Machinery & Power Tools

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Comment by David Ennis on November 30, 2012 at 7:47am

Looking for any reccomandations on an 18" planer. I've got a 7 year old NorthTech 20" with helixical cutterhead with inserts.it's just not as fine of a finish as i'd like. The biggest problem is when I'm running face frame edges...even stacked 5-6 pieces wide..with the segmented feed rollers, it tends to pull them out of square. I do miss my old makita planer for that application, but i'm thinking it'd be about 800 just for parts to get that old beast up and running again...ideas?

Comment by Brian on November 24, 2012 at 2:55pm

You Folks need to check out Festool Products plate joiners and become a master at joinery. 

http://festooldomino.com/?=224df086

Comment by Ralph W. Bagnall on July 31, 2011 at 8:16pm

The chains are moving, are the rollers?

It is possible that the steel rods inside the rollers are turning, but the rubber part is not. Or that the gears on the ends of the rollers are turning but not turning the rods.

Ralph

Comment by T. M. Hawley on July 31, 2011 at 6:52pm

Thanks for all the help so far. Here's what I found when I removed the housings for the roller drive and the cutters. The rollers have a bicycle-chain drive with sprockets, etc. When I sent a stick of pine through, as soon as the cutters engaged the full width of the wood (about 2-3 inches), the wood stopped moving even though the chain driving the feed rollers was still moving exactly as when I first turned the machine on.

 

There's no doubt that the cutters could use sharpening, so I'll do that an see what happens. Any tips on reinstalling them so that they're all parallel?

 

Thanks again, and be well,

 

Tim

Comment by Ralph W. Bagnall on July 31, 2011 at 1:38pm

It sounds like time to replace the rollers, blades or both.

Also, is the drive for the rollers functioning properly? It should be chain/gear drive, but you might have a gear that is not properly gripping a shaft. It fits tight enough to drive the rollers without strain, but add the cutters and it slips.

Ralph

Comment by T. M. Hawley on July 31, 2011 at 12:18pm

Hello, friends.

I've cleaned the rollers with kerosene, and waxed the table. But still no dice.

When I bring the table up so that the cutters almost-but-not-quite touch the work piece, the rollers work fine, moving the work piece across the table smooth as can be. But as soon as the cutters start cutting all the way across the workpiece, the workpiece stops moving and gets a little charred where the cutters are hitting it again and again.

Dull cutter heads? Or dull woodworker?

Comment by Richard Smith on July 18, 2011 at 9:53pm

I work on computers and found the best cleaner for rubber rollers is rubber rejuvenator/platen cleaner by TECHSPRAY. I use it to clean the rollers for my planer as well as a printer, You can find any computer supply store or online.

Comment by Will Sampson on July 18, 2011 at 9:39am

I like naptha a lot because it evaporates without leaving any film, as also does alcohol. Mineral spirits can leave a film, but it is a stronger solvent if you have some real gunk, pitch or sap to remove.

Comment by T. M. Hawley on July 18, 2011 at 9:36am

Thanks, Will.

I'll do as you suggest and let you know how it turns out. Is naphtha better than mineral spirits for something like this? Don't usually keep naphtha around, since it's pretty flammable.

Be well,

Tim

Comment by Will Sampson on July 18, 2011 at 9:26am

Tim, I am not intimately familiar with the Ryobi AH-115, but I believe it has rubber feed rollers. Is that correct? If it is, try cleaning them with a mild solvent such as naphtha (common lighter fluid such as Rosinol) or denatured alcohol. If that doesn't solve the problem, you might need new rollers.

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