The Rockwell Uniplane
In this line of work, there's always a safer alternative that sometimes falls under the radar.
Jun 23, 2022
I have a habit of cruising Craigslist for old machinery. Last week, Craigslist suddenly started serving me listings from all over the country, causing me to stumble upon a new type of machine I never knew existed. I figure if I didn’t know about the Rockwell Uniplane, some of you might not have heard of it either. In this video, legendary guitar maker Ken Parker shows off his Uniplane and goes pretty far down a rabbit hole demonstrating how he trues up the tables.
Legend has it that it was created for school woodshop environments to use as a safer alternative to a jointer for edge jointing. I don’t know how much safer it may or may not be, especially for a face-jointing operation like Ken demonstrates at the end of this video.
I love cool old machinery, but for me the Uniplane would likely be a pass. Nonetheless, it is an interesting bit of kit!
If you found that video interesting, here’s some more information about the Uniplane!
- A PDF of the manual is available on vintagemachinery.org.
- Google books has a very interesting review from a 1969 issue of Popular Science
-Made You Look are videos that we’ve found on the web that we thought were worth sharing with our audience. Let us know if you find anything you think is worth a look in the comments below!
Comments
I had never heard of those, so thanks.
It definitely does not look safer for face jointing.
A cross-grain jointer? Kinda kooky. I cringed as his back hand with the tiny push stick passed the cutter pan.
I was a middle school shop teacher in Ontario and there was one of these in the classroom when I started the job. The boards in the shop were purchased face planed because all the Uniplane was somewhat good for was edge jointing.
Within a year I was able to source a Canadian made General jointer and a Rockwell planer.
fascinating
OMG. I can't believe you are even showing this video. This has to be the scariest machine I have ever seen. There is zero control of the work piece. The man's knuckle is directly in line with the spinning blade that is completely uncovered. The front of the circular cutter head is exposed while the wood is still engaged in the work. The thing looks better suited for slicing meat than being in any workshop.
You actually think this is a "safer alternative"? I cringe just looking at the meat slicer when ordering my 1/2 pound of ham at the deli.
Thanks Ben. The flattening is an approach as a woodworker I would feel comfortable doing. Cabide tip attached to a long piece of metal and muscle power followed by feeler gauges is something I could confidentially do.
I had never known about that method and it was certainly a bonus aspect of the video!
I own a Uniplane. It's not so scary as it looks, although it sounds like a jet engine. It's quite possible to mill down very small pieces (a 1" cube), and it's a good idea to hold in a handscrew. The finish is quite good for any grain orientation when the cutters are sharp. Mr. Parker didn't mention that the table tilts 45 degrees and is held by bolts at either end, and that there is a miter slot in the table as well.
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