig in. I'd be happy to look at a particular one if you'd like to email the link to me at ScottMarkwood(at)gamil.com
@@MyGrowthRings Thanks Scott. I looked at some of them and thought the same thing. The cutters looked like they wouldn't do the job very well. Thanks Roger
Will this replace a "real" planer? I have oak 4x4s that are rough, would this flatten one side so I could run them through the table saw? My 4x4s are over 8 foot long. Sorry about the old comment last time I showed up! Surely you're younger than I think! Oh no I made it worse.
@@MyGrowthRings shopsmith powerpro 240volt 60hz. I heard you get more power with 240 so I wired it that way. How complicated a jig might be required. I ask about the oak because I have a bunch of old oak dunnage I need to use in a project.
@@drstyxquack Not too complicated. My approach would be to attach the 4x4 to a 6” wide length of plywood or mdf with one edge flush with the edge of the 4x4 and the remainder extending to the other side. That side hose against the fence and mounted to the fence, just above the plywood is a second strip of plywood that will help to keep your stock for teetering off the front or back, and will keep the stock on the table under the cutter. It that makes any sense! Scott
@@MyGrowthRings I've been trying to figure out how to resaw. I've had no luck with my bandsaw, hence the question about the rotary planer. I used your video about the shopsmith bandsaw but it still does strange things. It cuts concave! I think I need to invest in a shopsmith five eights resaw blade. Am I on to something or will I have to keep resawing with my tablesaw.
@@drstyxquack Concave cuts tend to be caused by having too many teeth per inch (TPI) on your blade. It’s really more about needing space behind each tooth to hold all the sawdust that is created when resawing, but TPI count as what takes that into account. Take a look at the blade that I linked in the video description of the resawing video, which I have been successfully using for resawing for over 25 years. Scott
I really like your videos BUT you didn’t answer the question in your title “Do you NEED a……….?” Maybe you plan to answer that in the next video. Thanks, Tim.
