Rikon 16" Thickness Planer 23-400 Supply is limited at this special reduced price.

The Rikon 16" Thickness Planer offers tremendous power and capacity at a very reasonable price. The 16"-wide 3-knife cutterhead rotates at 5100 rpm, providing 15,300 cuts per minute for an exceptionally smooth finish. Feed rate can be set at either 16 FPM or 23 FPM, providing up to 80 cuts per inch. Maximum thickness capacity is 8-13/16". Maximum depth of cut is 1/8". Includes 4" dustport.

The unit is powered by a hefty 3 HP 220 volt industrial-duty induction motor. Weighs 375 lbs.

This tool comes WITHOUT a plug. You will have to supply one to match your 220v socket and install it on the cord. If you are not comfortable selecting and installing the plug, we recommend you hire a qualified electrician.

Ben Arthur, a professional woodworker who works for Highland part-time, recently bought one of these machines. Here are his thoughts after several weeks of using it commercially in his shop:

The Rikon 16" thickness planer is an excellent machine. The three knife cutter head leaves a smooth finish on a variety of different density and grain pattern woods. With its extremely powerful 3 HP motor this machine can easily take a 1/8" cut in all but the densest of woods. The variable speed drive allows you to tweak the quality of the cut while giving you the opportunity to optimize your wood processing time.

Upon entering the machine, material passes under a row of heavy duty metal anti-kickback teeth, then engages a rubber roller that guides it into a metal drive pinion that in turn feeds it into the cutterhead with nearly unstoppable force. The material is then off-fed by another rubber roller onto an integrated 3-roller stand (that is also mirrored on the in-feed). When the lid of the planer is opened to expose the cutterhead, it engages a safety mechanism that will not allow the machine to turn on.

When you first open the crate, you will find the planer almost completely assembled. All that needs to be done is to mount the infeed and outfeed roller tables as well as a double roller setup on top of the machine that's used as a return feed roller. There was not an instruction sheet describing the assembly, but it is pretty much self-explanatory. [If anyone has any questions involving the assembly of the planer, please call Highland at 800-241-6748.]

This machine's shipping weight is a very heavy 450 lbs. You will need help from at least two friends to safely remove it from the pallet it is shipped on and place it in your shop. Also expect to need an appliance cart or dolly to move it.

The cast iron table will need to be cleaned of the rust preventative that comes on it by using a solvent like mineral spirits. Note: when you have the lid open, be aware that the mechanism that holds it open may disengage if it gets bumped. You will want to make sure your head is not in the way of the lid in case it comes down unexpectedly (as happened to me).

Overall this thickness planer is the best deal for the quality that I have found in a 16" machine, and is serving me well in my commercial shop.

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