Getting rid of Woodmaster vibration

[Jim Chan]

Hi, I recently aquired a used, almost brand new Woodmaster 718. So far I like it, but it's got a nasty case of vibration. I've replaced the double v-belts with a single link-type belt to start, and it seems to help a little bit, but not that much. When I take the belts off and just run the motor itself, it vibrates just on it's own, though noticeably less. It could probaby pass a nickel test, minus the startup thump.

I've read some people modified the mount so that it's hinged, using the motor's weight as a belt tensioner. I've also read arguments against that method.. has anyone here had success with that?

Alternatively, I'm also thinking about mounting the motor to a torsion box made out of mdf and filled with sand, with rubber mounting grommets. I haven't worked out how to tension the belt yet, but thought maybe the extra weight would help get rid of the motor vibration.. any ideas?

I'm also thinking about attaching some pieces of dynamat or other vibration absorption material to the sheet metal to make the whole thing rattle less..

Maybe I shoulda just bought a old cast iron planer.

[Scott Busse]

I purchased a slighty used woodmaster 718 a few weeks ago. When I first ran the machine, it had a lot of vibration so I took it completely apart and put it back together. Bed was out 1/16", tables weren't lined up, and knives were not set correctly. Since then, I have much less vibration, but it is still present. I'm going to try a single cogged belt with a hinged motor mount to see if that reduces it.

I'm curious to what other people have done as well.

[Brian Coe]

I have one of the 25" woodmasters, and also have had some vibration issues. I don't expect it to be as vibration free as my older vintage cast iron machinery. It just doesn't have the mass necessary. Having said that, however, you can do a few things to help.

I did the link belts in place of the stock ones. I still use two, instead of just one. That helped alot. I haven't done the hinged motor mount yet, but I have read of some successes with that. Do make sure the unit is tuned up right and aligned properly.

I wasn't happy with the stock casters and mounting system. Too flimsy. I built a 2x4 and plywood platform with the casters underneath, and this helped with making the footprint more stable. I think mounting it to the floor would be best, but that rules out any mobility if needed.

Finally, one more tip that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere, but which eliminated a lot of vibration that is transmitted to the sheet metal cover; Before dropping the cover on its mounting studs, I put in washers for it to sit on. Then, I put a thick rubber washer on top of that. Put the sheet metal cover on, and snugged it down with the plastic threaded T handles and washers that I use instead of the stock nuts. This eliminated a lot of the perceived vibration that was in the housing/cover for me. I can live with what it has now, since it doesn't seem to affect the performance, and I know it will never run as smooth as an old cast iron monster. Now, if someone can give me the secret to eliminating all snipe, this would really be a nice machine for its capacity and price range. Can anyone comment on the insert head for these machines??

Hope this helps.

BC

[Jim Andrew]

I have one. Like it. Don't have to take off your blades and sharpen and reinstall and adjust. Just replace one if you happen to break it. Don't think I have turned any other than that they were chipped. Knots are kindof hard on them when they come out while planing. Use superglue on the knots ahead of time, saves trouble, and they look cool if they stay in the board. Now I use my 3 knife cutterhead for molding cutters.

[Joe Jensen]

Are the pulleys machined cast iron, stamped steel, or cast pot metal. In my experience, machined cast iron pulleys make a huge difference. They are expense, but I've often found what i need on ebay

[Jim Chan]

I just received the spiral head this morning and gave it a spin tonight. It was kind of late so I didn't want to disturb the neighbors too much turning on the planer/dc, but I've got to say, I'm very impressed with it. The woodmaster already wasn't a super loud planer to begin with (excluding the vibration noises), but the spiral planer head has turned the cutting action practically to a whisper. The vibration noises are now the loudest sound that the planer makes while cutting! For that alone, I'd say it was worth it.

As for finish.. so far so good. The few pieces that I sent through the machine definitely came out smoother than the straight knives, but I do detect some waviness. I think that was already there with the straight knives though, and I'm pretty sure it's caused by the vibrating feed tables.

I'm going to order some rubber isolators from mcmaster-car and try the mdf caulked under the feed tables. Thanks Brian for the tip about adding rubber washers to the top cover, I'll try that too. I'll report back when I try out those mods.

