Beginner Planer help

[Robert Boylan]

I have inherited a Boice Crane planer and have a question. Tried to run some material through it the other day and it appears that the feed roller and output roller are lower than the cutter. If I raise the cutting table I of course have the same problem because of the relationship between the rollers and cutter.

Are the rollers made to "float" upward and they are stuck or is there an adjustment to lower the cutter head? I have no paperwork with this machine and although I've used it in the past I've never had to do any work on it so I'm kinda lost here.

[Myk Rian]

How old is it? Vintage?
vintagemachinery.org has some info on BC planers
http://www.vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=111&tab=3

[Robert Boylan]

How old is it? Vintage?
vintagemachinery.org has some info on BC planers
http://www.vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=111&tab=3

I will have to check. All I know is that it is serial number 8404.
Vintage Machinery doesn't have a serial number registry for this unfortunately. I will try to find the date on the machine soon. Unfortunately it is still at my father in laws shop an hour away.

[johnny means]

Sounds like you need to set the knives. Probably the one thing that really sucks about all old arn.

[Matthew Hills]

You may find Bob Vaughan's old articles helpful:
http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/Getting%20Peak%20Planer%20Performance.ashx

and the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSM7Jrg34a8


Matt

[John Downey]

In general the feed rollers do need to be lower than the cutter arc on older machines. They usually slide up and down on posts that go through heavy springs - this is what gives the pressure to feed the wood through the machine.

Does the planer not cut? What is the actual problem?

[Loren Woirhaye]

I don't know that planer. Generally you'd adjust the feed roller spring tension. Take the housing off the planer and you'll probably find a crude but effective feed roller tension system you can adjust with a wrench.

[Robert Boylan]

In general the feed rollers do need to be lower than the cutter arc on older machines. They usually slide up and down on posts that go through heavy springs - this is what gives the pressure to feed the wood through the machine.

Does the planer not cut? What is the actual problem?

This is what I thought. The rollers don't want to move and down. Didn't know if the tension was too tight or if something had locked up, unfortunately the machine has been sitting for a year or so. To answer the question, the planer is not cutting simply because the cutter head isn't touching the material. I'll try to figure out the tension adjustment and thanks M Hills for the video links.