Planer rebuild?

[Alan Jurgens]

I am relatively new to woodworking and woodturning. I have access to a Powermatic circa 1960's planer and jointer, which belonged to my grandfather. He has been deceased since the late 80's so these machines have been idle since then. Does anyone have the knowledge how to go about rebuilding these machines? I have tried the jointer and it does work, though I'm sure it needs to be tuned up. Are these machines even worth going to the trouble of rebuilding them? Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Owen Lowe]

I am relatively new to woodworking and woodturning. I have access to a Powermatic circa 1960's planer and jointer, which belonged to my grandfather. He has been deceased since the late 80's so these machines have been idle since then. Does anyone have the knowledge how to go about rebuilding these machines? I have tried the jointer and it does work, though I'm sure it needs to be tuned up. Are these machines even worth going to the trouble of rebuilding them? Any input would be appreciated.

"Are these machines even worth going to the trouble of rebuilding them?”
NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST! You should immediately pass them my way — I’ll even take ‘em off your hands at no cost so since I’m such a great guy.

You need to make a visit to Old Woodworking Machines.org. These pre-import machines are quite robust and definitely worth refreshing and hanging on to. Don’t fall prey to the latest and greatest because when it comes to these types of machines you likely can’t afford a new one of similar quality.

 

[Raul McCai]

Are these machines even worth going to the trouble of rebuilding them? Any input would be appreciated.

Most definitely. PM machinery from the 1960s is great stuff. It was, in its day, the Gold Standard.

The bearings are all inch standard sizes. The grease in them may have converted to waxes but they are easily sourced. Don't go cheap; cheap bearings are never a good idea for anything but slow inexact applicaitons). The cast iron will be the best, and quality in cast iron makes a world of difference.

Yah rebuild them. your grandfather will smile.

 

[john lucas]

Go on youtube and do a search.
Here is one of the best. The others by Bob Vaughan are also excellent.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7peFNT2vS0

 

[Bill Boehme]

The jointer is easy. Mostly you will need to replace the belt and have the knives sharpened. When you reinstall them, they need to be parallel to the out feed table. There a number of ways to do that.

Here is one jig from Woodstock that is good for setting jointer knives.

It is rare that you would need to readjust the infeed table to get it parallel to the outfeed table.

The planer is more work to perform alignment and you need instructions for your particular model. The belt replacement, blade sharpening,and blade alignment are generally straightforward.

 

[Ron Rutter]

Alan. Bill is correct but may be confusing re the jointer. The top of the blade should be at the same elevation as the outfeed table across the width. RE the planner a good point to start would be to determine the relationship of the existing blades to some reference point just in case you can't find a manual. You might be lucky & find a jig as well for either unit!
For the jointer the simplest method is to have a 6" stick that sits on the outfeed table & just past the blade. I should move no more than 1/8" as you rotate the arbour, at both ends. Hope this makes sense!

 

[Bill Boehme]

Woodstock International also makes a jig for adjusting planer blades. I think that I have that also, but never use it because I prefer then one that came with my planer.

Ron, just for clarification, I believe that you are telling Alan that the stick shouldn't slide horizontally more than ⅛". If it moves up by ⅛" then it's not adjusted right.

 

[Ron Rutter]

Woodstock International also makes a jig for adjusting planer blades. I think that I have that also, but never use it because I prefer then one that came with my planer.

Ron, just for clarification, I believe that you are telling Alan that the stick shouldn't slide horizontally more than ⅛". If it moves up by ⅛" then it's not adjusted right.

Yes. Actually 1/8" to 1/4" max is a better statement. I did figure it out in thousands/" for a drum one time. Too much = snipe as most know..

 

[john lucas]

I put a mark on a stick and set the stick on jointer outfeed table so it layes over the blade with the mark at the edge of the outfeed table. Then when you rotate the blade it touches the stick and moves it. I shoot for 1/8" also. I purchased a broken granite bed Steel city jointer. Had to replace the infeed table bed. They have a very unusual alignment procedure with 4 screws that have lifts under the bed. It was really a pain to adjust both beds parallel to each other because you had to remove all 4 screws, adjust the lift, put all 4 screws in and check it, then repeat. many times. However now that it's adjusted I can't imagine it ever moving. Love that jointer. It has the square carbide teeth but they aren't spiral. Still it takes incredibly clean cuts, makes a whole lot less noise and the wood is very easy to push past the blade.
Depending on which planer you have the adjustments can be a real hassle. When I set up my friends old Delta/Rockwell planer I cut my hand about 6 or 8 times when I accidentally touched the blade. they weren't more than scratches but those blades were really sharp and just the slightest brush against them drew blood.

 

[Raul McCai]

I used to use the stick method. Then I discovered that an indicator gave me better results. I set the outfeed table to be dead even with the TDC of the cutters and I don't get tapers. If the blades stick up even the smallest amount above the outfeed; the jointer produces tapers. them more the cutters stand proud; up the greater the taper.

 

[Ron Rutter]

I used to use the stick method. Then I discovered that an indicator gave me better results. I set the outfeed table to be dead even with the TDC of the cutters and I don't get tapers. If the blades stick up even the smallest amount above the outfeed; the jointer produces tapers. them more the cutters stand proud; up the greater the taper.

Raul. I think you will find the cause of tapers (or a curve ) is that the infeed & outfeed tables are not parallel. The blades sticking up more than a few thou above the outfeed create snip.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I used to use the stick method. Then I discovered that an indicator gave me better results. I set the outfeed table to be dead even with the TDC of the cutters and I don't get tapers. If the blades stick up even the smallest amount above the outfeed; the jointer produces tapers. them more the cutters stand proud; up the greater the taper.

We need a fixed reference datum that never changes for all of the various adjustments and using the blades wouldn't be the best choice. The most obvious reason is that jointers have multiple blades, typically three. If you choose one blade as the reference the getting the others at the same height is going to involve some error. Adjusting the outfeed table to align with the blade seems like an invitation for a lot of extra work. Any adjustment to the outfeed table means that it will be necessary to realign the infeed table to get it parallel to the outfeed table. Trying to determine exactly where TDC occurs seems like another unnecessary exercise in fiddling around with a dial indicator. While I have several dial indicators and miscellaneous other jigs for aligning my jointer, the accuracy of the stick method shouldn't be discounted because of its simplicity and ease of use. It is ever bit as accurate as using a dial indicator.

I don't follow what you mean by creating a taper. The purpose of a jointer is strictly to flatten a face or edge. If the infeed and outfeed tables aren't parallel, the result will be a curved (bowed) surface ... most noticeable if you place two jointed edges side by side and see that there is a gap in the middle or at the ends. The blades sticking up a bit will create snipe on the end of a board as Ron said.

 

[hockenbery]

There are tricks for cutting tapers for table legs etc. on a jointer

Here is one

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZTXvsrzbSQ

 

[Bill Boehme]

There are tricks for cutting tapers for table legs etc. on a jointer

Here is one

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZTXvsrzbSQ

He forgot to say, "Hey, Bubba, hold my beer ...."

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Here are some tips:
http://home.usmo.com/~rfwoodworking/jointer.html
http://www.newwoodworker.com/jntrprobfxs.html

 

[Alan Jurgens]

Thanks to all who responded to my inquiry. I apologize for my late response, as I have been out of town for several weeks. All of your suggestions are great and it has caused me to reconsider keeping these machines. I have heard from other experienced woodworkers that they don't make them "like they used to", even from a woodworkers retail equipment store.

I admit they hold a sentimental value for me and to see them fully operational would be great.