P/ t problem

[Joshjosh]

Hi I purchased a used kity p/t a few months ago but have only just got round to using it, this is the first p/t I’ve used so I’m trying to figure it out as I go. The problem I’m having is when using it as a thicknesser the timber doesn’t want to go through, it’s as it it’s hitting something and then won’t go any dither into the machine, if I lower the shelf it’ll feed through fine but as soon as I raise the shelf so that it starts planning the timber just seems to hit something and won’t go any further
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks josh

 

[heronviewer]

Are you trying to take too deep a cut ? Check the thickness of your wood and then set the thicknesser to take only one mm at a time and see if that works.

 

[no idea]

What planer thicknesser is it?

I had a similar problem when I bought my Jet and I found the following solves this problem:

1) Clean the bed thoroughly with white spirit or something similar and lubricate it with wax/PTFE/whatever you prefer
2) Lift the free end of the board slightly when inserting the other end into the thicknesser so that the board can get under the feed rollers. This should help raise the roller sufficiently that it will grab the board sufficiently to drive it through.

 

[Joshjosh]

Thanks for the reply
I sent a piece through fine (with no one planing) but then turned the handle less than quarter and the wood just wouldn’t go through

 

[Joshjosh]

What planer thicknesser is it?

I had a similar problem when I bought my Jet and I found the following solves this problem:

1) Clean the bed thoroughly with white spirit or something similar and lubricate it with wax/PTFE/whatever you prefer
2) Lift the free end of the board slightly when inserting the other end into the thicknesser so that the board can get under the feed rollers. This should help raise the roller sufficiently that it will grab the board sufficiently to drive it through.

It’s a kity
Thanks I’ll give it a go

 

[Mr T]

Is the machine making any noise when you insert the board. Sometimes the rollers just can't quite grab the board and make a "grinding" noise. Giving the board an extra shove can get them to grip. and take the board through.

Chris

 

[woodywoodwood]

Is it working well in jointer (planer) mode?

 

[Hot stuff]

I have a 636 which has just started doing this, I was going to investigate this weekend but didn't have time. Hopefully one of us will suss it out.
Cleaning the bed was going to be my first experiment as it's been lying unused for a while now and there's a bit of rust on the steel plate.
Race you to see who works it out first.

 

[memzey]

Cleaning and waxing the bed is an important part of keeping these machines in good order. The beds don’t need a full wax polish like a dining table either - a good squiggle with a candle stick works very well. Other than that I’d check to ensure that you aren’t trying to take too much off.

Actually there might be one other thing: I don’t have experience of this particular machine but some of these do have integral extraction hoods which need to be altered when going from planing to thicknessing. I’m probably stating the obvious but just make sure it’s set up correctly for what you are doing.

 

[Hot stuff]

No, it's not set up. If Josh's machine is the same as mine it's pretty rudimentary compared to the newer ones. No micro switches operated by the hoods or anything fancy like that. Mine was working when I put it away and isn't now which is why I suspected the corroded bed thing.
The feed rollers turn when switched on, surface planes ok but as soon as you try to thickness anything it feelds in so far then stops dead.
I'll get a look during the week and report back.

 

[Hot stuff]

Did I you get your problem sorted? The out feed roller on mine needed adjustment, couple of quarter turns of the relevant nuts (anti clockwise) freed everything off then using a narrow bit of stock I gradually brought them back up going from side to side until I had an even feed rate across the width of the machine.
I cleaned and waxed the table as well and it's going like a new one now.

 

[Joshjosh]

Did I you get your problem sorted? The out feed roller on mine needed adjustment, couple of quarter turns of the relevant nuts (anti clockwise) freed everything off then using a narrow bit of stock I gradually brought them back up going from side to side until I had an even feed rate across the width of the machine.
I cleaned and waxed the table as well and it's going like a new one now.

Nice one , no I’ve not had chance to get over to the workshop yet, thanks for the advise I’ll give that a go
Where are the relevant nuts located? Inside the planer?

 

[Hot stuff]

If you look under the rollers, where you feed the wood through to thickness it, you'll see four spring loaded nuts on threaded adjuster rods, two for the infeed and two for the outfeed.
Do one roller at a time, count the turns you do and then you can always put it back to where you were. It's easy to just start adjusting and lose the place then you might end up worse off.
As a last resort you can read the instructions, but we all know that's just wrong.

 

[custard]

Long shot one.

Many thicknessers have segmented anti kick back teeth which the workpiece should push up as it rides through, these can jam because of light surface corrosion if the planer isn't used enough. If they do jam then it fits with the symptoms you describe. Check they swing freely and if not a squirt of lubricant should free it all up and get you working again.

Long shot two.

You are engaging the feed rollers aren't you? Many thicknessers have a separate process for engaging the feed rollers, especially if it's a multi speed machine.

 

[jnw010]

Post a pic of the machine.
My Kity has a lever to engage the drive rollers, check it's engaging properly and that the belts aren't slipping under load.

 

[Tasky]

Only used one such machine my own self, but the owner took great pains to point out to me that grain direction was very important - On his machine you fed into the thicknesser with the grain the opposite way round to how you'd plane it.

Probably nothing, but might be worth ruling out?

 

[Joshjosh]

Hi guys thanks a lot for all your suggestions, had a look at it today, cleaned the bed and gave it some wd40 , my model does have a lever to engage the rollers which was slipping out of engagement , so I’ve got the p/t working I might look at fixing the lever soon but happy at the moment that I’ve got it working
Thanks again for all your help