Hitachi F1000A J/P maintenance Q's

[nick kaplan]

I just bought a used F1000A. it has had bearings installed not too long ago. Does anyone with experience with this planer/jointer combo have any words of wisdom for me...what to keep an eye on? what to regularly maintain? what to look out for that might break or wear out? i have an owners manual . thank you. -nick in Va

[Mark Hubler]

I have owned one for 20+ years, the things to watch for are the on/off switch and the motor brushes. For the switch, I replaced it with a regular 20 amp light switch (a replacement original switch was $40!). For the brushes, I went to www.toolsforless.com. The F1000A shares many parts with the Hitachi P12RA. It would be wise to buy an extra set of knives for the planer and jointer, just to have on hand. Hopefully, you also received the factory tool box, which has the magnets for changing the blades. Changing the knives is very simple with the magnets in the kit.

[Matt Zettl]

I've also owned one for 20+ years, and I agree totally with Mark's comments. Also, I have found that dust tends to accumulate in the brushes after several months of use. The motor will start to sound differently when this happens, and I just remove the brushes and blow things out with compressed air. Takes 5 minutes, tops.

One other word of warning. When you change/sharpen the knives, be sure you have the cutterhead lock released before turning the machine on. If you don't, you'll burn out a drive belt in a heartbeat. Don't ask why I know this. I keep an extra set of brushes, and an extra drive belt on hand. This has been a workhorse of a machine for me. I've planed thousands of board feet with it, and never any major issues. One of the best tool purchases I've ever made.

[Thomas S Stockton]

I to have had one for over 20 years and agree with everything the others say. I replaced my switch with one from a delta tool that had two poles instead of one and it has lasted a lot longer than any other switch I've used. It's good that the bearings have been replaced it took 20 years for the cutterhead bearings to go in mine. All in all a pretty indestructible tool and doesn't seem to have the problem the makita's had of the feed rollers going bad. And yes I have toasted the drive belts leaving the cutterhead locked .
Tom

[nick kaplan]

thanks for the tips, guys! i bought it off ebay and am excited to go pick it up. i can't wait to start using it! -nick

[andy hack]

I have the Hitachi planer/Jointer and need replacement belts. Pleasae advise where I can get these belts.
thanks
Andy

[James Whitmire]

Hiya, I am a woodworker in Austin. We have a F-1000A hitachi jointer/planer too, and I am trying to find out if there is an easier way to change the belts other than muscling them on with full tension? I see in the parts description in the owners manual that there is a tension release, I just can't seem to find it. So my question is..- how do you change the belts?

[Arnold E Schnitzer]

I have one too and I love it. However, the thickness planer won't pull wood through anymore. I suspect the rollers are glazed. Can anybody tell me how to fix this?

[tom tangie]

I just bought a used F1000A. it has had bearings installed not too long ago. Does anyone with experience with this planer/jointer combo have any words of wisdom for me...what to keep an eye on? what to regularly maintain? what to look out for that might break or wear out? i have an owners manual . thank you. -nick in Va

I have one. The carbon motor rubbing blocks might be checked. You can get those easily enough. manual says how long they should be when replacing. Of course the knifes should be checked for sharpness. You can buy those online too. I just swapped out a set and am having sharpened and put in the new set. They are razor sharp and and a glassy smooth plane. Manual has some lubrication recommendations. the on/off switch is a cheapy plastic......mine broke. I replaced mine with a nonlocking with a toggle which is not the safest but it works fine. You can inadvertently turn it on so getting a locking toggle would be best. Any AC switch will do that can handle the start up current.

[Don Kondra]

One other thing you NEED to check regularly is the chain tensioner on the feed rollers. It's just a stamped metal circle and if it wears down too much the chain will slip off, jam and crack the motor housing....

There is no trick to installing a new belt, just start on the first groove and keep working it on, sigh... I seem to remember I tried soaking the belt in hot water and used gloves to install and it helped marginally...

Cheers, Don

[Arnold E Schnitzer]

Anybody have info on my feed problem?

[Don Kondra]

Anybody have info on my feed problem?

If you've been planing a lot of wood such as pine, you may need to clean the rollers with thinner. REMOVE the blades when you do this...

Silly question but are the rollers turning? How old and how used is the machine?

I sold mine quite a while ago but I do seem to remember the boards benefited from a little push and pull :)

Cheers, Don

[Thomas S Stockton]

Don's points are good I would also make sure the table is waxed or use something like top coat on it. Also make sure the rollers in the table itself are not to high. I use an auxiliary mdf table in mine and have no feed problems.
Tom

[Arnold E Schnitzer]

Thanks, guys. I'm off to tinker...

[peter viala]

In case any one out there has just gone through several months of frustration like I have to find drive belts for this machine. I have located a source. The original belt from Hitachi is a Bando model 142J NH. These can be purchased from the "Belt Store of Lafayette" web site is www.beltsforanything.com (http://www.beltsforanything.com). Phone 337-235-9736 or 337-235-9030.

Current part number is 142J TF. There are other numbers 15 5 but this is probably just a lot number. Price was about $25.00 ea.

Good Luck!

[Kevin Vine]

The Belt Store in Lafayette stocks the belts and sells them for $25 each (part # 142J7). They shipped to me in Canada for a mere $1.59 via USPS. Prompt, friendly, personalized service. Pretty cool!
www.beltsforanything.com (http://www.beltsforanything.com)

[ROBERT HOOD]

James
Did you ever get an answer as how to change the belts. I burned up the belt on the jointer and the only way I can see to install is muscle.
I appears that I can unbolt the jointer, install the belt then re-install the jointer but I am afraid of not getting the correct tension on the belt.

Any ideans.

[fred knight]

Based on Don Kondra's comment, I managed to replace my planer belt on my Hitachi F-1000A planer/jointer. I ordered replacement belts after a melted my planer belt when a board got stuck, and I failed to cut off power soon enough.


There is no trick to installing a new belt, just start on the first groove and keep working it on, sigh... I seem to remember I tried soaking the belt in hot water and used gloves to install and it helped marginally...
Cheers, Don
I followed the advice in Don's report to use brute force to 1) remove the remaining belt, 2) install the new belt, and 3) reinstall the remaining belt. As stated in the report, wearing gloves saved my hands. I slowly rotated the belt and worked it sideways. The picture shows the belt cover removed, the new planer belt (black) installed, and the jointer belt (orange) reinstalled. Now the Hitachi F-1000A works again. Thanks, Don!
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[Don Kondra]

Glad I could help !

Cheers, Don