Makita 2040 planer restoration

[Cameron Wood]

This showed up on Craigslist, & sucker that I am for projects, have acquired it.

Pretty rough shape, but the rollers appear to have been redone so that's a big plus.

The handwheel is missing, & looks like it was rigged to use an impact gun or something to raise the table, so the gears are stripped.

The parts are available, & ~$100 will get the gears, handwheel, thrust bearing, & bits.

So far given it a once-over, got started on some of the stuck fasteners, pulled the knives, and removed the head, which was a chore.

Picks were taken of machine tilted over on it's side.

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[William Hodge]

It's good to see an Asian machine being restored.
I wish there were an Old Asian Woodworking Machines web site to help people deal with all the old Asian stuff out there. It would be for people that really make things out of wood, and be free of snark.

[Cameron Wood]

Got the table off- also a chore as it was stuck in position. That's pretty much the disassembly, and some of the rust removal.
Now some clean, prep & paint.

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[Dan Friedrichs]

That looks like a fun project - excited to see how it looks when you're done!

[Bill Dufour]

A soak in EDTA and water will remove rust without damaging paint or plastic. It will not cause hydrogen embrittlement.
BilLD

[Cameron Wood]

A soak in EDTA and water will remove rust without damaging paint or plastic. It will not cause hydrogen embrittlement.
BilLD

Haven't heard of that- where do you get it?

[Cameron Wood]

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I worked on the knives with a Makita sharpener, but they've got some big nicks, so I'll send them out.

[al ladd]

Feed rollers in intact? How can that be!

[Bill Dufour]

Haven't heard of that- where do you get it?
Ebay. Lowest grade is fine. Safe enough that people eat it intentionally. One pound will neutralize one pound of rust.
BilL D.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?286013-Rust-Removal-from-Precision-Cast-Iron-Surfaces-in-2020-techniques-and-when-to-stop/page5

[Cameron Wood]

Thanks, I'll check that out.

Re feed rollers: IKR! It looks like the previous owner (two owners ago) redid the rollers, but then stalled out- bed frozen on the columns, roller adjusting screws stuck (still working on that), & stripped table raising gears.

I paid $40 for the thing & was figuring the rollers would need to be recovered for additional $$.

[Brad Patch]

Cameron,

I have owned a Makita 2030 Jointer/ Planer for 40 years. It has had the rollers recovered, bearings replaced and an on/off switch. I suspect there are some similarities between the 2040 and 2030 models.

Some of the Phillips head screws that hold the rollers in place are in fact JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) look for a little raised dot on the head of the screw. A new #2 Phillips bit will generally work well at removing these screws. The roller hardware is hard to see, and I grew tired of craning my neck while standing on my knees, so I replaced these screws with hex head metric hardware.

Never be tempted to start the machine without the blades being installed, centrifugal force will cause the thin blade keepers to bend out of shape, don't ask me how I know!

Brad



This showed up on Craigslist, & sucker that I am for projects, have acquired it.

Pretty rough shape, but the rollers appear to have been redone so that's a big plus.

The handwheel is missing, & looks like it was rigged to use an impact gun or something to raise the table, so the gears are stripped.

The parts are available, & ~$100 will get the gears, handwheel, thrust bearing, & bits.

So far given it a once-over, got started on some of the stuck fasteners, pulled the knives, and removed the head, which was a chore.

Picks were taken of machine tilted over on it's side.

500076500077500078500079500080500081500082

[Cameron Wood]

Cameron,

I have owned a Makita 2030 Jointer/ Planer for 40 years. It has had the rollers recovered, bearings replaced and an on/off switch. I suspect there are some similarities between the 2040 and 2030 models.

Some of the Phillips head screws that hold the rollers in place are in fact JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) look for a little raised dot on the head of the screw. A new #2 Phillips bit will generally work well at removing these screws. The roller hardware is hard to see, and I grew tired of craning my neck while standing on my knees, so I replaced these screws with hex head metric hardware.

Never be tempted to start the machine without the blades being installed, centrifugal force will cause the thin blade keepers to bend out of shape, don't ask me how I know!

Brad



Thanks for the pointers!

I also have the 2030N combo machine, although I've only had it for 10-15 years, so I somewhat know the drill. Rollers when I got it, & the jointer fence is warped a bit. Put a wood piece on to fix, but may still take it to a machine shop to be milled flat.
Definitely familiar with those ridiculously soft screws from a number of different Makita tools. One of them stripped and took some work to get out- I'll take your (& others') suggestion to replace them.

Still struggling with the last two stuck roller adjuster nuts- the last of the gnarly bits.

I did have a moment where I was tempted to turn on the machine without the knives- but fortunately didn't.:p

[Cameron Wood]

To document some steps that I haven't seen covered elsewhere,

After substantial struggle getting the feed roller adjuster pieces out, cleaning and filing some buggered threads, I got to the reassembly.

The instructions say to set the rollers 1/2 turn of the handwheel below the cutterhead frame, so 1/16". Since I had the head off, I made a jig to measure that- straightedge with 1/8" shims to clear the chipbreaker, and 1/16" shims to position the rollers. With the adjusters set at their highest, the feed rollers were still too low, possibly because of damage to threads in the cutter head body preventing the adjusters from going higher. I cut some plastic shims and double-stick taped them to the bottom of the square roller bearings, effectively raising the rollers.

Still waiting for the table raising gears to arrive so this is not tested yet, but looks promising. Will probably drip some Locktite into the adjuster threads as they turn easily now. The socket head screws just showed up- don't show in the pics but they are installed.

Pic shows tool adapted from a Bosch trim router wrench for the adjuster nuts- worked OK.


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[Cameron Wood]

Here is a useful discussion of the two types of adjuster screws.

https://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/forum/tools/power-tools/44942-makita-2040-type-1-2-diferences-feed-roller-adjustment-screws

I think my issue could be fixed by chasing the threads with a tap (M27-2) available for $30 on Amazon.

[Cameron Wood]

Success!

The parts finally arrived & got the last bits back together. The knives are about 90% flat & honed on the back side- that will have to do for now. This will be used for lumber & larger stock so it should be good enough. Not too loud- that's a plus.

$225 into it for the machine, parts & supplies, & probably 20-25 hours.


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[Dan Friedrichs]

Impressive! Cool old machine to see working, again.

[Bill Dufour]

For the threads and slides that get coated in saw dust I like the dupont chain saver spray lube. Wax in a spray can seems better then oil that accumulates sawdust.
Bill D

[Cameron Wood]

For the threads and slides that get coated in saw dust I like the dupont chain saver spray lube. Wax in a spray can seems better then oil that accumulates sawdust.
Bill D

Thanks, I'll check that out.

[Jeston Boice]

I just picked up the same machine for $50 near Seattle. Had the same issue with stuck table and your disassembly pictures were very helpful. Hope I can get mine cleaned up and back together as well as yours!

[Jeston Boice]

I picked up the same machine on Monday for $50, not so lucky as to have refurbished rollers though. Your pictures were very helpful in figuring out how to get the head off and table unstuck. Now to get it all cleaned up and back together. Hope she runs as good as yours when I am done. I would post some pictures but I have been struggling for 30 minutes to figure it out and need to get back to work.

Thanks,
Jeston

[Cameron Wood]

I picked up the same machine on Monday for $50, not so lucky as to have refurbished rollers though. Your pictures were very helpful in figuring out how to get the head off and table unstuck. Now to get it all cleaned up and back together. Hope she runs as good as yours when I am done. I would post some pictures but I have been struggling for 30 minutes to figure it out and need to get back to work.

Thanks,
Jeston


Good for you! I would consider not messing with the roller height & tension screws as it's a lot of struggle & the setting may be OK as is. Ereplacementparts is good if you need some bits & pieces. I used Rust-oleum"hammered" brown color rattle can which made a pretty good match to the original paint.

The picture posting is a pretty antiquated multi-step process...

[Jeston Boice]

Thanks for the continued good advice! Other than the upper rollers needing recovered, the only issue I will have is with one of the drum covers that bolts down to hold on the blade. It was missing one bolt and it looks like someone ran it that way which am caused the blade and drum cover to bend up there. If I can’t get that back in shape I’m not sure what I will do. They are not available as a replacement so will have to find a used one and thus far looks to be made of unobtainium. Not interested in spending $1k+ on a shelix so hopefully o can get it bent back reasonably well. Since I am I’m uncertain about that I am going to try a hack I saw for the rollers, to cover them with plastic tubing and see if that works. I figure no pint in spending $200 on the rubber coating if j can’t get it to perform well. Other than that the thing is complete and sounds like a top. Super excited and hopefully to get it going and replace my rigid lunch box that just isn’t enough tool for me.

and awesome advice on the color. As I am cleaning the base up I’m thinking they used the perfect color to make it hard to tell if it’s rust or the color!

