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sean_in_limerick

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Hi Guys, i have a recurring problem with my planer!

It is a record pt260 (it looked good in the shop!), and it has given me nothing but pain!. I have read everything on how the infeed/outfeed tables need to be parallel, and how the blade height relative to the outfeed table is critical. But no matter how many hours i spend with a straight edge - i cannot get the tables exactly parallel, there just isn't enough play in the adustments of the outfeed table (a grub screw is about it). Consequently i cannot accuratly edge joint timber to make wide panels - there is always an irritating gap at one end. How do you guys adjust your tables and what are the most critical adjustments. Sorry to whine a little...

Sean :cry:
 
Hello Sean

I had a planer/joiner that had the same problem. The out feed table dipped down at the outward end. I took a coke can and made me some shims. I loosen the gib screw on the dove tail and inserted the shim on the lower end on both sides and then tightened the gib screw. If your out feed table rises on the end instead of dipping, then insert shim in the upper part of the dove tail. You have to do this on the outfeed table as once you get it set, you don't have to move it again. This worked for me. You may have to play with shim thickness to get it correct.
Hope this helps :)

Travis
 
thanks Travis, i will try this - how do you tell if you are level enough? I have a 1m long straight edge, do i need to use a feeler guage or should sight be enough (this is how i have been trying to do it, looking for a gap between table/staight edge) - it's probably my technique that's at fault, i have limited knowledge of machine setups (but by-god i am learning the hard way!) :)
 
Sean

This is the way I do mine.
I get the out feed table level with the cutters. I do this by placing a stright edge on out feed table and overhanging the cutters. Raise the outfeed table until you can feel the cutter touching the stright edge. Then I place the stright edge half on out feed table and across the in feed table. Then I adjust the infeed table until I can place a coin (any coin will do) under the stright edge and on the infeed table. Move the coin along the infeed table making sure that it touches the same along the stright edge. Works for me.This works better if the stright edge is long enough to cover both the outfeed and infeed table, but will work if you get at least half of both tables. Turn the cutters away from the stright edge.

All this assumes that the table are flat and the stright edge is stright :D

Good luck
Travis
 
Hi Sean

I have same machine and had the same problems but unfortunately I'm at work for the next 10 days so I can't look at the machine to remember what I did.

Is the outboard end of the outfeed table too high or too low? I suspect it might be too high and you've backed off the grub screws and it's still too high?? If so, you might need to open out the holes in the bracket that bolts on to the side of the tables (that grub screw goes through) to get the end of the table lower. If the opposite then a longer grub screw should suffice but I'd be surprised if you need to jack it up that far.

IIRC I had a problem because the infeed table was skewing as I wound it in/out and leaving the tables out of alignment. The only way to cure it was to remove the roll pins that secure the guides on the incline. The locating holes seemed to have been drilled slightly out. Get everything moving properly and lined up and just secure the guides with the bolts.

I'm afraid I'm working from memory here (and that's not good!!) so apologies if it doesn't make much sense.

Also, I don't know what your tables are like individually but mine are cr*p and not flat at all (hollows in them) so make sure that you aren't just sticking feelers into a hole in the table if you are using a shortish straight edge. A long spirit level or similar should tell you if the tables are generally in the same plane and you can ignore cracks of daylight here and there under it.

Unfortunately everything is a bit of a compromise with this level of machine but mine works OK now (I finish with handplanes so it's only doing donkey work).

Oh, and the rise/fall handle on the infeed table disintegrated on mine. I turned a wooden one.

Best of luck mate! :D
 
Another thought just dragged it's way screaming and kicking to the forefront of my brain (which is untidier than my workshop!):

Put your straight edge across the cutter block ends of the tables (over the slots). Mine were like a ploughed field! Make sure none are bent and get rid of any machining or casting rags left on the ends. I had to take a few passes with a large flat file to get these ends of the tables straight and level.

It takes off the non-stick surface in places but thats no loss - it looks like teflon that was sprayed on in a sawmill anyway (if it's anything like my one!).

