Feed Problem with Rockwell 22-401 Planer

[Gerald Garrison]

I have a 35+ year old Rockwell 13" planer, model 22-401, that has decided that it doesn't want to feed hardwoods. It feeds softwood just fine. The machine wasn't new when I got it back in the 70's but it was and is in good shape. I've run quite a bit of wood (both hard and soft) through it, but only last year had to sharpen the blades for the first time. The in and out-feed tables are clean and slick, but nothing I can do will get the machine to feed the oak I'm needing to mill. I'm starting with rough sawn, air dried stock, but I've tried jointing one side and even belt sanding both sides with no success. I don't know what to think is wrong unless the feed roller is worn and loosing it's grip. The feed roller, by the way, is solid steel with deep serrations milled from end to end around its circumference. Can anyone tell me what the problem is and how I might fix it? This has been a workhorse machine for me and I'm not in the position to replace it.

[Lee Schierer]

I'm not familiar with your particular planer. I helped my father restore an old one years ago. Many of the old planers had rollers on the bottom tables. These rollers were were supposed to be adjusted a few thousandths of an inch above the table surface. If the rollers are too low, feed problems result. If the rollers are too high you get a lot of snipe. Also the infeed table may be worn down in the middle from use (everyone tends to place the stock in teh middle of the table). The feed roller on some planers looked more like a gear and if it became clogged with debris or pitch it would not feed correctly. You could use emery cloth and sand the feed roller going end to end to give it slightly more grip, but first try cleaning it with mineral spirits or lacquer thinner to remove accumulated pitch.

[Rod Sheridan]

I think that every time I've run into one of these feed problems, all, or a majority were impacted by improper planer setup.

The manufacturer of the planer will specify knife projection, feed and outfeed roller height, chipbreaker height and planer bed roller height (if fitted).

Note that many planers don't have bed rollers.

Most people make adjustments to the cutterhead effective diameter during knife replacement, forgetting to re-adjust all the above items, since they are referenced off the cutterhead diameter. It sounds like that's what happened to you.

I predict that the chipbreaker is out of adjustment.....Rod.

[Joe Jensen]

It's likely one of two things, dull knives or the pressure bar is set too low relative to the knives. I think that planer has a proper pressure bar. Your manual should show how to set each element;
1) Bed to cutterhead base
2) Knife projection from cutterhead base and knife to table
3) Pressure bar to knives (not all planers have this)
4) Chip breaker to knives
5) bed rollers to table. (not all planers have this)

If you don't have a manual, you can likely find it at OWWM

[Gerald Garrison]

Lee, Rod & Joe, thanks for the feedback. I've since gone through the setup and adjustment sequences outlined in my manual and found no obvious cause for my problem. I must confess, however, that it was cold in my shop (no heat :() and I may not have been as thorough as necessary. Also, although it appears to be set properly, I did not readjust the pressure bar (as instructed by the manual) after sharpening the knives and that's going to be a problem until I can find/acquire the special tool required (a hollow T-type wrench that fits around the 9/16" cap screw that does the adjusting. Hate to think what Delta is going to want for one, even if they can supply it. I think I'll plan a thorough overhaul once things warm up a little around here.

Again, thanks to each of you for your suggestions. Merry Christmas :)

GV