Replies

1. 
   RMillard | Mar 01, 2004 12:30am | #1

   The only times that I have had a problem with kickback on my similar machine, is when the feed rollers were dirty, when I feed stock too short ( less than 10") and with thin stock. I keep my feed rollers clean with mineral spirits. To do this remove the right side belt guide and rotate the drive pulley by hand to rotate the feed rollers. Because of the gearing it will take many turns on the drive pulley to turn the feed rollers. I often surface stock as thin as 1/8" and this is not very safe, for a host of reasons, so I stand to one side and watch out. I once had my hand impaled by a piece ejected from the planer, luckily it only went in about 1/4" and I was able to extract it myself.

   Rob Millard

2. 
   dancoulbury | Mar 01, 2004 02:40am | #2

   There should never be kickback from a planer. your feed rollers are not doing there job. Whether they're dirty like the other person said or just adjusted to high, I'm not sure, but they need to hold the wood firmly. Dan

1. 
   SgianDubh | Mar 01, 2004 09:35am | #6

   Whilst it's true that there should never be kickback from a thicknessing planer, just as there should never be kickback from a bench or table saw, the fact is that kickback does occur from time to time.

   Standard thicknessers come with a chipbreaker on the infeed side and an adjustable pressure bar on the outfeed side with either an adjustable serrated toothed steel single drum feed roller for single piece feeding, or an adjustable serrated toothed sectional steel feed rollers for multiple feeding, and an adjustable steel plain outfeed roller. Industrial machines are also usually equipped with anti kick-back fingers. All the top of the line machines come with adjustable anti-friction rollers set into a cast iron bed.

   Of the two or three brands of  lunchbox planers I've used all omitted the chipbreaker, the pressure bar, the anti-friction rollers, and the anti kick back fingers. The steel feed and outfeed rollers were missing and replaced with two rubber wrapped rollers. Therefore some of the typical equipment I'd expect to find on a full size machine just doesn't exist on these little tools.

   The maintenance routines suggested by others here should help with the problem described, but whilst it's true that the little machines don't have a lot of power and get bogged down with heavy stuff, they're still capable of quite vicious kickback when putting through light thin sections. The big machines are able to kickback heavier stuff and it most commonly occurs when a lot of breakout occurs during cutting a thick piece of wood, or a thin piece shatters which in both cases usually happens because short grain is presented the wrong way to the cutter head, or the stuff is highly figured or knotty or it suffers some other fault such as severe thunder shake, spike knot, ring or cup shake.

   The best advice I can give to any user, apart from the maintenance issue, is to never stand directly in the line of fire, and never feed a plank by holding the rear end. Hold the plank being fed near the end, but along one edge or the other, or both. I can assure you all that I know that trick from bitter, smashed, sore fingered experience, ha, ha--- ha, ha, ha. Slainte.

   RJFurniture

   Edited 3/1/2004 1:45:12 AM ET by Sgian Dubh

3. 
   USANigel | Mar 01, 2004 03:28am | #3

   Only time this happeded to my Delta turned out to be blunt blades. But they are still sharp enought to cut you!!

4. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Mar 01, 2004 05:53am | #4

   In addition to everybody else's comments, there are anti-kickback fingers on the top deck of the planer - sounds as though they're gummed up and not moving freely/falling into contact with the top of the board.

   Cheers,

   eddie

1. 
   willameena | Mar 01, 2004 06:21am | #5

   I get the message now..."its about time you fine tune your tools"...guess I have to put my project aside and do some of those things you can't cut corners on.....keeping the tools in good shape. Thank you for all your advice, I knew I would find some answers here once again.

   thanks all

5. 
   ChasStanford | Mar 01, 2004 07:53pm | #7

   Wax the beds, clean the rollers with denatured alcohol, always take light cuts - no more than 1/32", keep sharp blades in the unit and make sure they're set at the same cutting height in relation to the heads.

