Felder ad531 rollers not pulling

[Adam Levitt]

I have a Felder AD531. Since some time the rollers are not pulling the wood through the planer and I have to push or pull quite hard to get it through.
I tried cleaning the rollers and also checked to make sure the spiral cutter block heads are still sharp. This didn't help.
The dust extractor is pulling around 2000 cfm measured at the planer.

Any one have any ideas what could be wrong before I call a technician from Felder?

Thanks,
Adam

[Bob Varney]

Have you tried waxing the bed?

Bob

[Chris Parks]

Waxing the tables is a good start to lessen drag.

[Sebastien La Madeleine]

Just in case, did you look to make sure the rollers are actually turning? Those rollers are driven by a wheel on a belt that is activated when you lift the lever to engage it. This wheel might also be worn out or not have enough friction with the belt to make it turn. I've had really fine dust from sanding get in there and make the wheel slip... A good cleaning and voilà it works like new.

[Phil Gaudio]

Feed rollers should be spring loaded and adjustable?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

My machine hiccuped a little last run, I waxed the table and it stopped. I was wondering if there was a deeper issue there though, so curious what you come up with.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I think my C3-31 uses the same planer bed, and I can say that unless that thing is FREQUENTLY waxed, wood will stall. Do NOT let it stall, though, as it will wear a flat in the urethane-coated wheel that drives the feedrollers (and replacing it is a huge PITA).

I wonder if it has to do with the somewhat rough surface on the planer bed. As soon as I have time, I plan to block sand it to a finer finish...

[marty fretheim]

387584
I use this and love it. But seems something more is going on than friction on the bed. Phil and Sebastian have given good advice.

Marty

[Rod Sheridan]

You either need to wax the bed or use a lubricant such as this when planning..................regards, Rod.

http://us.feldershop.com/en-US/en-US/en-US/Workshop/Cleaning-and-maintenance/FELDER-Super-Glide.html

[Dan Friedrichs]

Marty, Rod - have you tried the Supergleit? Is it better than paste wax or Glidecoat?

[johnny means]

My AD-751 had the soft rollers. They did, eventually, lose their ability to grip anything. Turns out the rubber does degrade over time. I had to find a recoating service to strip the old amd reinstall a new rubber coating.

[Patrick Walsh]

Supergleit is awesome!

[marty fretheim]

Marty, Rod - have you tried the Supergleit? Is it better than paste wax or Glidecoat?

Don't know that it is better but certainly easier and just as good. Never used glidecoat. A couple quick spritzes and wipe off excess with a paper towel.

I bought the 3 liter bottle and it will probably last another 10 years or more. A little goes a long way.

Marty

[Martin Wasner]

Marty, Rod - have you tried the Supergleit? Is it better than paste wax or Glidecoat?

I got a bottle of it with my felder planer. I wasn't blown away. I went back to paraffin wax. Glidecoat makes a really slippery surface, but it doesn't last long when the material is smashed hard against it.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Dan, it's certainly more convenient to use, you don't have to shut the planer down to apply it.

Both wax and Supergleit seem to work the same, performance wise.........Rod.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Thanks, guys - maybe I'll get a bottle next time I need to order from them.