Wadkin RB Surface Planer Restoration

[Andy RV]

You can't beat old English iron for value for money. I won this Wadkin RB surface planer on ebay for £55.00 last month.

This machine dates from 1937, I don't know when production started however the fence tells me this is one of the earlier machines. It will plane boards up to 9" in width. The segmented head allows moulding cutters to be fitted without disturbing the planing knives, the tables retract to give the required clearance when moulding cutters and allow quick access to the head.

The head is 5" in diameter with a skewed cut, the finish it leaves is impressive.

This catalogue scan from 1941 shows an updated model with a rack and pinon fence;









Here's the machine as it got it, it came with a single phase motor however I happened to have an original motor kicking around, while it looks rough, it was mechanically fine.





A blast with the pressure washer removed most of the poorly applied green paint and dust;



Everything was rubbed down and painted with machinery enamel, the type i'm using doesn't require a primer. Skip forward a couple of weeks and it's mostly painted and the head is back in. The bearings are Swedish made SKF 2306 double row self-aligning so are very likely to be replacements. The head was clocked up and with some 'encouraged' no movement was found so the bearings appeared to be in good condition.







The motor I'm using was originally 415v three phase, I wanted to run it using 240v single phase, to do this the star point is extracted from the motor windings and three additional wires are connected, this allows the motor to be run at 240v in delta configuration. The motor is controlled via a Bosch Rexroth digital inverter which is located in the machine base.



Finally the finished machine (well almost, I've fitted a brass cover for the controls since taking these pictures);







The shewed head makes some big shavings!



Cheers (hammer)

 

[MusicMan]

Very nice machine and work! What a beast!

Keith

 

[blackrodd]

An excellent restoration pretty quick too! A job well done and the paperwork with it.
Are you really going to use it and make it dusty?
Thanks for sharing, Rodders

 

[Andy RV]

Cheers guys.

Yes its been getting dusty!



And here is the matching saw, a Wadkin SNR;

 

[deema]

Both machines are a credit to your skill and dedication in restoring them, and look fantastic. Good for another 100 years at least I'm sure.

 

[RobinBHM]

A fantastic restoration project.

What is so great about Wadkin cast machines, particularly the simple ones is that there is little that can wear out, bearings and belt can be replaced, so now you have a top of the range machine, capable of working day in day out for years without losing accuracy.

Ive got an RZ surface planer, which has been in use daily in a busy joinery workshop for the last 15 years. The beds and fence never go out of calibration, infeed table winds up and down very smoothly. It is a testament to Wadkins level of iengineering

What is interesting is that you have 2 machines that are fairly compact and very usable in a home workshop.

These machines are a great part of our engineering and woodworking heritage, its great to see them being restored.

What is the grey colour you have used? -is it a RAL colour?

 

[Andy RV]

Thanks for the kind words Gents.

Yes Robin these are industrial quality machines in terms reliability, accuracy, longevity and fit and finish, yet still small enough to be utilized in the home workshop with only a single phase supply (with some fairly basic electrical modifications of course).

I think too many people put up with poor quality machinery when pursing wood working as a hobby. While i'm only a hobbyist I still demand that each cut is of the same quality as would be expected in a high end cabinetry shop, and with machines like this it is quite easily achievable.

The colour is RAL 7011, Iron Grey, in semi-gloss quick drying enamel from TA Paints LTD.

 

[Vann]

...This machine dates from 1937, I don't know when production started however the fence tells me this is one of the earlier machines...

I've just acquired an earlier one - no stand, shorter tables (3' 9") and a 1.5hp motor. It came from a railway workshop. I've been doing research by looking through old railway files. It turns out mine is one of 12 bought in the late 1920s. Tenders closed on 15th February 1926, so Wadkin must have sent their tender by the end of 1925 (mail to New Zealand took 6 weeks in those days). This means that the concept, if not actual production models, must have been in the Wadkin works in 1925. Included in the batch of 12 were RB 109, RB 113 and RB 116 (mine). It's now believed that Wadkin started their serial numbers at 105, which would make RB 109, RB 113 and RB 116 the 5th, 9th and 12th RBs made. I conclude that the RB must have gone into production in between 1925 and ~1928.

...I won this Wadkin RB surface planer on ebay for £55.00 last month...

The twelve Wadkin RBs cost £58 15s 6d each - so you paid nearly full price :mrgreen: .

My RB. It became surplus to requirements in 2013 and was initially stored indoors, but was moved outside "several" months ago. There's a bit of surface rust to remove :roll:

Cheers, Vann.