Removing cutterhead from a 20" planer

[Jim C Martin]

Hello All:
I'm in the process of removing the cutterhead from my Powermatic 209. I'm following the video posted by Popular Woodworking (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtOvsz-f7ts). At about the 4:00 min mark he pulls on the gear box and it slides toward him. My gear box is completely loose (yes the bolts are out) but the cutterhead does not budge. I've tried various levels of "drop" but it seems to me it should be pretty near the installed position so as not to bind the bearing. I did some tapping on the other end of the shaft but it was nearly 9pm Sunday here and I didn't want to make too much noise.
Do I just need to beat heck out of the other end with either a rubber mallet or a hammer with a block of wood protecting the end of the shaft to get it to move?
Or is it possible that my Powermatic 209 has some hidden gotcha? Looking at the exploded view in the manual I don't see a snap ring or anything that might be holding things in place.
Any advice?
I'll call Powermatic in the morning but would love to hear from one of you who has done it yourself.
Cheers,
Jim

[Marty Tippin]

The gearbox / cutterhead assembly is either binding on the gearbox side or the bearing is stuck on the other side. If it won't drop vertically, it's binding on the gearbox side; use a block and mallet as shown in the video. Once you get it to move on that side, you just need to drive the shaft and bearing out on the other side - use a wood block and a mallet and go to town. The bearing is pressed onto the cutterhead shaft, so it'll go with the assembly when you drive it loose (you'll need a new bearing for the new cutterhead).

If you didn't drain the gearbox oil, be sure you don't lay the gearbox on it's side or the oil will run out the bolt holes in the top of the gearbox.

[Jim C Martin]

Thanks Marty! The "go to town" part is what I was hesitant to do but I will go for it. I did speak with Powermatic this morning and the tech support guy confirmed that there was nothing else holding that bearing in the casting.
Cheers,
Jim


drive the shaft and bearing out on the other side - use a wood block and a mallet and go to town

[scott vroom]

This may be 1) late and 2)irrelevant...but Grizzly has a YouTube vid on cutterhead removal on their 20" 4-column planner. I think it's similar to the Powermatic design so maybe useful?

https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KIo.AJwCJV3gwAu3T7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByMj BzZmhtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDNg--?p=Powermatic+209+Cutter+Head+Replacement&vid=b58fc08520ea3f6abc89630ea49a4480&l=7%3A15&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.6 07988192186534255%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dv BwmzacZFSs&tit=How-To+Change+a+Spiral+Cutterhead+on+the+15%26quot%3B+ Planer&c=5&sigr=11b8uarb5&sigt=11oekg82v&sigi=11raoehdp&age=1342472555&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=spigot-nt-gcmac&tt=b

[Jim C Martin]

Thanks Scott, that's really helpful. The 15" seems very similar in lay out to the 20".
Cheers,
Jim

[Jim C Martin]

Okay, its out now. All I can say is "go to town" understates what I had to do. Rather than a wood block I ended up putting a spare bolt in the end and beat on that. Should have also put a large washer on it because I put a ding on the end of the shaft with one errant blow. Not that it matters as I reckon the market for used 20" straight knife cutter heads is near zero.
Cheers,
Jim


use a wood block and a mallet and go to town.

[Mike Cutler]

Okay, its out now. All I can say is "go to town" understates what I had to do. Rather than a wood block I ended up putting a spare bolt in the end and beat on that. Should have also put a large washer on it because I put a ding on the end of the shaft with one errant blow. Not that it matters as I reckon the market for used 20" straight knife cutter heads is near zero.
Cheers,
Jim

You'd be surprised at the market for a used 20" cutter head. Retrofitting older jointers/planers can require a longer cutter head which is then machined to the correct size/dimensions. To have a new one made is pretty expensive.