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-Jeston

[Cameron Wood]

If the cutterhead itself still spins true, I would think the cover could be bent back in shape, by you, or a machine shop- it's pretty basic metal. Maybe just shim up the part on the cutterhead, and torque down on the bent area.
A new set of knives costs a few bucks too, but at least they're sharp.

I never understood how the tubing hack would work as the diameter would be so much smaller, but it seems to have been successful for some folks...

[Jeston Boice]

If the cutterhead itself still spins true, I would think the cover could be bent back in shape, by you, or a machine shop- it's pretty basic metal. Maybe just shim up the part on the cutterhead, and torque down on the bent area.
A new set of knives costs a few bucks too, but at least they're sharp.

I never understood how the tubing hack would work as the diameter would be so much smaller, but it seems to have been successful for some folks...


yeah, it’s kind of a shame to throw it all back together without getting the rollers properly recoated but I am intent on not investing the money until I make sure it can work properly. I’ll take some pics of the tubing and report back if it works, at least as a temporary fix.

[Jeston Boice]

1-1/4” ID vinyl tubing is on the rollers now. I struggled with getting it to slide on maybe a 1/3 of the way so I took it off a put it in my oven on “keep warm” (don’t tell my wife!) and then it slid right on and once cooled gels ver secure. Cut the ends to length and looks pretty good. Will have to see how well it grips and wears.

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[Cameron Wood]

Looks good. What's the O.D.?

Mine are about 2 1/2", & on the 2030N machine they are about 2"

[Bill Dufour]

I think vinyl will slip. Car radiator hose may work. Too long for a cherne plug to help much. I would plug both ends with a plug and hose clamps. Wood plug at one end should be good enough. Other end use some pipe fitting and hose barbs. Then fill it with compressed air as high as the hose is rated for. let sit overnight or longer. Cut the end free and quick slip it in place.
Bill D

[Jeston Boice]

Looks good. What's the O.D.?

Mine are about 2 1/2", & on the 2030N machine they are about 2"

1.6” OD. Hope I can lose the roller down enough to contact the wood.

[Jeston Boice]

I’m certainly going to give it a go with the vinyl. Will report back on how it works. From what I have read it has worked for others.

[Jeston Boice]

The 1.6” OD ended up being too small to adjust the rollers and get the chain drive cover back on. I went and bought a second 1.5” ID vinyl tube and got it slid over the 1.25” ID tube for a final OD of 1.9”. This got me adjusted and with clearance to get the chain cover on. It was a royal PIA to get both tubes on and I would not recommend it. I did one quick run and it seems to work well but I still need the chip breaker (on order from e replacement parts but has not confirmed shipping yet) to get the chips coming out of the dust port instead of just all over.
-Jeston

[Cameron Wood]

The 1.6” OD ended up being too small to adjust the rollers and get the chain drive cover back on. I went and bought a second 1.5” ID vinyl tube and got it slid over the 1.25” ID tube for a final OD of 1.9”. This got me adjusted and with clearance to get the chain cover on. It was a royal PIA to get both tubes on and I would not recommend it. I did one quick run and it seems to work well but I still need the chip breaker (on order from e replacement parts but has not confirmed shipping yet) to get the chips coming out of the dust port instead of just all over.
-Jeston


Good progress! I was using my machine just now, milling a bunch of 3"x6" rafter stock from 6x8 and 6x10s.

[Cameron Wood]

The 1.6” OD ended up being too small to adjust the rollers and get the chain drive cover back on. I went and bought a second 1.5” ID vinyl tube and got it slid over the 1.25” ID tube for a final OD of 1.9”. This got me adjusted and with clearance to get the chain cover on. It was a royal PIA to get both tubes on and I would not recommend it. I did one quick run and it seems to work well but I still need the chip breaker (on order from e replacement parts but has not confirmed shipping yet) to get the chips coming out of the dust port instead of just all over.
-Jeston

Compressed air is the trick for bicycle grips, etc.- would probably work to get the tubing set.

[Warren Lake]

took bike hand grips off with air for a neighbour and recent took off golf club handles to put new ones on for another neighbour.

I like the stiletto air grips. The come on a plastic coil and you pull it and it uncoils then the rubber reduces to fit tight. Kind of like heat shrink but different Id like to figure out what the rubber is and a way to put those on to some handles. Not sure of current pricing but would get pricey to do many tools. They seem like thick bicycle inner tubes. have them on two hammers and they are great.