I was prepared to spend my maximum I could spend in good conscience on a Grizzly planer. Then the tariff hit and the price jumped on a machine they did not even have. I was out. Then some sold me a brand X planer for next to nothing. They even had a set of fresh knives and the little jig you set them. So I went to work on it and cleaned and oiled and waxed. I even made a platen that passes all the way through and compensates for the in feed and out feed rollers. Now I realize the little piece in the center that prevents feeding something way to thick is very nearly at the cut level of the knives. That is, I can only take about a 1/32" cut.
This is one of the four post planers and very similar to a Grizzly. 15" wide.
I am thinking the only fix for this is to reset the knives so they project out another 1/16". I wonder if there is any mechanism to lower the cutter head in relation to the entrance?
I actually watched that video when I got the machine. Mine is a Reliant. I think they are out of business, so I watched the Grizzly video. Thanks for the reminder. I had gone back to the site but had forgotten that video.
I will go through the set up again tomorrow. The planer is in a spot that makes working on it tough. And I would rather work with my tools than work on them.
One thing I am going to check is if the infeed rollers are holding the platten I made up too high on the infeed end. That may be what is causing the board to scrub on the depth limiter tab.
The best video on plane knife setup that I know of is by Bob Vaughan. It's old but very good at explaining how to setup planer and what all of the parts do.
I adjusted the in feed support roller that is about 12 inches in front of the planer. It was high, causing the platten I made to be raised about a 1/16". Lowered it and it seems all is well.
This machine had been run hard and put away wet. It seems I have adjusted everything I can think of and some I did not even know about. Thanks for the help.
Reliant was the house brand of Woodworkers Warehouse. Yes, they are out of business, but they were probably built in the same factory as JET and Grizzly, etc. So, if you ever find you need parts for it, get the owner's manual and parts diagram for a similar planer and see if there is an equivalent part for the other planer. If so, order it from the existing "manufacturer."
Another tip that MIGHT be helpful: My 15" PowerMatic planer is very similar in construction, and especially in the iron castings. Although the PM machines usually have a few "bells and whistles" (and mustard colored paint) beyond the less expensive brands, there are lots of things that are similar. The PM user's manual is also much more complete and clearly written. So, you should be able to download the PM manual off the web and use it "with a grain of salt." to tune up your machine.
I didn't google your machine, so didn't have the schematic in my head.
Now it sounds like you finally figured out the BED ROLLERS were too high. Is that what you are saying in case there are others that may be thinking that your talking about the top feed rollers.
Having them high will let you feed rough sawn lumber easier without getting hung up, but will produce a rougher cut as the bumps cross the bottom rollers. Contrary to that, having them set low allows the work to slide through straighter, but with more friction from the bed. Keep it waxed and it will work better.
This machine has a steel bottom/bed about 15" wide and 18" long with two bottom rollers built in. Instead of cast iron or steel in feed and out feed wings or tables it has a roller on each end mounted in a steel frame. Each roller is about ten inches beyond the entrance and exit of the planer and Support the wood as it enters and leaves the machine.
When I got the machine it was a ramshackle rust bucket.
I cleaned it up, oiled and adjusted everything I could think of, to the limit of my patience. One bed roller was stiff and too high, the other turned freely but was flopping around loose. I read up on the set up and watched the Grizzly video mentioned above. The knives were notched and dull, but the seller had given me a new set and the setting gauge, from Grizzly, and I used it to install the new knives. The machine is a Reliant, but they are out of business do I went with the Grizzly setup as the best thing available.
What I just did was lower the in feed exterior support roller. It was about a 1/8 to 3/16" high and was apparently causing the stock to scrape against the gauge tab that is designed to limit the thickness or depth of the cut. By lowering the roller until it was about level with the bed rollers it seems to have reduced the effect of plunging the stock into the machine at something of a downward angle.
Also, as part of this I made a platten, a plank 15" Wide with an aluminum angle on each side to serve as guides to keep the stock contained under the blades. It's covered with plastic laminate that is very smooth and its waxed with bowling alley wax. This eliminates the bed rollers but seems to work well. It means the bottom is a straight smooth slick single surface in stead of a roller, the bed, a roller, the bed, another roller, more bed, and another roller.
So, I have less than $200 in this machine and a day or two of fiddling. I looked at Grizzly again today and they have a 20" planer with a spiral head for close to $3000. I am guessing it would take some fiddling to get it set up and running properly and I would have to spend a hundred or so on wiring for it. And At almost a thousand pounds I just don't know....? Just not sure at my age it's worth 15 times what I have.
There are four rollers total. Two in the cast iron bed and two more, one on the in feed and one on the out feed.
The outer two are supported by steel that appears to be about two inches wide and a 1/4" thick. These frames are folded into the shape of a C or a three sided frame with the roller making the fourth side. The frame can be tilted up and down by tightening and loosening bolts and set screws. The bed rollers (I got that name by looking at a Grizzly diagram of a similar tool) are embedded in the cast iron bed. They break it into about thirds. I have set them to be a few thousandths above the bed.
The problem, apparently, was the in feed roller was set too high. I thought it was springy enough that the pressure rollers in the planer would press the stock down onto the bed. Turns out the in feed roller was strong enough to hold the board up and cause it to scrub on the bottom of the tab designed to limit the depth of the cut.
I have never liked the out feed and in feed rollers on the open frames. I would much rather have extended tables. Much easier to slide the stock in than trying to avoid dropping it through the hole left be the frame. Now that I think of it I wonder if I could get some Grizzly extension
That in feed roller on the open frame is sort of hateful to use. Rather than lay the board on a smooth in feed table and slide it in, you have to carefully stick it in the mouth of the planer and then lower it onto the roller. I like my platen. Mimics the longer bed planer. Costs me 3/4" on thickness and maybe a 1/4" on width, but If push comes to shove, it's just laying there and simple to remove, and I have never planed anything near the thickness capacity of the planer.
You can buy infeed and outfeed tables for those types of planers with 5 rollers each instead of cast iron tables. One of the Jet models is a case in point.
Ducking and running
I did once try to feed a DW 733 planer to full capacity with a 6x8 beam, and it was only Atlantic White Cedar. The job broke three drive sprockets.
I have visualized planing a very large beam. Seems like it would be better to somehow support the beam and feed the planer onto it and let it crawl along.
I did consider looking into buying extension tables for this thing. Also considered buying a spiral head. But I paid about a $100 for this and seemed foolish to spend what would have to be more than that on tables and the spiral head is close to a grand. I actually looked it up. Kind of like putting racing slicks on a car you pulled out of the junk yard.
With the new knives and my platen it is working very well. I have a Dual drum sander 20" wide if I get something too finicky to plane. I should be happy. I have avoided spending almost $3000 on a big Grizzly planer (so far). That's a saving of about $200 an hour. Maybe more. The contemplation of the big planer had me thinking of building a bigger shop. Think of the savings.
