Shop Fox W1742 Review
Great construction, reliable and economical considering its purpose!
The Shop Fox W1742 planer is one of the leading wood planers currently available. It comes equipped with ground cast iron wings, a movable table made out of iron and even a stationary headstock. The cast iron table guarantees that your wood cutting efforts won’t go to waste, by guaranteeing a consistent planing depth without any room for potential headstock. The W1742 is currently priced at roughly $1,200 provides unparalleled performance for its price. With a 5,000 RPM cutterhead speed, you’ll find it extremely difficult to find a material that will beat this.
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About the Shop Fox W1742
Out of the box, the Shop Fox looks rather plain and old. It definitely isn’t styled to be modern, that’s for sure. But as we all know, you need to be wary about the things which look the least scariest – and that’s right. As a big planer, it gets the job done under just about any circumstance. If you only have experience with using a smaller planer, you’ll find the W1742 really easy to use and take control of. The first thing that we need to tell you is that this product is remarkably light in comparison to its competitors. Weighing in at only 590lbs, you can just about carry it around if you’re strong enough. The head is fixed onto the planer so there isn’t any head to table tolerances that you’ll have to put up with. Best of all, it seems that just about every single component on the Shop Fox is adjustable in one way or another – crazy.
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We got to work with it and gave it a piece of oak to deal with. As we were cutting along, we noticed the fine detail that this machine puts to use. After we had finished, we were honestly amazed with the results. One word to describe the finish was ‘absolute perfection’. We have never seen a cut finish this smoothly and so precisely for quite some time. With that said, we found it remarkable that such an affordable product could produce such amazing results
Conclusion:
The Shop Fox W1742 stationary planer is absolutely amazing for just about any of your wood planing needs. It’s honestly perfection in a box. Large or small, this machine will get the job done! Currently, Amazon.com has the best deal on the Shop Fox W1742.
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- Editor's Rating
Features and Specifications:
- Includes Three-Horsepower, 220-Volt, Single phase motor
- Safety switch in case of internal thermal overload
- Has a MAX cutting depth of 1/8”
- 16 FPM and 30 FPM feed rate
- 3 Knives (HSS)
- Table Measures are 15” by 42” including wings
- Has a Two-Speed hear box at 16 FPM and 30 FPM
- Cutter Speed is 5,000 RPM
- Includes mounted pedestal controls
- Approx. weight for shipping: 675 lbs
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Pros: Great construction, reliable and economical considering its purpose!
Cons: Is difficult to align and can end up creating wedge shaped boards.
