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View Full Version : Broken planer - posts not aligned


Chris McLeester
06-22-2019, 4:21 PM
My planer will not raise or lower. I've spent the past few hours trying to fix it and would appreciate any advice. It's a dewalt 13". You can see from the picture that the planer is no longer level as well (sorry it is upside down). I've taken it apart as much as I could and can't find where it is stuck. Perhaps it's somehow crossthreaded? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

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Lee Schierer
06-22-2019, 4:35 PM
Most likely your chain that drives the two acme threaded height adjustment rods has skipped one or more teeth.

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Dan Friedrichs
06-22-2019, 4:48 PM
I think Lee's right. The raise/lower mechanism is very simple and obvious if you remove the lid - just a chain wrapping a sprocket on each post, and a tensioner. Should be easy to take the tension off the chain, manually move each sprocket to reset to level, and re-connect the chain to each.
Chris McLeester
06-22-2019, 6:02 PM
Thanks for the thoughts. I'll try again tomorrow. I was never able to get full access to the sprockets/posts despite taking off every part I could. I was able to create some slack in the chain. Hopefully I can move the sprockets tomorrow.
cecil rolfe
06-23-2019, 1:47 PM
There was a problem with the sintered iron sprockets on earlier models.
They would break.They sent me new steel ones and have had no problems for the past 8 years.
Contact customer service.
Myk Rian
06-24-2019, 2:27 PM
There was a problem with the sintered iron sprockets on earlier models.
They would break.They sent me new steel ones and have had no problems for the past 8 years.
Contact customer service.
Is there a built-by date on this?
cecil rolfe
06-24-2019, 9:14 PM
Nor sure, call customer service with the serial number. ask about the sprockets. When I did they sent me new ones.
Chris McLeester
06-24-2019, 10:08 PM
I got the machine working again on Sunday. It was a bear to take apart - with some hidden screws I couldn't find until I found some detailed instructions here:

https://amymakesstuff.com/2016/03/27/fixing-a-dewalt-dw375-planer/
https://www.lumberjocks.com/topics/25101

Once the tool was apart, fixing the misaligned sprockets wasn't too bad. I loosened the chain tensioner. Then I grabbed the sprockets with channel locks and twisted them into alignment (measuring from the top). One had a missing tooth, but it seems to be working fine.

Finished the job and got my project done today! Thanks for the advice.