[Jim Chan]

Hi Joe, the pulleys all appear to be machined cast iron.

[Greg Portland]

I've never seen a perfectly smooth cut from a planer. Are you guys asking too much? I have the 718 Woodmaster and the vibration is not excessive. As mentioned above, the majority of sound is from the metal cover.

[Scott Busse]

Jim,

Have you had a chance to try your rubber isolaters and mdf mods? I'm curious about the results.

[Bob Wingard]

If you're getting vibration with the belts OFF .. I think you would do well to track down that problem first. Look at the obvious first .. bent sheave .. bent arbor .. loose/bad bearing .. SOMETHING is causing that vibration, and it's not good.

I talked with the Woodmaster Tech guy some time back, and we agreed there is no logical reason to float or hinge the motor mount. Belt tension is something that is better off being set and left alone .. hinging the motor and letting it float would negate your ability to accomplish that.

[Neal Clayton]

i also have a 718, it's passable as a planer with the spiral head, i also have it. still a bit of vibration, but it's mostly just in the steel structure, i find not alot transfers to the bed.

as for moldings, i also had issues with that, but found that not using the plastic sacrificial bed they send when possible and cutting faster, rather than slower, seemed to help alot.

[Jim Chan]

Alright, finally got a chance to try out the mods this afternoon, here are my findings:

1) Added four neoprene vibration damping mounts between the motor and the angle bracket mount. I used part #9213K27 from mcmaster-car. After installing this mod, when I turn the motor on without the belt, the vibration in the entire machine just dropped an order of magnitude. None of the panels were vibrating at all, and it's really, really quiet now without belts on.

I shortened the belt to pick up the slack caused by the extra 1.25" from the mounts, and reconnected the belt. The vibration came back and it was pretty much as bad as before, if not worse! The belt was really hard to get on, and it was actually slightly pulling the motor up on the rubber mounts. I didn't realize this at first, but after some more fiddling, I decided to try increasing the length again by one link. That seemed to do the trick. Vibration is lower now than without the damping feet. I tried different belt lengths with the original mounts, and didn't get this improvement, so I think overall it seems to have worked. The belt tension is more finicky than I had originally thought though.

2) I noticed that even with the vibration damping, the planer was still loud as heck. I finally found that my planer bed had a bit of play in it, so I loosened the tie bars and pressed down as hard as I could and retightened the nuts. I think that got rid of most of the nasty vibration sound. It still vibrates, but it made a big improvement in the amount of rattling.

3) I added 1/8" thick rubber washers under the hood mount. This cut down a little noise, but it didn't really do much once I got rid of the other rattling sounds.

4) Made some 3/4" mdf supports and caulked them under the extension tables using polyurethane caulk. This mod, in my opinion, was the major winner. The vibration in the tables has decreased dramatically. Without the mdf, a coin placed on the tables will dance around wildly -- with the mdf in place, it hardly moves at all anymore. I'm thinking about making the mdf double layered to cut down the vibration even more, and maybe even caulking pieces to the tie bars and other parts of the frame. But anyway, I'll use it as is for now and re-evaluate after some time.

I think the biggest improvement to cut quality was getting rid of the table vibration. I still have to do some more tests, but in the few pieces of scrap I planed, I can't detect much waviness/chatter anymore. Haven't tried staining anything yet, which might be more telling, but then again, I don't expect it to be so perfect that I could finish it straight out of the planer anyway.

The most obvious improvement though, is the reduction in sound. That alone makes all this worth it to me. This, combined with the spiral head makes the sound so minimal that I'm not worried I'll be disturbing the neighbors at night anymore. Hope that helps!

[Scott Busse]

Thanks for the update Jim. I'll try the MDF on my tables as well.

[Dave Lewis]

Jim:

How easy is it to change out the spiral planer head for the moulder?

Dust collection hood effective? (I use a Penn State 3HP cyclone).

( I have a Delta 13' lunch-box planer that works well, but passes need to be light; moulding capability would be nice).

Dave

[Neal Clayton]

it's not terribly hard. just removing the belts, and two bolts that are threaded into the head itself. there is the weight of it, but it can be handled by one person.

dust collection is kinda shaky. it picks up about 90% with adequate CFM, but it could be designed better.

for small runs of molding i'm satisfied with it.