LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Ryobi AH 115 Planer/Jointer

26K views 65 replies 28 participants last post by  Kaki 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey, All. So, I picked up a Ryobi AH 115 Planer/Jointer combo unit the other day for $100. This was a complete impulse buy as I have been in the market for a heavier planer for a while. The jointer is just a bonus. It needs a little work and is similar to the old Makita combo units.

The question is… Does anyone know anything about these machines? There's very little on the interweb that I've been able to find.

Machine tool Gas Wood Machine Metal


Font Gas Bumper Rectangle Motor vehicle


Wood Tool Gas Machine Bumper
 

Attachments

See less See more
6
#2 ·
I have owned one since the mid-late 1980's and I'm still in love. I've made a few modifications for dust collection and it is kind of low but a handmade stand would take care of that. Changing knives couldn't be easier. It runs true and is easily repaired. I never could understand why it was discontinued.
 
#4 ·
Ryobi used to be a pro brand and may still
be in Japan. 110v combos of this type
were designed for use on Japanese construction
sites.

Ryobi also made a 6" beam planer (I have one)
and a bandsaw that takes a 3" wide resaw blade.

Makita made a little version with an open sided
6" planer that could surface 12" in two passes…
I saw a used one on Craigslist once.
 
#5 ·
That's a hell of a machine, especially for a $100.00 bucks.
At one time I owned 8 of these machines and as far as I'm concerned its the best tool Ryobi ever made.
Ill never figure out why they discontinued making them.
I still have 2 of these machines that I use daily, if you need advice about where to get parts let me know.
Since they discontinued them I have gotten pretty crafty in finding what I need.
 
#8 ·
If you machine is old and the feed rollers (both infeed and out feed) have never been replaced, they get hard and brittle and sometimes even a little out of round and they also start slipping just a little. Its hard to notice but its one of the big causes of snipe…. Don't panic the fixes are easy and not that expensive.

Your post doesn't say where your from but UPS goes everywhere so it shouldn't be a big deal.
There is a place in Bend, Oregon called Western Roller ((800) 541-2317) and they can strip and re-coat your rollers with an even better material than the machine came with. Just call them, tell them what you have and they will give you a price. Their absolutely awesome people to deal with, they can do any kind of feed roller like for planners and power feeds.

I get the coating that is semi-soft and it really grips the harder slicker woods like White Hardrock Maple or Northern White Oak and it REALLY grips any softer woods like poplar or anything else.

When you remove the rollers, there will be a square block at the end of each roller. You'll need to check these blocks, there's a hole in each one that a spring goes into, and make sure the hole isn't ovaled out and that the spring is still in good shape. If the blocks have the holes messed up you can't buy new ones from Ryobi but ANY machine shop can easily make you some. Order at least 1 extra set because with machine shops its all about the set up time !! Once you have new rollers re-installed preferably with new springs but that will depend what kind of shape yours were in, the only other adjustment to eliminate snipe is the rollers that are inserted into the
planner bed itself. They should be set just 1 red ******************** hair above the actual bed surface.

Another thing that helps eliminate snipe is when your feeding your material into the machine, give the material a slight bit of upwards pressure, not a bunch, just a little. And then do the same thing as the material exits the machine.

Let me know how it works out for you. at one time I had 8 of these machines, I've sold all but 2 to friends and employees and believe it or not every single one of them still works fantastically !!
These are by far the best tool Ryobi ever made.

The only replacement part that takes some due diligence to find is
the field and armature. You have to look in the schematics of older like 1990's Makita planers cause they used the same armature as Ryobi AH-115. Sorry, I used to have the exact Makita part number written down but I somehow lost the little piece of paper I had it written on. It was always one of those things I wanted to get around to filing in my tool parts folder, but I procrastinated too damn long !! Now I'm gunna have to do the search thing again. Once I come up with the part numbers I'll post them up on here..

I absolutely love these machines. I love the way they cut and stay true. I love the simplicity of the design and truthfully there just isn't that many parts that can break that can't be easily fixed and the fact that you really don't have to rely on Ryobi to get parts cause if you cant find the replacement part, there easy and inexpensive to have made or you can find similar parts that fit locally.

I'm starting to think about stalking up on knives cause I'm worried they will stop making them soon but I haven't really looked into the availability lately but from what I've been told their still readily available.
I think if they stopped making the knives we would all be in trouble cause they have a lot of notches and slots cut into the knives and would probably be pretty spendy to have to have them fabricated by a machine shop.

Fortunately, with the newer and smarter CNC machines that are out there today it probably wouldn't be as big of challenge for them as it was 20 years ago, but I still bet it wouldn't be cheap, It would be the CAD drawing and program design that would cost all the money, cutting the knife would be nothing.. . I guess if that day ever happens, I'll have to sell them online since I'll already have the CNC program and all they would have to do is load the machine with a High Speed Steel blank and hit run..

