tick on planer infeed roller

[stevo wis]

Hi Folks,

Happy Holidays!!!

I am getting a tick tick tick when the infeed rollers are engaged on my Northfield #2 planer. It is noticeable and sometimes its enough to trip the thermal cutout for the motor and it then has to be reset.
In addition to the diagram, there is a chain and sprocket which drives the sprocket shown, then the three gears engage and the rollers run. Most likely it is a bearing going out I would guess, but it could also be a gear tooth or chain issue possibly.
Does anyone have any thoughts?
If so, I am assuming that I would have to remove the gears and set screws on the roller shafts, pull off the bearings and replace them.
Again, if anyone has any advice for replacing I would appreciate it as it is a bit of a job.

Secondly, has anyone replaced the straight knife head with a helical head on a #2? if so, how difficult is it?
thanks,
Stevo

[Richard Coers]

The only time a bearing would tick is if a chunk of metal has spalled out. Usually a grinding or squeaking is the sound of bearing failure. Infeed rollers turn so slowly, hard to imagine a bearing would ever fail. I would inspect for a chunk of wood or chunk of a knot is stuck somewhere in the works.

[Ronald Blue]

I agree with Richard that a "ticking" sound isn't usually a bearing. If it's tripping the overload something is turning hard. If the feed disengages (neutral) then disengage and see if the noise ceases. If it does then you know it's in that part of the planer. Maybe that's what you said indirectly in your post. When disengaged you should be able to rotate the rollers. I presume it has a 2 speed feed like many planers. Does the frequency of the noise change when you change speeds? It sounds like you are going to have to do at least some disassembly to find it. There isn't a tight spot in the drive chain is there? That's a good starting point anyway. Good luck.

[Myk Rian]

Might be something caught in the teeth of a gear.

[Simon Dupay]

Call Jeff over at northfield he'll answer any questions

[stevo wis]

Hi Folks,
Thanks for all the suggestions. I can hear the click when I turn the gears by hand, but can't quite isolate it yet. Next I am going to unhook the chain and start eliminating pieces. I will let you know how it turns out.
thanks,
Stevo

[andrew whicker]

I also vote for gears / chains.

Is it easy enough to remove the chain and then turn the rollers by hand w/o the chain to see if the click goes away or stays?

I think if clicking were associated w/ the bearings you would be able to see the movement / feel the movement of the roller suddenly moving / dropping at the same time it 'clicks'. Can you feel the roller jerk / move, etc when you have your hand on it while turning by hand?

If I can't diagnose it as a complete assy, I just start working towards the problem a little at a time:
1) remove motor from equation (remove belts). Check.
2) remove drive chain from equation. Check.
3) remove middle sprocket. check.

[Bill Dufour]

I was going to suggest bed rollers but you hear it when turning the works by hand. I would use a sharpie and mark then cutting head and rollers and see if the tick is in time with one of them.
Bill D

[stevo wis]

I was going to suggest bed rollers but you hear it when turning the works by hand. I would use a sharpie and mark then cutting head and rollers and see if the tick is in time with one of them.
Bill D

Folks,
I pulled the input roller gear and the roller dragged a lot so I pulled a casting in front of it and the problem went away (temporarily). I thought it was debris that had fallen out, so reassembled every thing, and the tick was back.
At this point, both the unconnected rollers don't run smoothly, but each have drag at several points in their revolutions. I talked with Jeff at Northfield, and he really thinks it need bearings. I ordered them but it will be a bit before I can get them swapped out. Jeff gave me some great tips for replacing and I will update when I get them in.
Stevo

[Mel Fulks]

This has come up before. One good Powermatic planer in a shop I worked in for some years, had that tick thing and guys would try to fix it . Owner was sure it was nothing to
worry over, and he often used it. When there was a new-hire he would be pretty agitated when he walked out of his office and saw the new
guy tearing the machine apart. He finally put up a few bulletins . He was a smart and honest business man whose father had started the
business , and he was all business. But, he would chat a few words at the Christmas party. But it was a thriving architectural millwork shop with
one beast of a planer that fired boards out like a cannon , that was often used as the “ rough planer” . Then most stuff had to go through
the Powermatic. He didn’t need Edison , he needed guys who followed the rules.

[stevo wis]

This has come up before. One good Powermatic planer in a shop I worked in for some years, had that tick thing and guys would try to fix it . Owner was sure it was nothing to
worry over, and he often used it. When there was a new-hire he would be pretty agitated when he walked out of his office and saw the new
guy tearing the machine apart. He finally put up a few bulletins . He was a smart and honest business man whose father had started the
business , and he was all business. But, he would chat a few words at the Christmas party. But it was a thriving architectural millwork shop with
one beast of a planer that fired boards out like a cannon , that was often used as the “ rough planer” . Then most stuff had to go through
the Powermatic. He didn’t need Edison , he needed guys who followed the rules.

Mel, i am not sure if you are saying dont worry about it or something else. I cant ignore it as it sometimes sets off the thermal overload.
thanks,
Stevo

[Lee Schierer]

If it were my planer, I would definitely look into the tick. With most gears and chains, ticking, doesn't get better with age. It could be a bent tooth on a sprocket or something in the gear teeth.. It might be just a loose set screw.

[stevo wis]

Folks,
I found my probem.
I had ordered new bearings for both the input and output rollers. After pulling out the rollers, a found one bearing on each roller with a broken race. It appears that someone had tightened the tension bolt up into the bearings and they eventually broke the bearings. The bolt should not go that high and instead a set screw through the housing holds the bolt in place. Put it all back together and it appears ok.

Thanks for everyones help

Stevo

[Mel Fulks]

Good job ! You deserve to crow and we are glad to know!

[Brian Runau]

I guess that would make it click huh! brian