Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Sep 17, 2006 03:55pm | #1

   I don't know anything about portable planers. With stationary planers, there are adjustments for the pressure bar as well as the infeed and outfeed rollers that are on top and easy to get to. When it comes to the cutting head, adjustments are below the table. These are set at the factory. If changes are needed, you have to remove the chain lifting mechanism to get to the adjustment screws. This may be similar to your planer. Messing with the rollers could get you into more trouble. The owners manual should cover the various adjustments. Do you have one?

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

1. 
   LeChuck | Sep 17, 2006 06:04pm | #2

   The owner's manual for the Delta covers no adjustment besides changing the blade. It is the same as the one for my Delta table-saw. Seems that you're on your own with them...But I know that it doesn't have any adjustment screw. I do not want to touch the rollers. Per what I can tell it's the whole cutterhead carriage that is out of alignment.

1. 
   forestgirl | Sep 17, 2006 06:32pm | #3

   "I do not want to touch the rollers."  That's OK, 'cause the cutterhead (or knives) is/are the culprit.   How old is this machine; how long have you had it?? forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   LeChuck | Sep 17, 2006 06:43pm | #4

   Well, the manual says 1994 and I've had it for just a few months and have just recently started using it. Paid a low price for it. Works well aside from the alignment issue.

1. 
   user-201400 | Sep 17, 2006 07:00pm | #5

   BUY A DIAL INDICATOR AND GO TO POWERMATIC WEBSITE DOWN LOAD ANY PLANER MANUAL AND IT WILL HELP ADJUST MOST MODEL .I'VE REBUILT MANY DELTAS WITH THIS MANUAL . THERE ALL ON THE SAME PREMISE. ALSO ARE YOU USING CALIPER TO MEASURE THIS OUT OF PARALLEL PROBLEM OR A RULER

2. 
   LeChuck | Sep 17, 2006 07:07pm | #6

   I am using a caliper.

3. 
   forestgirl | Sep 17, 2006 07:27pm | #7

   You might give Delta tech services a call.  If you get lucky, the guy on the other end will be helpful even with this older model.  Eons ago, someone reported this same problem here and was able to get it fixed, but there are only vapor traces in my memory.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

4. 
   LeChuck | Sep 17, 2006 07:41pm | #10

   FG, thanks for the advice. I have wasted so much time with all flavors of tech support in my life (and I used to be one) that it is usually my latest resort, just the same as I dread hearing the "can I help you?" question when I'm at the store :)

5. 
   Rich14 | Sep 17, 2006 08:35pm | #12

   LeChuckYour planer does not have a convenient way to adjust parallelism of the head to the planer bed. You need to loosen the drive chain pulley at the top of the driven sprocket (left side of the machine looking from the feed end) and turn the rising/lowering handle one geartooth amount at a time, put the chain back on, tighten everything down and check the result. (I use two pieces, going through the machine simultaneously, at either ends of the machine's width, rather than a wide board).Other, newer machines allow you to simply loosen the driven sprocket from its shaft, turn the shaft with a wrench from below, and then tighten the sprocket. This allows less that a sprocket tooth distance of adjustment, but even moving one tooth at a time, you should be able to get your machine well into factory spec, if not within less than a thousandth either end of the head.Rich

   Edited 9/17/2006 1:38 pm ET by Rich14

6. 
   LeChuck | Sep 17, 2006 08:39pm | #13

   Yep, it all happens under the planer! I'm just coming back from the workshop and what I did is unbolt the drive shaft on one side, disengage the gears, thn turn the left post gear by hand to lower that side until the stick I used to pass under the rollers was about as tight as on the other side. I'll test the cutting in a little while and see if I brought the error down to a minimum. Maybe I'll end up being able to cut correct size miters on those boards!

7. 
   RickChristopherson | Sep 17, 2006 09:26pm | #16

   Rich, this planer does not have a coupling chain, so I am not sure if LeChuck was responding to you or to me.LeChuck,
   OOPS! I wrote my response without seeing your newest reply. It sounds as though you have everything working OK.
   ========================================================
   I just located the exploded view drawing for your planer by manually searching Delta’s ServiceNet website. It is too grainy to see any specific details, but it does in fact have the beveled gears I mentioned. Unfortunately it appears that the two leadscrews have shaft-flats at the gears, and it may also be true that the coupling shaft also has shaft flats too. If this is actually the case, then you will not be able to do as I suggested, but you could always just skip one tooth of the gear..However, there is another aspect that looks to be more promising, and actually easier. Up at the cutter head there are two retaining nuts and two leadscrew-nuts (one left-hand thread and one right-hand thread) (Items 101 and 102 in my version of the drawing). I am wondering if you loosened one of the retaining nuts (item 100), could you rotate the leadscrew nut (101 102), or does it have some type of keyway?At a minimum, you could always loosen the retaining nut and shim the leadscrew nut accordingly.