I did have 3 sets of knives done by Farr's Custom Carbide Cutting in Santa Ana, California, (714-972-1600 ask for Richard Farr and tell him Shaun Ragland referred you and he'll take good care of you) where they slotted in a good thick piece of solid carbide edge into the stock knives. Ryobi never offered carbide as an option, but man do they they stay sharper longer. I would guess 4 to 1 with HHS vs Carbide, its an amazing difference.

Richard Farr is an amazing talent when it comes to shaper cutter designs, Router Bits, or specialized saw blades for cutting anything special. He is also a sharpening GURU, the guy sharpens anything even spiral cutters for door planers and before I found Richard, I had to throw my dull spiral cutters away and they ain't cheap !!!.

I was having a really, really hard time cutting white rift oak plywood for a huge cabinet project we did (1.2 million for just fabrication and the delivery and installation was hourly) We tried every blade on the market and everything splintered this plywood to the point that it looked like a dog chewed the cut for us… It was just way too slow to have to tape and razor cut everywhere we needed to crosscut this material. I mean we're talkin units and units of plywood and thousands of cuts. Richard made me a 12" saw blade that had the thickest steel and the widest carbide teeth I'd ever seen, I think the kirf was a full 3/16th wide but that blade was as smooth as glass. I thought he had lost his friggin mind when I first saw it while picking it up, but when I tried it I was blown away how clean and smooth the cuts were, it was almost as good as sex, but not quite !!!.

Richard also designs and builds his own multi purpose shaper cutters with removable and interchangeable tips that save tons of money cause your investment allows you to do 4 or 5 different stick and cope cuts off one cutter head and their extremely safe and of the highest quality you'll ever see. The thing that I like about Richard is that if he makes you a shaper cutter, he'll make sure to get you set up with all the different slot cutters for the different door thickness's like for interior or exterior doors, even a slot cutter for french glass doors and he also sets you up with all the necessary rub bearings for any radius or elliptical work you may need to do.

If you buy a production cutter, first off its only going to cut one profile and then you have to shop around and piece meal all the slot cutters and bearings before you end up with a workable and complete set. Sometimes its really hard to find the right diameter slot cutters and bearings and you have to do all kinds of extra funky ******************** to make everything work and that can be a real time killer and a genuine pain in the rectom !!

I'm probably sounding like a salesman but I don't get anything by referring him, I just like his products and I like to see other people use really good tools. Farr's Custom Carbide Cutting (Richard Farr) is definitely a number to keep in your little black phone book for that special shaper cutter, router cutter or saw blade you may need some day, I just can't say enough about Richard and his talent as a blade maker, hes just a really incredibly talented and also a genuinely nice guy.

I've got cutters that he made for me in the early 80's and they are still just as perfect and easy to set up as the day I had him make them for me !!!

PEACE OUT !!!
 
#12 ·
Hello all,
I bought a fully operational Ryobi AP-125 Planer. It looks just like the AH-115 above without the jointer on it. Does anyone have sources for an owners manual and replacement knives? This post is the most recent I could find anywhere on the internet. Any hints on tuning and setting the knives? I may just have to sharpen and run the knives it has.

Regards,

Brian
 
#13 ·
Brian,

I know the Ryobi AH-115 inside and out and although they are discontinued, parts are still available. During that time period there were 3 planer/jointer combo units made, Makita, Hitachi and Ryobi all made their own version of the units but ironically, they were all made under the very same roof. Many of the parts are interchangeable especially internal parts, belts and knives.

I'm not familiar with the AP model although I think I've seen them. Check for similar versions thru Makita and Hitachi. As far as the knives go, I'm not sure about the AP but the AH version has the knives screwed into a blade holder and then bolted onto the cutter head with 8 bolts after the knives have been set to the correct cutting depth using the provided knife setting jig. I'm guessing you don't have that jig with the machine ??

If the AP knives are first held in a knife holder and then bolted to the cutter head, you can remove the knife holder without loosening the knife and a machine shop can make you a setting jig out of a piece of aluminum fairly cheaply. Another way would be to measure from the lip of the knife holder to the sharp edge of the knife before you remove it from the knife holder to be re-sharpened. After re-sharpening you'll have to reset to that measurement, it will take more time to get it right but it can be done.

Hope this helps,
Shaun
 
#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
Wow, thanks for the quick response and suggestions and greetings from Maine. Given the similar appearance of the AH-115 planer portion to the AP-125 planer I would say they are the same unit except that one has the jointer option installed. the knives are 12.5" long, 1.25" wide and .125 thick with 8 bolt holes for the blade holder. Holes #2 and #7 are actually slots cut through the back of the blade. the reason for that is not apparent. There are 2 smaller holes that screw the blade to the blade holder and they are of course elongated slots to facilitate setting the knives. Do you have a source for the AH-115 knives that you can point me to? Do you have a source for operators manual for either of these machines?

