Replies

1. 
   RickL | Feb 04, 2005 10:24pm | #1

   Would that 18" planer be a Rockwell wedgebed? Nice unit and how much do you have to do to rebuld it? I've had mine apart to the individual pieces. Pretty simple unit. Obviously you can plane wider boards so it's certainly worth  fixing up.

1. 
   billwebster | Feb 05, 2005 05:07am | #2

   Yes, it is a wedgebed. It will take me about 20 to 30 hours total to make some parts, reassemble it and align it. I have pretty much decided to go ahead and do it, even if I don’t keep it. If I like the 12” Powermatic better, and don’t find an 18” to be any more useful (I only have an 8” jointer), I might keep the 12”. Maybe if I get a drum thickness sander, I would never need the 18” planing capability.

1. 
   RickL | Feb 05, 2005 04:49pm | #3

   At one point I had a PM 12", Rockwell 18" wedgebed and Boice Crane 12". The PM had a dip in the bed so rather than having it ground I sold it. The Boice Crane 12" was an even better machine than the PM but the head was small and awkward to change the knives so I kept the Rockwell. With variable feed speed it does a great job on curly woods.

2. 
   RickL | Feb 06, 2005 07:26pm | #4

   Tried to respond to your email...no go!
   Bill, yes the knife locking bars are pretty much as
   you described. Perhaps later this week I will have ####chance to pull one out to measure. I'd still recommend
   getting the locking screws from Delta. I did make an
   improvement on the bed leveling adjustment with two
   simple brackets. The original adjusters pushed on the
   threads of the locking screws so when you tightened it
   up it shifted it out of alignment. Overall the machine
   does a nice job on curly woods with the variable feed.
   The other potential problem is the seal in the
   gearbox. Use a heavy weight gear oil or the gears can
   strip themselves.
   Rick

1. 
   billwebster | Feb 09, 2005 04:34am | #5

   Rick,My e-mail address is [email protected].I would be interested in seeing your brackets that eliminate the problem you mentioned.I am thinking about making some locking bars that look like "D" in the drawing below. They should be pretty easy to make.http://home.mchsi.com/~calbert/lock_bar3.jpgI also think I might use a serpentine type belt on the planer. I have the original cutterhead pulley, but not the belt or motor pulley. Since I need to buy most of those parts anyway, a serpentine belt drive might be a better option.The variable pulley and gearbox pulley are also missing. I think that variable speed would be worthwhile, so I am either going to look for a variable pulley to use or possibly go with a DC motor and use a speed control. Since max torque would be the same at all speed, there would be less hp at low speed, but I think less hp would be required.Other than that, all other parts are ok.Thanks,Bill

1. 
   RickL | Feb 09, 2005 03:44pm | #6

   You will still need a gear box reducer to get the speed low enough. Unless you have a cheap surplus source for DC motors and controls an inverter and three phase motor is cheaper by far. Original feed motor is only 1/4 hp.

2. 
   billwebster | Feb 10, 2005 04:11am | #7

   I have the original worm gear gearbox, I was thinking about replacing the motor/variable pulley with a variable speed motor.

3. 
   RickL | Feb 10, 2005 04:30pm | #8

    If the motor and pulley still work I would leave it alone. It gives a good range of speeds.