Planer sticking

We are having trouble with the planer again today. It will pull a piece in a few inches then get stuck. We’re doing less than 1/8th turns because anything more totally jams it up. We’ve cleaned the rollers as much as possible and checked the blades for any obvious issues.

Is there a way to pull the rollers out so we can clean them more thoroughly?

@cfstaley any suggestions?

The roller on the top of the planer isnt activating to pull the wood through.

Is the gear box lever on the side of the machine in the correct position?

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Thanks! We pushed the gear all the way in and it is turning on. Does it matter if it’s set to 16 or 20?

Speeds usually effects the quality of cut.

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We’re going to have to set some time aside for a full calibration on the planer. Popping the top is helpful for cleaning, but like other tools, too many people poke, prod, and turn screws without knowing what they really do. On top of it being heavily used.

I think that that’s going to be after Christmas.

There is a spec for a setup/ calibration tool in the manual. I’ll try to get that fabricated, in the mean time

Thanks Charlie. There’s a sticker on the planer thats says to add oil every 30 hours of use. Is that something someone is doing?

The planer needs an accessible safety disconnect. This is a critical safety concern. As it says right here, members are trying to reach into the planer and clean, while it’s still powered, as the twist lock is overhead and locked in place with zip ties.

Do we want to use a standard lockable 90 deg rotary lockout switch, or just add another twist lock hanging inline? Seems the cable needs to be longer anyways, so we might remove the end where it goes into the planer’s power entry box, terminate in a twist lock receptacle, and add a new stub of SO cable from the twist lock plug onto the planer power entry box.

Cord-and-plug tools don’t need separate safety disconnects. It’s not ideal that the plug is out of reach, but we have stepladders accessible to anyone doing maintenance on a tool.

I wouldn’t be opposed to swapping out those scaffold-mounted outlets with pigtails if accessibility is a concern.

Seems like the current status of the planer is inoperable? Wanted to make sure before I go by Fine to pick up some rough walnut to surface.

@Chrisjmckinley It is working. We cleaned the rollers really well and made sure the gear shift is in position. We were able to finish planing a large batch yesterday.

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One day we will move the planer junction box closer to the planers current location. The junction box was placed where the planer was originally located. I will install a disconnect near the tool. The planer is on it own circuit breaker. If you are worried. You can turn the breaker off prior to servicing.

@Mollie It’s doubtful that anyone is doing any oiling. Very little PM is going on anywhere in the woodshop. Something I would like to change, but we need more people comfortable with doing tool maintenance. I’m not talking about the ability to tear a tool down, but adding oil, cleaning rollers, adjusting fences, would be very helpful.

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We do have the workshop@asmbly.org channel for communication, and it seems like a good place for this info, but we’re just not using it

The job of tool maintenance gets much easier if we enlist people with a passion for the tool. On the surface that sounds odd, “Passion for the tool?” That said, in my two prior maker spaces this approach worked. There really are vinyl cutters people, laser people, router people, hand tool people, etc.

Watching is the key to finding these people.
Once they’re found, a checklist and schedule are defined.
Being responsible for a tool they care about is a source of pride
and it’s a great way for those people to contribute to the community.

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