   No matter how well you think the unit is running, do not stand directly behind it.  Feed the stock while standing to the side.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 3/1/2004 11:54:36 AM ET by CHASSTANFORD

1. 
   willameena | Mar 02, 2004 06:25am | #8

   Thanks for the advices...I always stand next to what I am doing, still have all my fingers just a few scratches.  However, I've been a little fearful of my planer, mainly because I baught it second hand.  It's not my machine you see, and I am weiry ,people don't always tell you the truth  about the little bugs on the machine.  IVe had it for a year and have had no problems so far.  Now all of a sudden I'm getting kickback with whatever I put in it.  Doing woodwork is a passion, knowing your machine is essential and somehow in my mind the planer still belongs to someone else.  All my other tools were baught from new, I know them well and have a sense of when it is time for a tune-up. As long as I own that machine , no matter how much I tune it up, I will always have that uneasy feeling...perhaps then it should be the planer that step aside and not me.

   Thanks

1. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Mar 02, 2004 10:01am | #9

   I wouldn't throw it out yet, willameena 

   should work fine (again) when you find the problem.

   We're trained from the start to expect kickback/splinters/slivers etc... being thrown out the opening at high speed, so never stand in front of it and never look into the opening to see what's jammed while the motor's running.

   It's saved me more than once.

   Cheers,

   eddie

2. 
   JohnWW | Mar 02, 2004 05:37pm | #10

   Rather than obsessing over whether or not your planer has bad vibes, which it doesn't, have you tried the solutions suggested?  These are really simple machines, there is nothing that can go wrong with them that can't be identified and fixed.

   The fact that the machine worked well for a year and then started acting up suggests that something is worn or dirty and needs some attention.  A machine you bought new would act exactly the same way under similar circumstances. 

   John W.

   Edited 3/2/2004 5:40:56 PM ET by JohnW

3. 
   FreeGee | Mar 02, 2004 07:21pm | #11

   Hi,

   did you adjust the cutting blades by any chance ?

   I have an old second hand machine. Not knowing how to set the height of the blades I put fresh sharpened blades it roughly as they were mounted before. After I put them in the pressure of the infeed roller was not high enough. Found out that this could not be set on the infeed roller, but was depending on the height that the blades are set in the cutter block. After a bit of tweaking everything was OK and I have now better understanding of how the machine works.

   Gert

   Edited 3/2/2004 4:46:16 PM ET by FreeGee

1. 
   willameena | Mar 03, 2004 05:40am | #12

   I'm all into taking machines apart peice by peice, its the only way to get to know how the guts work. ( did it with my jointer) I am in the midst of taking it apart and noticed a few things that are wrong.  I however, am not sure if I can fix it. I never changed the blades, can't take them out... the screws are chewed up....... and now my deck is jammed it won't go higher than 3 inches.  The person who had it obvioulsy did something because the screws are not all originals, he jammed them in.  I will try to work on it again, but I might have to send it to the repair shop arggggggg.....old is not always the best. 

   frustrated Will

4. 
   MBL | Mar 03, 2004 09:07pm | #13

   Dear Will,

   Had one bench plane as yours before the current floor unit. Rollers on the bench unit were moved by flat belts, including the infeed roller.

   If the planer was fine and then starts kickback, it could be that the infeed roller belt be broken, or slipped out of place, or damaged. A proper board at the proper cut depth ought to be moved basically by the planer itself. Having to push the board is and indication of some minor or total malfunction of the infeed rollers. Hopefully minor.

   An inspection and hopefully correction are due for sure. Inspection is not difficult at all. Start by raising the planer to the fullest, dust it out of chips and whatever, best with compressed air. Then turn it on, and in a while look from the distance, at an angle, to verify that the infeed rollers are turning, as well as the outfeed rollers too. Do wear eye protection still on this type of checks.

1. 
   willameena | Mar 04, 2004 05:37am | #14

   The conclusion to this story that will end all...including the machine is the following:  Went to the repair shop for a quick inspection, feedroller is damaged and as a consequence blade deck is also damaged, the blade took a huge chunk and was bent.  Estimated cost of parts and labour is over 200$ . For a secondhand machine, I think I will have to get a new one.  Anyone need spare planer parts !

   gone shopping