Planer Problems

[Julie Moriarty]

I have a Delta 22-560 that was purchased right when that model came out. I use it a lot. A few years ago the wood began to stick. I solved that by helping it out manually. Lately the problem has been getting worse and it's like I'm doing all the work feeding the lumber through. It's more like a workout.

I've also noticed burnishing on the side being planed. It leaves grooves in the wood that have to be hand planed or sanded out. It's not the blade, I just changed them, these are pressed in. I'm thinking the feeder rollers are either damaged or have some kind of buildup on them.

Can these problems be fixed? Or am I in for a new planer purchase?

[Clark Harbaugh]

Most likely you can correct the problem by doing 2 things. First, clean the rollers. The bulk of your problems are just build up. I use an old tooth brush or small scrub brush and some cleaner. I typically just use water with a couple drops of soap. Just be sure to thoroughly dry the rollers after cleaning. Also be sure that the cleaning solution you use won't leave any type of residue, as this will just cause more problems. The second thing to do is wax the bed of your planer. This will help allow the material to slide through with little resistance. I wax mine quite often.

[Roy Harding]

Could it be as simple as the bed needing a good cleaning and a coat of Topcote, or paste wax?

[Paul Murphy]

I don't have this planer, but many planer problems are "generic" in nature. If it's not the knives, then it could be slipping feed rollers imprinting on your planed surface. It would be worth checking the feed rollers, as you do describe a feed problem.

http://www.mikestools.com/download/Delta-Planer-Owners-manuals/22-560.pdf (http://www.mikestools.com/download/Delta-Planer-Owners-manuals/22-560.pdf) Page 13
ADJUSTING HEIGHTOF OUTFEED ROLLER

[Dave Sims]

The only suggestions I can make are to crank the planer to its highest point and get a look at the rollers. If you still cant see in there either use a mirror to get a look or take the service panels off to see if the rollers are gummed up. Dont forget to wax the planer bed.

[Greg Cuetara]

Julie I have the same planer and have had the same problems that you are describing. The first issue is always the blades but if you have changed them then that is the the first step. The second big issue as has been described above is the rollers. if you put the planer all the way at the top then you can take mineral spirits and clean them up. You may have to take a step back, plug it in, and turn it on once or twice then unplug it and clean the opposite sides of the rollers. Also a good waxing of the bed will help things. I just tuned up my planer before a big project and things worked really well after I cleaned the rollers and waxed the bed.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions. I have had a lot of difficulty with my planer and have learned quite a bit about it.
Greg

[Julie Moriarty]

Thank you!

I just cleaned the rollers but found the infeed roller rubber is damaged. There's a couple of tears in it and it looks permanently grooved where the burnish marks are showing up. It looks like it has to be replaced, just not sure if I can find the part. The parts blowup diagram I have looks like I'll have my hands full replacing it.

I have $1,000 of 8/4 quarter-sawn sapele that, if I resaw it well, I hope to get (3) 7/16"-1/2" thicknesses out of it. That means the planer can't be damaging the wood in the process. I didn't have the hardwood store do it because they lose over 1/4" on every pass (I lose less than 1/8") and that would mean about another $500 spent on wood, plus their work charges. I could buy a new planer for that.

[Bill Hoffer]

Julie,
I have a 20" Grizzly that had the same problem as yours. I fixed it by going through a set up as suggested by the owners manual. I think the main problem was the bed rollers were set to low, not keeping the board off the planer bed. This adjustment is crirical for the planer to work properly. If you get them to high you will notice a greater amount of snipe, so the best way is to make a gauge block to insure they are set the same side to side and front to rear. Hope this may help to solve the problem.
Bill H.

[Mark Wooden]

It sounds like you need to give the machine a good cleaning-everywhere. Take the knives out, clean the cutterhead, pressure bar, infeed, outfeed and bed rollers. Use a red Skotchbrite and mineral spirits. Really scrub the bed to to get it clean. Once you get the knives back in, give the bed a good coat of a hard finish paste wax like Butchers. This usually takes care of feed problems in most planers.

[Julie Moriarty]

I just removed the infeed roller. Now I can see why I have been having these problems. Besides the small gouges in the rubber, the center is crushed, right in the area where the gouges are the worst. I put a straight edge to it and put it to the light as I rolled it around. The gap in the middle varied noticeably and is probably why the lumber kept sticking.

I found a replacement and ordered that along with new bearing blocks. Removing the roller wasn't difficult, you just have to be careful about the springs pushing down on the bearing blocks. There's a lot of pressure there!

BTW, the infeed roller on this model is not adjustable, only the outfeed roller.

Thank you for the help! That dark area in my shop (under the planer motor) isn't so dark anymore, education-wise. ;)

[Greg Cuetara]

Julie I forgot one more problem that I have had in the past. With this model and the knives there is a good possibility that some wood has worked its way under the knives. I know it has happened to me in the past and that has caused grooves. take the knives off and make sure everything is clean and clear under them then you can reinstall them very tightly. If you havn't already you may want to get rid of the original hex screws and install hex headed bolts so that you can use a socket set to install and then also get them out. I had a problem originally where the hex screws stripped on me and I had to replace them and the hex headed bolts are much easier for me to loosen up so that i can take the knives off.

something else to think about if you have not pushed purchase on the roller is that is probably around $50....is it really worth it to spend that much on a very old machine or should you just take that put it towards a new machine. i am sure even with the 'problems' you could get $100 - $150 for that planer and you could buy the rigid or similar model which is newer and may give you better results.