I would buy the Atlas! The thing looks practically brand new in the pictures. Quit posting and go buy!

I remember a similar situation on Ask This Old House----Roger helped a guy remove a climbing vine that left the little spots all over the siding. I can't remember what they used, though I think they were scraped off.

The answer to thin kerf blades is in this.

http://www.sawstop.com/support/faqs

The SawStop safety system is designed for use with standard 10” blades with kerfs from 3/32” to 3/16”. Blades with kerfs much thinner than 3/32” should not be used because those blades might not be strong enough to withstand the force applied by the brake when it activates. As a result, those blades might deform and stop more slowly in the event of an accident, resulting in a more serious injury. Blades with kerfs much thicker than 3/16” are heavier than standard 1/8” kerf blades. Therefore, those blades should not be used because they may stop more slowly than standard blades in the event of an accident, resulting in a more serious injury. Similarly, stacks of 2 or more 10” blades should never be used on your SawStop saw as the combined weight of the blades may be too heavy to stop quickly. If you need to use a blade with a kerf thicker than 3/16”, use an 8” dado set with the optional SawStop 8” dado cartridge. The dado cartridge is designed for use with 8” dado sets up to 13/16” wide.

As an electrician for many years, I'd say that motor is toast. It has had a catastrophic failure, probably a dead short. Any time that happens, it usually means the rotor is burned beyond repair.
Any time a motor fails the smoke retention test, it's usually done for.
Do a Google for replacement AC motors. There are places that sell them cheap. By the time you spend money for parts, it's usually cheaper to buy a new motor & be done with it.

But, suit yourself.

That's pretty much the same planer as the Delta 13", which was later enlarged to 15". You can find that stuff under the Delta name. Parts manual and the instruction manual. There's been several posts over the years about the gear oil. No need to fret yoo much, just use a good grade gear oil from any auto store, should take about 16-18 fl. ozs (IIRC), and having one of these with a piece of tubing about 6" long on the end makes it lot easier to get the oil in. I used Mobil One synthetic, but any 90 weight gear oil is going to do great. It is a heavily built planer, and will plane wood all day with nary a complaint. There's chains and sprockets under the table you might want to oil as well.

That is going to depend a lot on local soil and drainage. You might be better served scouting some of the older properties in the area and see what has and hasn't worked.

I used Shellac on the two I made. I am going to have to buy the forstner bits and extenders again. I know everyone does not put a finish on the inside.

I have a few new types I would like to try.

Arlin

The ones I've seen had mortised butt hinges. If you aren't wedded to period exact you might consider the blanket chest hinges sold by Rockers and others that limits how far the lid opens and has a damper so the lid can't fall shut.

John

Not taking chair class but will absolutely be around that week. Taking 9/23 to 9/30 off work. See you around

They will get weaker with time. Laser cutter tubes are rated in thousands of hours. The cheap 40 watt ones are 2 to 6k hours. As for the ones on tools I suspect they are low end quality as usual and I don't expect them to last too many hours.

I have used a few miter saws with them and I wish my milwaukee had a laser.