FWIW if I'm jointing edges square to a planed face I have resorted to trial and error. My fence is in wind so 90 degrees on the in-feed end isn't on the outfeed and vice-versa so I get it as square as possible with an engineer's square, make a test pass and adjust until the timber comes off with a 90 deg corner.

Also, you might find that some sort of low-grab thread locking compound on the outfeed table grub screws might stop them moving when you move the table on and off for thicknessing. Mine are a slack fit in the bracket threads
 
Thanks everyone, i wasted another day at it today, i have a 1m long straight edge and no matter how much i adjust things i can still see lots of daylight under it, particularly near the cutter on the infeed table. I will take all of the above on board and persevere, but i think that maybe it's just a cr*p design - i have noticed the play in the infeed table Scott and will try your idea to fix this. I will also check the tables for flatness, (something that i actually havn't considered, like an silly person i presumed they would be fine). I tried the thicknessing operation once and gave it up as a joke, the snipe was horrendous, again, regardless of adjustements. I would love to sell it now and start again, but that's not an option (weep). So any further ideas would be welcome!

I have had some success with getting boards relatively flat, the problems have only re-surfaced when i tried to edge-joint boards for gluing up into wide panels, where any problems are immediately obvious. I am relatively new to woodwork (couple of years with a new-born in the house!) and i don't have the necessary skills to plane boards with any accuracy (working on this), so i need to get this machine working.

Thanks for reading any advice.
 
You said it looked good in the shop, if it is still under warranty have you tried going back to the shop you may have a rogue machine.

Les
 
sean_in_limerick":skxz6m1l said:
i can still see lots of daylight under it, particularly near the cutter on the infeed table.

Aha! :idea: That sounds like the outer end of the outfeed table is too high (same as mine was). Back off the grub screws. You might find they'll be right out. Then see if the tables are parallel (with even gap under the infeed end of the straight edge all the way along and the outfeed end of the straight edge lying flat on the outfeed table). If that isn't enough adjustment try slackening off the bolts that hold the bracket on to the side of the outfeed table, push down on the outboard end and then re-tighten with weight on the outer end. Failing that you may need to think about elongating holes as I mentioned above (I didn't have to do this so please check for yourself before doing it in case my memory of the design is wrong!)

Ignore that depth cutting scale. It's only a sticky label and it'll be in the wrong place. You should be able to wind the infeed table up past the zero on the label and get both tables touching the underside of the straight edge all the way along (with allowances for hollows in tables etc :roll: )

I did that and then just marked the real zero position with a scriber

I assume you have the outfeed table tightly locked down when checking the tables? :oops: Sorry, but I thought I'd better ask :oops:

Apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs etc. It's rather frustrating because I'm sure I could help you sort your machine out but it's a wee bit difficult to pop round :) Anyway, I'm pretty sure you should be able to get it fixed up so that it's usable.
 
Thanks Scott, i will try this tonight and see how it goes. I think my problems stem from the difficulty in actually making the adjustements - i will also take a picture or two to refresh your memory!

Thanks again,

Sean
 
Hi Guys, finally i made a bit of progress - as Scott suggested i checked the tables for flatness - i found that the infeed table has a dent on one edge of the cutter end of it, causing it to dip into the blades - you can actually see it easilly by eye once you know it's there. I will send the tables back and have then sorted out. In the meantime i need to get some oak planed so i have set it up as best i can. I also found that the fence was very difficult to get square, and this was causing some of the gaps seen when i try to joint boards together to make a wide panel. I found it nearly impossible to get the table square, record really should look at how these things are adjusted. I turned each mating edge oppositely on the to the fence (one side in to the fence and one side out facing away from the fence) and this has made the joints look a lot better.
Thanks for everybody's advice and tips - i think next year if i can pursuade my good wife, i shall buy the 150mm, jet planer - and try and sell the p/t from record - i honestly think it's useless - though my lack of experience with maching probably doesn't help.

Sean
 
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