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Thread: Picked up a power feeder... bad rollers?

  1. #1

    Picked up a power feeder... bad rollers?

    So I was walking through a equipment dealer yeasterday when I spotted a power feeder against a wall. I knew the dealer was closing up and would be headed to auction soon, so I asked if it was for sale. “Make me an offer was the response”. I thought about it for a bit before offering $150. “Sold!” Was the immediate response. Cool! I thought, until I realized they would have taken less.

    It’s a Delta 36-840, 4 wheel, 8 speed, 1 hp, 3 ph unit. Ironically, this unit is identical to the feeders offered by a half dozen competing manufacturers.

    When I was unloading the feeder, I noticed a couple of the wheels were distorted. I reached out to touch the wheel and noticed it was super soft. I pushed my finger against it and the wheel easily deformed and stayed that way. I dug my thumb into the wheel and the material stuck to it, stringing when I pulled it away. The rollers are by Western and appear to be blue. Anybody see something like this before?
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    Last edited by Tim Einwalter; 08-01-2018 at 8:29 AM.

  2. #2
    My guess it was sitting in a pool of something that softened the wheels.

    Pure guess.

    Just order new wheels, $100 will get you four new ones.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Bucks County, PA
    Posts
    198
    Yep, order a new set of wheels and you gots good deal on a 1 hp feeder!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Central WI
    Posts
    5,666
    Some of the old Delta feeders were actually Steff. Later ones were Comatic but looks like you got a great deal. Western Roller or Axiom are two sources for tires. Dave

  5. #5
    My old shop had a feeder sitting around unused with those same blue wheels that had turned to chewing gum after 20 years. A new set of wheels and it was back in business. The yellow Western Roller wheels are good for general use. The blue ones are good for slick material like melamine or p-lam although they wear faster.

  6. #6
    Ok, this site was hell bent to fight me last night. Couldn't get the photos to attach. Finally gave up so I'm posting them this morning. I'm guessing the rubber broke down from exposure to oil. Everything has a light coating of oil. Not sure if the gear case leaked because it was tipped on it's side or what. "Chewing Gum" would be a great description.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Kamiah, ID
    Posts
    280
    I recently got a new set of rollers for a 4 wheel powermatic feeder. Forget who I talked to at Western Roller but they were great to deal with and johnny-on-the-spot with shipping. The set I got was blue, at their recommendation, because it grips better on the pre-finished plywood that I use and also the finer sanded wood. These rollers replaced the original ones and made a night-and-day difference!!! Call 'em up and tell them what you have and what you're doing and let them tell you what will work best. I think I paid in the low $30 range, per wheel, IIRC.

    I never had a good power feeder before and the wheels are the difference. It changed how I work with my shaper. You got a great buy! Enjoy!

  8. #8
    Yup, another plug for Western Roller. They were great but don't even bother emailing them.....just call. They won't answer your email!

    B

  9. #9
    I suppose that I shouldn't tell you guys that I also bought a 20" Jet planer for $250. Yea, I know...

  10. #10
    Has anyone had rollers reconditioned/repaired? There are places specializing in it. Don't know how cost effective it would be but it might be worth looking into.
    http://www.harwoodrubber.com/index.html

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Camas, Wa
    Posts
    3,855
    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Christensen View Post
    Has anyone had rollers reconditioned/repaired? There are places specializing in it. Don't know how cost effective it would be but it might be worth looking into.
    http://www.harwoodrubber.com/index.html
    Western Roller will do it too. I had some Jet planer/moulder rubber rollers coated with urethane. I'm not sure how cost affective it would be with feeder wheels.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Christensen View Post
    Has anyone had rollers reconditioned/repaired? There are places specializing in it. Don't know how cost effective it would be but it might be worth looking into.
    I have a belt grinder that takes 3x16" wheels. The wheels new cost close to $370 each. I reached out to the company that makes these wheels and asked them about a recover option. After All, they really touted it as being a significant cost savings on their website. After two-way shipping, turns out it was $10 cheaper per wheel than new.

  13. #13
    I've seen threads in the past where people have had their planer feed rollers reconditioned. That's what made me think of suggesting it for this application.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    547
    Blog Entries
    1
    I bought a set of replacement tires from Western Roller for my Felder F38 feeder. It has split wheels and they don't have the wheel, so I just bought the tires. It was a struggle to figure out how to mount the new tires on the split rims. Split rims rely on pressure of the bolt fixing the wheels to the feeder to compress the wheel. So, you've got to have a mechanism to compress the wheels ON THE FEEDER sufficiently enough to get the thread of the nut started on the bolt/shaft of the feeder.

    Western wasn't any help about how to do this. Ultimately, after a bunch of fiddling around, I simply cut a large (2 ¼") hole in a short board and used a couple of F clamps to compress the wheel/tire assembly sufficiently to get the nut started. It's a bit fiddly as the wheels are slotted to meet a key on the bolt/shaft of the feeder.

    In any case, none of this may matter as you may not have split wheels. But if you do, I provide it as a potential solution to the split rim problem. There may be better solutions out there...

    Mike

  15. #15
    Shopgear has wheels half off right now, but I think you have to buy a feeder

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