Thanks in advance.
 
#15 ·
Shaun,

I found these on Amazon, they are 12" not 12.5" but the hole pattern looks about right. https://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-972011-12-Inch-Planer-Jointer/dp/B0000223K0

For use with Hitachi Planer/Jointer (no.P12R and no.P12RA). Is that the machine I need to look for and are these the blades that fit the Ryobi AH-115? I can't find any information on the Makita.

thanks again.
 
#16 ·
I was just digging around in my spare parts box for my Ryobi and thought that some folks might want to have digital copies of the parts list and manual.

Enjoy!
Rich

Rectangle Font Parallel Slope Engineering


Rectangle Font Parallel Schematic Engineering


Font Material property Pattern Parallel Document


Font Material property Document Pattern Parallel


Aircraft Font Vehicle Newspaper Rotorcraft


Font Line Material property Parallel Paper


Font Publication Newspaper Parallel Motor vehicle


Newspaper Font Parallel Publication Paper
 

Attachments

#18 ·
rs3o:
You are the only place I can find the owners manual for the AH-115. Really appreciate if you would make an PDF version so we can download and print. I think you have the only copy on the planet. I just picked one up today for $75 delivered. The planer works great but the jointer blades are very dull. This unit had been in an A/C'd shop since new. Thanks in advance !!!
 
#19 ·
Hi , I just purchased the ryobi planer/jointer , original owner.He did not have the manual , thanks for posting this.Looking at the machine I like it better than f1oooa , 2030 because of 2 speeds and the roller at the jointer.Thanks again !Any other info you have I am all ears
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
My machine just got delivered today. I believe it is the AH-125 because the planer blade width is 12.5 inches. The ID plate on the front was removed so I am guessing. I tore into it to get it fine-tuned. My feed roller drive chain has stretched to the point the tensioner does no good. I found the best deal at redboarchain.com. It is special narrow Japanese chain RS37 - 10ft length with master links $20.50 shipped (I checked it and the specs match my old one - you will need about 28 - 30" of chain) The sprockets appear to be OK but I will know more when the chain arrives. The blades are dull - I will get to that shortly. The 2 drive belts are 125J7 for the jointer and 189J7 for the planer. I have had no luck finding the 189J7. The actual Bando #189JP7 is on the belt. There is no adjustment on the belts. I have found one a little shorter and narrower and one a little longer - FYI. My feed rollers are in very good condition.

Now the blades and how to set them. The Jointer blades are held in with a metal holder (cutter clamp) that bolts to the cutter head assy. Remove the 5 bolts and the cutter clamp and blade will come off. Look at the cutter head and you will see 2 screws. These screws are the height adjustment screws for the blades. When installing the blades make sure the horizontal slot on the blade is over the head of the screws and that is what keeps it from backing out when the machine is running. Unscrew theses screws to raise the blades as they will push up on the bottom of the blade. Adjust the blade height to the out feed table as with any other jointer getting the blade to lightly grab a piece of stock and move it about a 1/4" with cutter head rotation. These are very special blades due to the vertical bolt hole slots and the horizontal relief cut for the height adjusting screw - do not take them for granted. These are 6mm/1.0 bolts for the cutter clamp. They are not marked but I assume they are metric grade 8.8 so torque should be 7ft/lbs. Grade 10.9 torque at 10ft/lbs. Mine were very tight coming out. Not sure which spec to use.

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a502/mlkary/IMG_20180817_132127114_BURST000_COVER_zpsyctbg89t.jpg

The Planer blades. These come out as an assembly. Remove the 8 bolts and the cutter clamp (its a bar) and the blade will come out together. There are 2 phillip head screws that hold these together - DO NOT LOOSEN these yet. Take a dial caliper and measure from the outside base of the cutter clamp to the cutting edge of the blade. Do this on both ends of both blades and record the readings. Mine measured 1.755" plus or minus .001. Next you can build a build a jig as I did to make reassembly easier before removing the blade from the clamp. I will attempt to attach a pic of my jig made from aluminum u-channel left over from a staircase I just installed. Reset your blades in your jig, then measure your height and readjust your jig until you get it where you want it. Now set your blades in the holder and re-install the assembly in the cutter head. The bolts should be torqued. They are 8mm/1.25 bolts. There are no markings but I figure they are Metric grade 8.8 so torque them at 17ft/lbs. Grade 10.9 torque at 24ft/lbs. Mine were very tight coming out. Again not sure which spec to use. These blades are also very special due to the vertical slots - do not take them for granted as well.