   Edited 9/17/2006 2:32 pm ET by RickChristopherson

8. 
   Rich14 | Sep 17, 2006 10:34pm | #17

   Rick and LeChuck,It sounds like the project is under control.Rich

9. 
   forestgirl | Sep 18, 2006 05:22am | #19

   I know what you mean about the dreaded call.  Maybe you'll get lucky like I did, though.  Got a guy on the phone who had been there forever and actually knew what was what.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   RickChristopherson | Sep 17, 2006 07:29pm | #8

   I am not specifically familiar with this planer, but it would be a good idea to look and see if there is a coupling chain and/or shaft between the right and left sides of the height adjustment leadscrews. I wasn't looking very hard, but I found the exploded parts list for a 22-580 that may be close enough to yours. The artwork is poor, but in this case there appears to be a coupling chain below the base of the planer.

   By rotating one leadscrew without rotating the other, you will change the parallelism of the head. If you count the number of threads per inch in the leadscrew, you can actually calculate what fraction of a revolution will get your adjustment.

   Plane a wide board and measure the error (difference) between the right and left thickness. Take this error and multiply it by the threads per inch of the leadscrew. This will give you the fraction of a rotation you need to adjust. Before you begin, it would also be a good idea to make a reference mark on both leadscrews so you know what the baseline position was before changing anything. This will also be important if you accidently turn the slaved-leadscrew the wrong direction and make the error larger. In this case, you would have to return to the start point and rotate the same amount in the opposite direction.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 9/17/2006 12:35 pm ET by RickChristopherson

1. 
   LeChuck | Sep 17, 2006 07:39pm | #9

   Rick. I have the exploded view for my planer and I did look under it to see what was down there. It has a shaft that makes the left side turn along with the right side, and theres a nut at the bottom on the left side. At first I though I was goind to try and just put some slight turn on that nut to try and bring that side down slightly, but then I thought I'd spend more time trying to see if that was the right solution.

1. 
   RickChristopherson | Sep 17, 2006 08:33pm | #11

   OK. If it is a coupling shaft instead of a chain, then it will likely have two sets of bevelled gears to make the right-angle turn between the vertical leadscrews and the horizontal coupling shaft. Look for a setscrew (or sometimes two setscrews) that secure the gear(s) to the shaft(s). Loosening the setscrew(s) on one of these gears will allow you to rotate one leadscrew without the other.Even if these bevelled gears are enclosed inside of a gear housing, there should still be a setscrew on at least one of the shafts. If the nut you found appears to be on the end of a shaft, then that shaft is most likely not the adjustable shaft (and the shaft has a keyway).If you can scan or photograph the exploded view, I may be able to see what parts are for adjustment.

1. 
   LeChuck | Sep 17, 2006 08:59pm | #14

   Rick, thanks for your explanations! I came to the same result after looking everything over. It wasn't that bad after all. Stay tuned for the results :)I took advantage of that to spray some white lithium grease on everything. There is one plastic tray under the chains that is a problem. It kinda blocks the whole thing when the height gets low enough. I guess it's there to prevent chips from getting into the chain and gears.

1. 
   LeChuck | Sep 17, 2006 09:24pm | #15

   Well, after testing with the same board and running it thourhg a couple times, the error is now just about a tenth of what it was, so I'm satisfied and will probably leave it there. Now I'll see if I can table-saw some miters at the end of the board and get something straight, and eventually fine-tune if it's still not quite right!Thanks all for your feedback.

3. 
   haroldp | Sep 18, 2006 03:29am | #18

   I had the same problem with a Delta 12.5" Planer. The problem is easily solved. First stand the planer on the end there are two bolts on the bottom that hold on the cover. Undo and remove cover. You will see the chain that is attached to the threaded rods that adjust the height. take the gear off one of the ends and remove chain. Turn the rod on the offending end up or down to correct. If you take a look at the manual it should give you the pitch of the screw. This will help in how much you have to turn it. You will need to invest in a piece of wood very close to the maximum width of the planer. Replace chain and gear sprocket and plane wood. You should make sure one side is flat, before you start even if you have to get it flattened elsewhere. 12 to 15"of lenght is all you need. I would also suggest a caliper or some means of accurate measurement. You will need to try this a few times until you get it right.

   The next time I am going to try doing it, using a dail indicator from the base to the cutting edge. I haven't worked out the Jig yet.

   Hope this helps.

   Harold