Delta 12.5" planer issues

[Michael Merrill]

I've been fighting with my planer for some time now and wanted to know if other users have a similar issue.

The problem I have is no matter what type of material, or length the planer will not feed the stock smoothly through the unit! It always stutters and sometime stops completely. I always have to either push on the stock from the input side or pull on the output side. The feed roller is definitely moving as sometime it will feed a piece about 80-90% but sometime through the run it almost always slows or stops.

One thought I've had is to add a longer planer feed table that goes completely through the unit so that I ensure the correct plane from infeed though outfeed, but haven't tried that yet.

Anyone struggle with this unit or some type issue on another brand?

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Never seen that on mine (a dewalt), but I've heard about it. wax the bed, and clean the rollers (if they're made from rubber or poly).

[kevin a jones]

You might want to check your blades and clean your rollers. I haven't experienced this problem, but have read similar posts and it always seems to be dull knives or dusty/dirty rollers. Hope this helps.

[willie sobat]

I also have a Delta 12.5" planer. Sometimes I have the same problem. It is always resolved by replacing (or rotating) the blades. Some other things that help are to wax the table and to support the stock by hand as it passes through the planer. By supporting I mean lift up slightly on the infeed side as the stock enters the rollers, and then on the outfeed side as it passes the halfway point on the stock. Hope this helps.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I also have a Delta 12 1/2" planer (22-560) and I have encountered that as well.

1. Check the chip chute to make sure it's clear
2. Check the DC hose and make sure I have suction
3. Clean the rollers with MS
4. Clean the tables and rewax
5. Support the stock while it enters and exits the machine (also helps to minimize snipe, just in case)

[Michael Merrill]

Yeah, I know that keeping the roller clean is a point and I did that not too long ago. Now it seem to struggle with every board. I wonder it a fairly stiff brush on the end of the vacuum would be enough to keep the feed roller clean?

I guess I can toss a bit of wax onto the bed as well.

I've got some maple that needs dimensioning soon so I'll give that a go before and treat that as my test.

I don't mind the "maintenance" part but I dimension so little material as a hobbyist I wonder why it seems the ratio of maintenance is 1 hour maintenance for 2 hours running time of the tool!

[george wilson]

Wax the bed with a block of parrafin,not beeswax. I haven't seen this problem on a 12.5",but have had wood stick in the 20". Paraffin helps. Also,run the wood lightly when it is still rough,and if it is bowed,run the concave side up,or best,flatten it first. Use a piece of plywood under rough boards to smooth out the ride.

[Kirk Poore]

I had a 22-560 with some similar problems. If this is your planer, you might have to take the housing off the side and make sure the belt and gears are in good condition and still attached properly. Pretty easy to do, really. Take off the lock handle and a few screws. These also problems with a nut that held a pulley on the cutterhead--make sure it's tight while you're in there.

I took mine into the service center a couple of times before I finally wore it out (trashed cutterhead keyway was the final straw). It was $50 and well worth it both times. It was a good planer--actually could take a deeper cut on wide boards than the DW 734 I replaced it with.

Kirk

[Lee Schierer]

I have one and had the same problem. Wax the table before each use ad when you notice the wood strating to hesitate.

Just a thought. You did remove the protective platic that was covering the stainless steel of the table right....If your table is blue or white, remove the covering material. This point was ommitted in the instructions that came with mine.

[Paul Atkins]

One quick way to wax the bed is to put a piece of waxed paper under the board while planing. Not on your finished thickness. Sometimes I can use it more than once before it disintegrates.

[lowell holmes]

IMO, Anthony has the answer. I wax my bed with Johnson's Floor Wax and keep the planer clean. I've had mine 8 or 9 years and it stilll performs. Keep it clean and wax the bed, and it should perform. Cleaning the rollers with mineral spirits or alcohol will keep the rollers working.

[Jim W. White]

I have had this same planer for about 8 yrs now. When I get that behavior I stop and wax the bed with Johnson's and it's off and running again.

I try to wax the bed after each job so it's ready to go the next time out.

Jim in Idaho

[Greg Cuetara]

I think Anthony and Lowell have the correct answers. I have the same planer and have had the same issues. Recently I cleaned the infeed and outfeed rollers and that helped 1000% percent. Also like Kirk says take apart the side and make sure that belt and cutterhead are in good shape. Fairly easy to do with a few screws but worth it to tighten things up. Are you using dust collection? When I first got the planer I was only using the piece which spit the chips out the back and I was having some big feed problems. Once I hooked up my shop vac things got a lot better.

Another piece of advice for that planer. Change out the allen head screws which lock down the blades with hex head bolts. My old screws got stuck and I had to drill them out to get the blades off. I replaced them with hex heads and now i can use my socket set to get them off. Much easier to tighten down and also to loosen up.

Good Luck,
Greg

[Ryan Baker]

I also have that machine and occasionally have the same issue. Almost always the primary culprit is dull knives -- change them if you haven't already. Cleaning the rollers and waxing the table are useful too. And make sure you aren't trying to hog off too much at a time. If you are working on long boards, good extra infeed and outfeed support help too.

[Michael Merrill]

Well it looks like the consensus is wax the tables and clean the roller. Frankly every time is a bit much and makes me question the overall quality but I'll give it a dose and see how it does. Like I said as a hobbyist I put that much through and would expect a bit more performance without quite so much fuss. I think this tool is the most finicky of all my tools

[Greg Cuetara]

Michael,
Make sure you take apart the side and make sure the belt is not slipping. How are your knives? You shouldn't have to clean the rollers and wax the table every time you use it...just make sure that it is clean etc. right now.