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a502/mlkary/IMG_20180817_202249893_zpsu6yc2hoq.jpg

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a502/mlkary/IMG_20180817_173646660_zpsvziwrsvx.jpg

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a502/mlkary/IMG_20180817_173622615_zpsvaqsbkfh.jpg

Hope this supplies some missing info you have been looking for. Just ignore the pics of my Lee reloading machine unless you want to modify a charging arm. When I am not making sawdust I have a tendency to punch holes in paper.
 
#21 ·
Thank you all, I was given an AP-125 that cuts rough oak and walnut like a demon but have been unable to find any other instructions until this thread. So far blades have been sharp but knew that some day would need to sharpen and the parts list I found showed the "gauge" which of course don't have.

I figured I could pull out and measure when necessary but Mike, your solution and steps is genius.

Rich, please do upload a higher resolution scan of the manual!

Bumper Vehicle Automotive tire Automotive exterior Tire


I have the parts list, possibly a bit higher resolution than above,but it's a .pdf and is not compatible with this message board.
 

Attachments

#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
Update… I got my chain kit in from redboarchain.com. It was a perfect fit and definately removed the 1/4 slack between the feed rollers. They supply you with 2 master links that you must use. You have to remove one of the sprockets to install the chain it is that tight. The drive chain from the motor to the feed roller was still way too loose so I figure the idler wheel is worn on the tensioner. I cut off part of the adjustment arm where the spring attaches and then redrilled a new hole so the spring had slight gap between the coils. This removed all the slack in the chain.
Got both sets of blades resharpened for $25.00 total. My jig worked very well for the planer blades. I used 24ft/lbs for the torque as 17ft/lbs did not seem as tight as when I removed the bolts. There is a slot in the left side of the housing that will align with a hole in the cutterhead shaft. Insert a #2 phillips screwdriver to lock the cutter head.
The jointer blades were a bit more of a challange but not bad if you prepare for patience. I took a straight edge and levelled the infeed table to the out feed table. My indicater on the infeed table showed a dead on "0" ( the one underneath the infeed table). I made a jig for an old dial indicater that I had and set the blade height to 0.0025". See attcahed photo (the screw in the center is so I can adjust the indicater to zero by moving the indicater up or down). There is a cover under the blade shield. Remove the 2 upper screws and remove the shield. There is a knob with 2 sets of through holes in it. You can take a #2 phillips screwdriver and insert it vertically through the holes. In one position it will lock the knife head so the bolts are pointing vertically. The other position will lock the the knife head so the knife edge is in the up most position for setting the blade height. (see pics) It is a little teadous to work the blade holder and the knife in position without lowering the infeed table but it can be done by rotating the cutter head to the right just a little. With the blade and holder in position and the 5 screws just snug lock the cutter head into position for the blade hieght adjustment. The set screws in the knife head set the height. You can move the dial indicator so you can gain access to the screws with a #2 phillips screwdriver and watch the dial indicater as you adjust. Counter clockwise raises the blade and clockwise lowers the blade but you have to tap it down to get it to lower. You can slide the dial indicator back and forth across the length of the blade to check the height from one end to the other. You do have to slide the indicator left to right to find the maximum height of the blade at any given point.

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a502/mlkary/Ryobi%20Planer%20Jointer/IMG_20180824_120655178_zpsdx1qykd2.jpg

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a502/mlkary/Ryobi%20Planer%20Jointer/IMG_20180824_121006674_zpskaulth7x.jpg

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a502/mlkary/Ryobi%20Planer%20Jointer/IMG_20180824_120820421_zpsivdo80ou.jpg

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a502/mlkary/Ryobi%20Planer%20Jointer/IMG_20180824_120947319_zps7zazdz3n.jpg

I heard back from a Bando distributor today who contacted Bando directly about the two drive belts. The 189J8 (because it is 3/4" wide) is no longer in production. The only other option is a 190J8 which is 3/32 longer. I have found no adjustment for the belts so when the time comes that I need to replace the planer belt I will have to design and install a tensioner pulley to accomodate a production belt. He did state that these belts are industrial grade belts and should last a long time. Mine still look good but after 30+ years but who knows.
 
#25 ·
The original blades are extremely good blades. I would have them sharpened which is cheap about $12.00 for the set of two. Those are special blades due to the hole spacing and unless you have them specially made they are not available to my knowlege. You would have to have a cad drawing made and then programed into a CNC machine. The set up would cost way more than the blades. Just have them sharpened at a reputable shop so they don't remove any more than absolutely necessary. They will be able to tell how much life is left in the blades. As long as your blade adjustment is not stopped by the bottom of the holes in the blade you are good.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top