Oops moment. - powermatic 54a

[Greg Parrish]

My fault I guess. Was cleaning up edges of a cutting board with walnut, maple, cherry and purple/yellow heart. Made the bad decision to run the end grain across and boom. Should have gone over to the table saw with it.

http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2573382827-3.jpg

http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2573379725-3.jpg


Board turned out out ok after going to the table saw for the end. Lesson learned and no injuries luckily.
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2573382385-3.jpg
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2573579915-3.jpg
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2573382682-3.jpg

and I used the excuse to upgrade
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2573379142-3.jpg

[Mike Henderson]

Is that your jointer? I don't know what a Powermatic 54a is.

Mike

[Greg Parrish]

Is that your jointer?

Mike


Yes. Took the cutter head out and was ready to get the new shelix head in today but ordered new bearings to put on it first.

[Matt Day]

Glad there were no shrapnel injuries.

Nice cutting boards - is the yellow wood dyed maple?

[Bill Dufour]

Why are there holes in the knives and why are they so big? I am not surprised it broke at a hole. Looks like a structural girder cutout to save weight.
Bill D

[Greg Parrish]

Glad there were no shrapnel injuries.

Nice cutting boards - is the yellow wood dyed maple?

Thanks. Me too. The yellow is yellow heart. Far as I know it's not dyed. It's like purple heart.





Why are there holes in the knives and why are they so big? I am not surprised it broke at a hole. Looks like a structural girder cutout to save weight.
Bill D

Not sure. These were the factory installed blades from powermatic. I agree though that smaller holes would seem to make them stronger. They use a solid cover piece though which maybe makes up for some of the strength. Regardless, it didn't fair well against the wood in this case.
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2573379399-3.jpg

[Sam Murdoch]

Those are 2 sided cutter knives. Pretty much can't be sharpened as they get too short. The big ovals are for the eccentric adjustment screws that raise or lower the knives when changing out. Doesn't work all that well but it does work. I have mine for 10 years or more and have not had any breakage. Still I will be happy to hear how your cutter head upgrade works for you Greg. I know it will be a huge improvement.

[John K Jordan]

I'll bet that was exciting!

Just curious. I have an 8" Powermatic jointer (60C I think) and have thought about getting a helical head. Where should I look for one? Difficult to install? So cheap they are almost free? :)

JKJ


...and I used the excuse to upgrade
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2573379142-3.jpg

[lee cox]

I wonder if the blades are designed like that to break and save the rest of the machine.

[Dan Forman]

I'll bet that was exciting!

Just curious. I have an 8" Powermatic jointer (60C I think) and have thought about getting a helical head. Where should I look for one? Difficult to install? So cheap they are almost free? :)

JKJ
I got mine from Holbren Whiteside Router Bits, Byrd Shelix Heads and Other Woodworking Tooling (https://www.holbren.com/)

It's been a while, but I think I got a discount based on SMC or Woodnet membership. Wouldn't hurt to ask them.

Dan

[Clint Baxter]

I did the upgrade to the Shelix head in my 54A. Been a while back but I don't remember having any real issues accomplishing the changeout. I purchased mine from Grizzly for $265. Was happy with the upgrade.

Clint

[Greg Parrish]

Ordered mine from Grizzly also. It was $309 and cheapest I could find it. In fact, it was $20 cheaper than the Grizzly knock off version.

Should have ordered it with bearings but didn't think too and then boogered up my bearings pulling them off the factory part. Ordered a couple of replacements last night so they should get here soon enough I guess. The bearings are 6202-2NSE and 6203-2NSE if anyone reading this one days wonders. They are Nachi brand on the factory machine and I think they are the made in Taiwan version. I ordered the same brand and part but instead ordered the made in Japan version. Same price and no clue if it's any better, but thought it might be.

[Mark Carlson]

I bought my byrd head with the bearings from sunhill and the change over took about an hour. This was about 10 years ago. Very simple.

[John R Green]

Have the same machine.
Had the same thing happen to me.
Decided to do the same upgrade.
You will love the Helical Head.

[Bill Dufour]

Very seldom can you remove a ballbearing in good shape unless it is brand new with no gunk buildup to lock it in place. I would recommend buying new bearing if you are replacing the head. They are easy enough to install with a socket or pipe of the correct diameter and hammer.
I often use the old bearing races as a pusher to install the new ones. Just grind a little off the diameters so they are an easy slip fit. take them apart first and use only one separate race at a time. I often throw the inner race in the woodstove to anneal it then drill the hole out a little bit.

[David J Blackburn]

Holben gives free shipping and 10% off the standard Byrd prices. They don't take the SMC membership discount on the Shelix heads. But it's still a good deal.

[mark mcfarlane]

My fault I guess. Was cleaning up edges of a cutting board with walnut, maple, cherry and purple/yellow heart. Made the bad decision to run the end grain across and boom. Should have gone over to the table saw with it.

So this begs the question: is edge jointing glued up end grain like this considered 'unsafe' in all/most cases, or is this simply a machine failure? Or maybe the result of trying to joint off too big bite,...? Inquiring minds....

[Martin Wasner]

So this begs the question: is edge jointing glued up end grain like this considered 'unsafe' in all/most cases, or is this simply a machine failure? Or maybe the result of trying to joint off too big bite,...? Inquiring minds....

I do it all the time when I've got a cabinet door that is too big to just edge sand to size. I'm usually going pretty slow to reduce tear out, and I'm usually only taking about a 1/32" max and it's on 3/4" material. So not exactly the same scenario. I am using the same jointer for that task, but my knives are solid.

[Greg Parrish]

Bearings arrived a day early
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2579023074-3.jpg

Rigged up a makeshift jig to get the bearings on using a suspension washer from a 4Runner, a ceiling fan down rod, a floor flange, a wood block and a hammer.
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2579023373-3.jpg
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2579023457-3.jpg
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2579023647-3.jpg

Almost there
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2579025403-3.jpg

Mounted in bearing blocks and bolted to machine
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2579025274-3.jpg

And buttoned back up and aligned
http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2579024986-3.jpg


I lost about 2 hours on install however trying to troubleshoot a problem. Turned out I put the upper belt pulley on backwards which was causing alignment problems. Long story short, got it straight and everything aligned and running like a top.

The he cutter head seems to do a very nice job. Not much noise difference but I'm thinking the dewalt 735 version I'll be installing will result in a big reduction.