I bought a 24" Casadei planer (1980's Italian machine, now part of SCM I believe) and took it to my shop. I wired it up, and the cutter head ran. I tried the bed raising / lowering switch and it raised the bed fine, but on the way down it stopped dead.
The machine has sat here for months now - first I had to find someone who knew how to work on these machines, and then we had to get the electrical chart from Italy. Long story short, the bed motor works when it is disconnected from the chain, but once I connect the chain back up it does nothing. When I subsequently disconnect the chain and try the switch the motor stays dead - it's not getting power.
It could be months before this tech gets back to me - I'm a small job compared to what he normally does and he seems to have no time - and while he knows plenty about electrical circuity I'm not sure he really wants to get to grips with what is jammed mechanically and causing the motor circuit to cut out.
Here's my thought - I can get a machinist friend to rig up a hand crank to raise and lower the bed, and get rid of the troublesome electrical stuff. I'm a fan of keeping things simple when I can.
Planer 1.jpgPlaner 2.jpgI've cleaned and lubed everything I can get my hands on, and with the machinist I'm sure I can get the jamming problem sorted out.
I'd like to hear the opinions of anyone out there on this. The first photo shows the four threaded rods, fairly standard, and the second shows the electrical spaghetti that makes my head spin.
So, should I repair the machine and keep it as it is, or go with a hand crank? Thanks.