Have a few year old DeWalt 733 that recently started behavior of making a loud "thunk" noise as board is fed through machine. When this happens, the board stops dead in it's tracks (only for a millisecond), it continues through, and then there is usually a divot in the board where the thunk occurred. It was a gradual thing at first, but now it happens regularly. I replaced the blades today with new ones...same thing. I cleaned the rollers with denatured alcohol, have even tried 120grit sandpaper on them, and waxed the in/out feed tables...same thing. I'm planing poplar if it matters at all. I'm only planing 1/64" or so when this happens, but it happens at other removal thicknesses also. Is my next stop the service center??
Remove the guard over the chain drive for the rollers and I bet you will find that the chain keeps jumping a tooth on one of the sprockets. This is due to stretch in the chain. You need to replace the chain. I own a tool repair shop and I have had to replace several of these for customers who had the same symptoms. Doug
FYI if this happens again and you need to get up and running quick: Based on my recollections of the chain size, a chain tool from a bicycle shop would probably fix it... you can adjust how tight a link is with the tool. I've had one of those tools for years due to my affection for cycling. In fact, I've been thinking about doing another big trip in 2011 from coast to coast,
25 years after my 3,142 mile trip. I wonder if the finishes and wood dust have affected me? :~)
Good tip; I'm a cyclist also, and have a chain breaker. Unfortunately this chain appears to be a little larger than what my chain tool accepts and I ended up tearing up the chain breaker in my haste to try and get the planer back up & running. It was not a good Park Tool quality breaker mind you but a knock-off chiwainese one that I've only used one other time. As always, buy the best and cry once.
I'd like to do a coast to coast also, if I could just get this pesky think called employment out of the way!
I'd like to do a coast to coast also, if I could just get this pesky think called employment out of the way!
I thought the chain size was about the same as used on the coaster brake/3 speed bikes... could be faulty memory on my part as I sold my 733 about 4-5 years ago after getting a Jet planer/molder on an enclosed base so the image isn't fresh in my head.
Re employment, for my first trip I resigned and took off. This time I can cobble together a couple of months of paid time off--which my family appreciates. ;~)
Well, I'm off to the shop to get the dust and finish levels up so the trip continues to sound like a good idea.... ;~)
Planer "skips" when planing (irregularly) can leave mark on stock when happ ens.
Note: I'd ensure each problem is fixed before you delve deeper, though understand consolidating part order. Ensure planer unplugged, blah, blah, blah. ste ps 1-3 are ok for novice, step 4 intermediate/difficult
Check feed rollers if show significant wear, replace will need to follow chain and bushing steps below. If glazed clean with solvent (alcohol or t hinner using scrub pad). Don't cut yourself on blades
Check rubber (nylon) drive belt (located right side from front)
Check drive chains (located left side from front, FYI chains do have nor mal slack, no tension adj)
4.Inspect bushings (securing screws are a bitch to get out, can try ratchet w/ phillips, I had to use vice grips on heads when phillips started to str ip)
hing down on bushings, but not heavily loaded, ease both out a few turns a t a time. watch bushing, should move downward with spring pressure easily. If it binds bushing and/or spring may need replacement
Drive gears (now we're getting into more difficulty, proceed at you own risk. may have missed some screws, but if you're game for attempting this, you'll get the jist)
r reattachment)
ed is actually the end of armature. big money part...plus bearings, etc...
Put everything back together
This is what I found:
wn so I replaced
ausing or caused by skipping, so I replaced both rear bushings
... older planer so no replacement for me
I fixed the problems in order as listed but still skipped. Not until I got into gearcase (with no replacements) and reassembled did skipping stop, bu t no obvious problems...
Have planed quite a bit since with no probs, running like new-
...disassemble..reassemble..disassemble...I've heard patience is a virtue, hours spent, good luck
No, the symptom described isn't snipe -- that's the end-effect from a rocking table or dropping the exit end resulting in taking off more material from the end few inches.
OP says it "skips" irregularly -- sounds like bad feed rollers, misadjusted feed pressure combined, perhaps, with dull blades causing extra cutting work.
Never had one of the "lunchbox" planers so don't have any real hands on advice for OP on them...have only "big iron" old Rockwell/Powermatic units which aren't at all comparable in adjustments/setup, unfortunately for that purpose.
Yeah, didn't think there needed to be that confusing the issue even though I didn't have a klew regarding the real cause having never even run a board thru somebody else's lunchbox. :)
I presume from the other posting they must use a cog belt for the drive and he (OP) lost one or more teeth. On either of mine a bad link in drive chain goes, everything comes to a (very sudden) halt.
This is the little guy; the PM-180 is all gear-driven with a matched set
3-pulley drive. (The green round "knob" in the picture is the pressure clutch for the variable speed drive; it's a split pulley mounted on the casting withe lever arm; pulling up increases speed).
Not actually mine, but same machine...
The PM is quite a lot heftier yet...but don't need more than 13" a lot of the time.
The one I have came from a furniture manufacturing facility where they had 27(!) of them arranged in 9 rows of three--each was set precisely to process arriving stock to specific final thickness in the three passes. These were replaced with a set of 6 of the PM Model 180s in an attempt in the mid-70s to cut manpower overhead and remain viable. Unfortunately, the moved only staved of the inevitable by maybe 10 years or so.
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