Hey fellas,
I recently bought a used Porter Cable 12.5” planer. It worked well for a short time, but the then the rollers stopped pulling my material through. Upon further inspection, there is a major rip in the middle of the infeed roller. I’m thinking this may be my issue (picture below).
Replacing the part is no big deal (mechanically speaking) but when I looked up replacement parts, it’ll cost between $80-$120. I bought the planer for $100, so spending more on a part than I did the whole tool seems a bit silly.
Any suggestions from any of you that may have run into a similar issue? Is there a way to find a more affordable replacement part? Or should I just look for a better quality planer?
I’d appreciate any and all feedback.
Thanks,
Christian
Replies
it may just need sharp knives. I would clean up the roller and try a fresh set of blades. If that doesn't work buy a dw735 dewalt you will be very happy.
If it wasn't pulling the material through at all, it could also be the drive belt. Often, when things start disintegrating, they all start disintegrating at once.
@user-7063600 - I just swapped the blades on it, so they are brand new.
@John_C2 - It will pull smaller pieces through with a bit of convincing and pushing, but bigger, heavier pieces? Forget about it...
Since you have the planer apart, take a look at the outfeed roller. Does it appear identical to the infeed roller? If so, you might be able to swap the rollers assuming the outfeed roller is in better condition.
Mike
@MikeInOhio - The outfeed roller is definitely in better shape. I’m not sure if they are the same size, I’ll have to check on that.
If they are, is it the infeed roller that is primarily responsible for moving the boards through the planer? Because I don’t wanna swap them if I’ll just have the same issue getting the board OUT of the planer, if that makes sense.
@chill1102 I'm no expert on the inner workings of planers but it seems infeed rollers often wear out before outfeed rollers. So I'm assuming they do the most work.
As to whether the damaged roller has enough remaining gripping ability to eject the board on the out-end of the planer, I don't know.
Mike
@MikeInOhio - just to check back in with an update.. the rear and front rollers are ever so slightly different in length, so they cannot be swapped out with one another.
I don’t think I’ll be able to avoid shelling out the cash for a new roller. But, I got the thing for $100, so even if I spend another $80 on the new roller, I’m still only in it $180 for a $350 machine, so I reckon that’s not too bad.
Thanks for letting us know how things are progressing.
Mike
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