Delta planer wont feed

[Mark]

Hello all, Have an old delta 12" planer (all steel no plastic). Couldnt even begin to tally how much lumber has been run throught his planer, it has worked its buns off. Anyway, several months ago the planer began to have trouble feeding material through. This could be 8/4, 4/4, wide, or narrow stock, dry or green. The feed rolls were seeming to just skid. I always keep the table waxed up but it would still require shoving, then pulling, each board through. This has gotten worse and worse to where each board would have to be almost entirely hand fed.

We tried cleaning the feed rolls several times, thin-x, acetone, etc. They never seemed that dirty/gummed up. Finally I figured with the thousands of feet that have probably gone through the planer that the feed rolls must be shot/dried out/something? So I ordered a new set of feed rolls ($110.00US). Installed them, exactly the same behavior. Infact, the other day I tried to plane some 1' long pieces of 2x6 (KD Spruce framing) and it wouldnt even pull them through.

What gives? Any input appreciated. Prior to buying the feed rolls I was thinking of just buying a new planer thinking this one had paid for itself over and over however I am always resisting becoming a part of this disposable american society, plus I really like the fact that the machine is solid metal rather than 80% plastic. Now that I have bought the feed rolls I really want to keep the planer.

Thanks, from the guy who has changed the switch in his skill saws, and other tools, several times rather than buying new ones, Mark

[Mark Jacobs]

The 12" delta I had (22-540) would have trouble feeding if the knives were dull. The feed rollers can't push the material through if the blades aren't cutting well.

Mark

[Mark]

Mark, Thanks for the reply. I have changed the knives several times since this has been an issue. I have tried new Delta knives as well as knives I have sharpened myself (I think mine are sharper than replacement knives). It still doesnt seem to help.

Thanks aga> The 12" delta I had (22-540) would have trouble feeding if the knives were

[Matthew]

Is this a planer with bed rolls as well as feed rolls? The bed rolls need to be set slightly higher than the bed of the planer; if not, the work slides on the bed as opposed to rolling on the bed rollers.

How are the feed rolls driven? Can you see if they are slipping (but still turning) or do they stop turning when the work stops?

Matthew

[Dave]

bitting right? cleaning the rollers

might not help if what ever makes them turn is slipping. Good luck

Have an old delta 12" planer (all steel no plastic). Couldnt even begin

[Mark]

Matt, Good pickup, The planer has no bed rolls, work slides on the bottom side. I have not physically looked to see if the feed rolls are stalling however I am 90% positive they are as when the planer stalls on a finish pass I can see a "skid" on the board where the roll spun and burnished it. I will however run a piece and make sure. I thought of this same thing upon re-reading my post.

Thanks, Mark

Matthew wrote:

[Wilson Lamb]

Are there adjustments to set the tension on the feed rollers? There might be setscrews and/or springs pushing down on their shafts. Anything that kept them from going down far/hard enough could cause the problem. I expect you saw all this when you put in the new rollers. Is it possible the cutterhead has somehow drifted lower, so it bites before there is enough pressure on the feeders? Obviously there's no chance the rollers could be in backwards? Wilson

[Leon]

How can an all steel no plastic planer have dried out feed rollers???? Perhaps the rollers are not steel??? Rubber rollers? Cold weather? Rubber rollers get hard in cold weather and will not feed properly. See if blowing them with a heated hair dryer helps.

[KS]

Maybe he's talking about the bearings in the rollers being dried out...

[Dennis Erdelac]

[George]

shows compression springs (part 69) to register the rollers. How about adding a washer to each to get a bit more pressure?

If it works, get new springs.

[biggmutt53]

I had one from the mid '90s, had a similar problem, and as I recall I took it all apart and cleaned it, which you likely did already, and then did the cutter head adjustment thing with the wooden jig they tell you how to make in the instruction manual. The heads were too low vis-a-vis the feed rollers. Worked for me. Good luck.

Mutt

Mark wrote:

bought

[Duane Bozarth]

...

Probably the knives are worn to be above the pressure bar slightly...

First, sharpen the knives and reset. Then reset the pressure bar to just above the bottom clearance of the knives...the manual should have specific dimensions. If you don't have it, call the Delta technical support 800 number and they'll send a xerox copy. If you're lucky you may even be able to talk to a tech who'll tell you what you want to know directly although that's less common than it used to be...

Don't know the 12" models, have (probably even older) Model 13...

[George]

Sounds like you have iron, not a lunchbox type. They don't have the chipbreaker/pressure bar setup like the iron ones.

[Duane Bozarth]

OK, his description fooled me...I thought perhaps there was a 12" model made similarly before the portables...ah, well...

And, yes, the Model 13 is iron (a lot of it)...weighs about 400 lb, I think...