To all you skil100 planer junkies out there… I just found my own skil100 5amp model planer at a garage sale. Now its well weathered and all. I found new brushes, belt and even got a new power cord to set up and a new package of blades are on the way.
Now to the point. Sometimes I come across pics of the skil 100 and the unit is flawlessly restored and gleaming with a new shine!
How do I refurbish my skil100 to its utmost potential?
What I do is completely disassemble everything (bearings, field coils from motor housing, shoe, motor housing, everything) and sandblast all the housings and covers with fine beads. Mask off the label first. Don’t blast inside any of the housings, only the outsides. There are two steel parts, the grille on the rear motor and the belt cover, so paint these after blasting or they’ll rust. Blow out all the beads and crap and reassemble. Get all new screws for the covers and it will look great.
Many Skil’s that carpenters used where spray painted to identify who they belonged to at a job site. McDing brought me one last year that was pink, and no way was he getting it back that way.
I can vouch for the Pete C. method of Skil 100 refurbishment. Pete did a great job on mine. With some help from Bill Thrailkill the blades were easily aligned (in a Denny’s parking lot on the trunk of my old Volvo) and I am now the happy owner of a "Beautiful’ Skil 100.
Item number: 320300524438
There is two planners for sale on ebay for $1200 both of them.
A Rockwell and a Skill 100. They look good in the photo’s.
Are they worth it?
Think it would be at all possible to polish one out to a shine instead of painting it?
You only paint the two steel parts, the belt cover and the motor grille. Polishing is like finishing a board, you’d have to get it down to about 500 grit and buff it. The beads I use for blasting do a 220 grit surface. Trouble is with sanding/polishing, you can’t get into all the nooks and crannies, so it has to be done with progressively finer beads. I do know that you can anodize over a 220 surface without a problem, and you can get really great colors like gold, blue, red. It isn’t cheap (about $300), and you have to really prep the surfaces with the blaster. It will eventually wear off the handle area. I did it once on a Skil (gold) that somebody in Japan wanted for a display piece. A plain blasted surface on the aluminum looks good.
Only saw the Skil for this item number, and it was $900. I thought it was a bit beat up, and the base appears to have been cut off about 1/2". I would contact the seller and ask for photos of the sides. Look for welds and/or cracks at the circular area for the drum towards the motor on the baseplate sides. This is the weakest point if dropped, and when cracked the front shoe won’t align with the base even if welded. Specifically ask for photos of this area, and is you never get them it was probably welded or cracked anyhow.
Look at item number 300259934865, this one’s for $200 and the guy says it was dropped and then welded!
well… pete, i wish i would have seen your post 30 mins ago. i just “won” the planer you referenced. have to wait and see if i got hosed. not so excited now about my first skil 100. thats poop!!!
brasco
Hey Brasco, so you got the welded one? When you receive it, put it in a vise at the handle, base up. Set the front shoe to 0 depth or level with the baseplate. Tape the shoe to hold it if neccesary. Using a precise 12" straight edge (like one a machinist would use, not a carpenter), go diagonally from one corner of the shoe across the baseplate to the opposite corner. Get your eye down to the straight edge and see if there is any gaps or uneveness. Do both corners and also straight across. If it’s not level, a good machine shop can surface the baseplate to be even with the shoe. It there was a lot of welding done, it may be very flexy and the cutting depth and blade alignment will drive you nuts when you use it.
thanks for the advice pete. one question, where can i pick up a machinist straight edge?
brasco
Precision straight edges are pretty expensive, about $50. You could also use an 24" steel machinist’s ruler, but these also over $25. You can buy either of these from McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com). If you’ll probably never use these again, just go to a good machine shop and give them $20 to check the base alignment. A good machine shop is a place that makes parts and/or tooling, not a place that turns brake drums and rotors. BTW, if the planer is jacked up, I’ll buy it for parts from you; PM me.
pete - thanks for the offer bro. i will let you know after i have the chance to see it. should be in late this week or early next.
brasco
A quick look shows the seller wasn’t trying to hide anything. It looks like the welding was done to the handle not the shoe? Hard to tell for sure in the pic . A bit of filing, emery cloth and paint could make it look much better. I’m hoping that it will still plane OK for you. Unless you are a really precise shaper with an electric plane, it might not make much difference. Good luck!
hi john.
yes the description was accurate (at least as much as can be seen in the photos). i’m hoping that the damage was limited to the handle, and was fixed by the welding. i should have done more homework on the skil 100 before i bid, but i was excited by the prospect of picking one up for my very own for far less than what i have seen them go for recently. so if i do get skunked, i really have no one to blame but myself.
as far as my skill level with a planer, i probably wont notice any slight imperfection, but i’m working on it!
well just have to see when she gets here. i do appreciate the encouraging words john. thank you.
brasco
By the look of it, the photo, you did fine. When you get it, I hope you also get the adjusting tools with it. I’d make sure the blades are not only in TIGHT, but also in proper adjustment, BEFORE turning it on. Just a little caution, until you know the true condition of the tool. Congratulations on your purchase.
I’m still using my original 1964 Skil 100, purchased new for $150 dollars. (the price had just jumped from $125) With care, the tool is bulletproof.
thank you bill. i will be sure to give her a good going over before putting her to foam.
brasco
Donnie,
Check your PM’s.
Here’s a photo of the most common area for cracks/welds. Once this area is cracked, the baseplate alignment is twisted from the shoe. If welded, the baseplate must be resurfaced to align with the shoe.
Here’s an example of welds/cracks you wouldn’t normally see, because it’s behind the air intake grille. On this particular planer, someone thought it was OK to use a hammer to install the bearing from the opposite side. Although welded, the motor armature won’t align. Sure, it still turns but will destroy the bearing in a few hours. So if you were buying it and made some test cuts, you’d think it was just fine. Especially if you’ve never used a Skil, or at least a good one for that matter.
Many Skil’s on the open market have had several owners. Some took care of them and others didn’t. Find a good tool repair place where it can be checked thoroughly; don’t rely on a few test cuts. If you see one for $200, buy it and if it’s OK you’ve done well. If it’s bad, there’s always someone who will buy it for the same price to use as parts. If you paid $600 or more and it’s bad, nobody will pay that price for parts salvage.
Pete, check your PM’s when you get a c[img_assist|nid=1030212|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]hance. Thanks
I have been luck enough to acquire a few skil 100’s. The Type 3 has the typical 3 hex head bolts used for adjusting and leveling the blade. I have a type 5 that has a series of bolts. Before I take it apart I am looking for some advice or a link to a proper manual/schematic for the type 5. Here is a pic.