Thanks for the tips on dealing with the dropping head. Randy, I was surprised to see your toggle clamp fix, primarily because it speaks loudly on how real the problem is. But it's a great fix! Too bad Dewalt R&D couldn't prevent the problem in the first place.
As far as dull blades goes, I just changed them before beginning this project. If they are already dull, that's pretty pathetic performance.
After getting the 4/4 boards down to 1.05", I decided to resaw the boards to just over 3/4" and plane it the rest of the way. That's better than running the boards through the planer 25 times.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain
Now I'm finding myself checking out Infinity carbide knives and comparing them to the Shelix... and wondering how that old Delta planer would be standing up to the Bolivian walnut.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain
Just to make sure my memory was accurate, I went back to look at the time I had resawed 8/4 sapele into 1/2" boards. I ran this stack, ranging in widths from 6"-9", through a 15 year old Delta lunchbox planer with no breaks, no tripped overloads, no bogging down, no tripped circuit breakers.
I was just planing the walnut boards I resawed, 1/100" at a time. I just got started and the overload tripped again. I wish I had just refurbished the Delta planer. I never had these kinds of problems with that. It didn't plane as smoothly but at least it worked.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain
Does the wood you are planing now seem harder then the Sapele. If not then it could be that the knifes in you old lunch box delta were better hss. The Dewalt knifes have a reputation for not lasting.
There could be several reasons why your planer is having a hard time.
Take the top off and look at the edge is all chipped up?
I don’t think it’s a good idea to refurbish a lunch box planer.
Aj
Without any accurate means to compare the hardness of the two, I took a piece of the sapele in my hand and did the same with the pecky Bolivian walnut. The pBw did seem harder. But the worst part about this now is the overload tripping while planing. The fact is is tripping more frequently now tells me it's breaking down and close to complete failure.
The year warranty is up in October so tomorrow I'm calling Dewalt to see what they are willing to do about all this.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain
What does the B Walnut look like. Are there lots of dark streaks or colors the wood.
Some Woods ( from the rain forest esp) will have alot of minerals in them. Very beautiful to look at but really difficult to machine or hand plane.
Once again check to see if the knifes are completely worn dull.
Wood with a high silica will take 5 seconds to dull Hss.
Aj
I just changed the knives the other day. Maybe they are already shot. Dewalt knives don't have much of a reputation for staying sharp. But the planed wood is still silky smooth.
This is the pecky Bolivian walnut
The moment it goes into the planer I can see little black dots dancing on the surface. I'm guessing hardened tree gum.
I've got a lot more of this wood so there's more planing to do. Maybe carbide is needed. But I'll still discuss it with Dewalt tomorrow.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain
Well that’s some very interesting looking wood I see why you bought it. Very unique
It does remind me alot like mesquite, maybe someone from Texas or Arizona will agree.
Mesquite is very dense but every bit worth the trouble because of its unique beauty and it’s super stable.
I think your going to have a great looking project.
Good luck
Aj
Julie, Have you tried milling a different species that you have experience with?
Rustic? Well, no. That was not my intention!
What are the lighter horizontal lines running across the boards? Almost looks like where the wood stopped movement and the blade cut deeper like snipe. My drum sander does that from time to time on some materials.
Not since the overload started tripping. But I have run sipo, Florida pine, figured cherry and maple through the planer recently. All that was done with the first edge of the factory knives.
None of those boards have been planed by me. That's how they came from the yard.
I spoke with Dewalt today. They sent me a UPS label so I can send it to the service center in Tampa. Tampa is a 2 hour drive from here. I called Tampa and asked them if they had had complaints about dropping heads and tripping overloads. The guy there said he hadn't seen anything come in with those problems. He just said send it in with a note on the problems I'm having.
Last night I was all set to bite the bullet on a Shelix, seeing how fast the HSS knives dull. I might still do that, depending on what the service guys say.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain