Delta 22-540 Planer locking bar stuck?

[William Hamilton]

I bought a Delta 22-540 planer for relatively cheap and I'm beginning to think I got what I paid for. After buying new knives and special ordering the wrench, thus being able to loosen the screws off the locking bar, the locking bar and knives are not budging one bit. Is it possible that some corrosion has occurred and the locking bar and knives are simply stuck in there? They're not giving at all. I'm pretty frustrated and don't want to spend any more money trying to get this thing working properly.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've thought of trying anti-seize or something to try and loosen things up. Thanks.

[Charlie Jones]

The gibb screws on the blade lock bar turn to the right to loosen. If the blades have been in a long time you might try penatrating oil on the screws

[William Hamilton]

I got the screws loose, but the locking bar and knife aren't moving at all. I'll have to try a penetrating oil on the blade and lacking bar. They seems super snug to each other and there may be some corrosion going on... thanks for the advice

[John Sanford]

I doubt if it's corrosion. More like adhesion. Sap is sticky stuff. As we know, wood has sap, some more than others. Heat the sap, it flows easily, including into the nooks and crannies of the planer cutterhead. If the penetrating oil doesn't work, then either you're dealing with a compression fit, or it's sticky-stuck in there. Blow through a couple of sap pockets in Southern Yellow Pine and you'll be thinking you've go crazy glue in there!

[William Hamilton]

Thanks John. I didn't even think of sap! I guess because I've worked almost exclusively with walnut. I will certainly keep that in mind and give that a try if the penetrating oil doesn't work.

[Marc Myers]

I've had that same model planer for about 10 years. I've never run pine through it for just the reasons you're describing. With either sap or corrosion I agree with John. Try a small torch on a very low setting and see if you can't soften some of that up and pry it loose with a screwdriver, prybar, or whatever. You can go a little hotter if you feel you need to, but watch out for the plastic housing around that area. Heating the metal accidentally in other areas will naturally cause a little expansion and might throw your alignment out a little. If you got it cheap enough, it's worth a little hassle and some short money on parts to get it up and running again. I've used mine semi-regularly over the years and have had nothing but good luck with it. I'm even still on the second side of the original cutters. Although that 13" Steel City with the spiral/helical cutterhead is getting some serious long looks from me these days....

[Charlie Jones]

I have run a lot of pine through mine with no problems. Of course I clean it when I change the blades. If the screws are loose you should be able to pry out the blade and lock bar as a unit with a screwdriver. I clean my bar with oven cleaner. I suspect this machine has been abused and never cleaned. Keep at it, this is a workhorse of a lunchbox.

[William Hamilton]

Good news. The penetrating oil did the trick after letting it sit for about 15 minutes. I think the previous owner did not maintain the planer properly. It looked as if the original knives were in there. The good news is that they'd never been flipped. I cleaned it up nicely though. Now to make a homemade depth gauge for the knives... glad to hear this has been a reliable planer for you guys.

[Curt Harms]

Good news. The penetrating oil did the trick after letting it sit for about 15 minutes. I think the previous owner did not maintain the planer properly. It looked as if the original knives were in there. The good news is that they'd never been flipped. I cleaned it up nicely though. Now to make a homemade depth gauge for the knives... glad to hear this has been a reliable planer for you guys.

I had that planer for a while. I found the this little rascal handy: http://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-W1226-Mini-Planer-Pal-Pair/dp/B0000DD1VL. Knives are set perfectly and no fussing.

[Charlie Jones]

I have had mine since the late 90's or thereabouts. It has had thousands of board feet of pine, oak, walnut, cherry and other species through it. I have replaced a cutterhead bearing twice and the belt pulley. It worked loose and wallowed out. I would like to replace it with that new Jet jointer/planer but right now I'm just glad the old 540 is still humming (screaming)...I resharpen the blades on a bench grinder.

[William Hamilton]

I'll probably order the jig.. heck for $24 it's worth not wasting a ton of time trying to get the knives even