Delta #22-560 12-1/2" Portable Planer Question (Gouging With New Knives Installed)

[ShawnP1969]

I have a Delta #22-560 12-1/2" Portable Planer that I purchased back in 2000. I haven't been active in 7 years, at while using it today I noticed it was badly gouging the faces of ten 3/4"x8"x8' select pine boards that I was planing down to 11/16" thick.

The knives are OEM and double sided, so I switched them around, and at first the planer seemed to be performing beautifully. Then I took a break, and when I went back out to continue, I noticed the new knives were gouging the face of the wood just like they were before I rotated the blades around to the new cutting edge.

Any ideas what's happening?

Thanks, Shawn.

[Tom King]

Can you take a picture?  Is this over the whole board surface, or just at the end?

[ShawnP1969]

Give me a minute or so and I'll go take a picture of it.

This is a super-macro image from my digital camera, hope it shows what I'm trying to describe.

[Tpt life]

It looks like chips are not clearing. 

[ShawnP1969]

C Shaffer, I had considered that, too. But it was getting very dusty and I put on a facemask so I couldn't keep blowing it out. And I had wondering if I'm just planing too thin - which may be contributing to chips not clearing well.

[Chet]

Carus, it is had to tell but could that also be from going against the grain.

[ShawnP1969]

Just now, Chet K. said:

Carus, it is had to tell but could that also be from going against the grain.

Maybe, it started happening all at once, and I had been flipping all the boards around from end to end and it still kept doing it.

[mat60]

The lines look like nicked blades..Are you shore the new blade edj was never used before?

[Tom King]

The line is from planing a grit on a board, and all the knives have the same knick.  I'm not sure if you can offset one knife on that planer or not.  I have the first version of that planer, but it's been so long since I've used it that I don't remember the inside details.

The texture on the surface is from chips getting thrown on the board, and being pressed into it by the outfeed roller.  There might be something missing, or out of place that should direct the chips up and over the outfeed rollers.  They are not from the knives.

[ShawnP1969]

18 minutes ago, mat60 said:

The lines look like nicked blades..Are you shore the new blade edj was never used before?

The first edge of the blades being used weren't nicked. They actually looked very straight and true and sharp. Same after flipping them around.

6 minutes ago, Tom King said:

The line is from planing a grit on a board, and all the knives have the same knick.  I'm not sure if you can offset one knife on that planer or not.  I have the first version of that planer, but it's been so long since I've used it that I don't remember the inside details.

The texture on the surface is from chips getting thrown on the board, and being pressed into it by the outfeed roller.  There might be something missing, or out of place that should direct the chips up and over the outfeed rollers.  They are not from the knives.

The knives have small alignment holes in them to fit into the planer where they're held. I'm starting to kick myself regarding the wood chips though. I have a compressor for my Brad Nailer and I do have a plain blower attachment I could have hooked up to easily blow out after each board was run through. I'll have to keep that one in mind, thanks.

But one thing that's puzzling me is that I noticed the boards weren't planing to the exact same thickness across the blade. Somehow the blades aren't lined up properly, but like I mentioned, they have alignment holes in them so you can't really manually adjust them. Not sure what to make of that.

I thought about just getting a newer planer, but I haven't researched any options yet. There's a Lowe's nearby, and I believe they carry DeWalt planers there. Anyone have any experiences with these to share; pros and cons?

Thanks for your feedback Tom!

[Tom King]

I think there is some adjustment for the table on each side for height under the cutter head.  I'm sure I've never adjusted mine though.  I don't remember the knives in mine having those holes, but I do have a little magnetic spider that holds them in exactly the right position to tighten the gibs.

It's not the chips left on the table, but chips getting thrown over the cutterhead, landing on the board, and going under the outfeed pressure roller.  My old one clears the chips just fine.  I've never had it hooked up to any kind of dust control.  We only use it outside, and just let the chips pile up.  It shoots the chips out of the back pretty good, although most land on the board, but the helper on the outfeed end just tilts the board and lets them drop off.

By the way, welcome to these forums.  It's a pretty nice bunch of members on this one.

[ShawnP1969]

1 minute ago, Tom King said:

I think there is some adjustment for the table on each side for height under the cutter head.  I'm sure I've never adjusted mine though.  I don't remember the knives in mine having those holes, but I do have a little magnetic spider that holds them in exactly the right position to tighten the gibs.

It's not the chips left on the table, but chips getting thrown over the cutterhead, landing on the board, and going under the outfeed pressure roller.  My old one clears the chips just fine.  I've never had it hooked up to any kind of dust control.  We only use it outside, and just let the chips pile up.  It shoots the chips out of the back pretty good, although most land on the board, but the helper on the outfeed end just tilts the board and lets them drop off.

By the way, welcome to these forums.  It's a pretty nice bunch of members on this one.

Thanks Tom

[Chet]

If you are going to start looking for a new planer a large number of people here will tell you to look no further then the Dewalt 735.  Myself included, I have been super happy with mine.  I guarantee you won't have a chip clearing problem with the 735

[ShawnP1969]

35 minutes ago, Chet K. said:

If you are going to start looking for a new planer a large number of people here will tell you to look no further then the Dewalt 735.  Myself included, I have been super happy with mine.  I guarantee you won't have a chip clearing problem with the 735

Thanks, Chet, I'll take a look at it.

[Coop]

And he said the735 and not the 734! World of difference on chip clearing.

[RichardA]

Yeah, the 735 throws the chips about 12 feet!   Proof is in the pic!

[Eric.]

Before you go out and buy a new planer, get a Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector and hook it up to the one you have and see if that resolves the "gouging" issue (which we have concluded isn't actually gouging but "denting" from unejected chips).  You're gonna need a DC no matter what anyway, and with a blade sharpening your issues could be behind you without dropping $600 on a new yellow banshee. 

[Tpt life]

I agree with Eric, but have a caveat. You just opened the machine and made changes. Open it back up and poke around. Verify everything is in working order. Chip ejection plus cheap collection is better than overcoming failed ejection with collection. 

[mat60]

Cooper is right about the dwalt 734. It is a must to have a dust collector on that..It was my first planer.

[gee-dub]

I think folks here have you on the right track.  If the gouges are ragged edged holes it would be tearout and a new planer is not necessarily going to do anything about that.  If they are more soft depressions (and without a DC I'll bet they are) they would be from spoil getting pressed into the soft surface by the rollers.  Again, a new planer will not solve this.

If there is not duct on the planer and you have no collection method (vac or DC), set up a blower to move air through the planer.  You want to pick up the spoil while it is air borne via a DC.  If that is not available you want the spoil to exit the machine and not land on the surface just planed and about to get pressed by the outfeed roller.

Blow gun held open from an adequate compressor, shop vac reversed as a blower, really strong fan, something to move tha spoil before it can get pressed into the new surface.

BTW, a damp cloth and a clothes iron will raise those depressions back out.  You can then lightly sand or handplane or use whatever method you normally use to prepare your final surface.

[ShawnP1969]

3 hours ago, Eric. said:

Before you go out and buy a new planer, get a Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector and hook it up to the one you have and see if that resolves the "gouging" issue (which we have concluded isn't actually gouging but "denting" from unejected chips).  You're gonna need a DC no matter what anyway, and with a blade sharpening your issues could be behind you without dropping $600 on a new yellow banshee. 

Do dust collectors adapt to planers fairly well or are there various attachments I need to find?

2 hours ago, C Shaffer said:

I agree with Eric, but have a caveat. You just opened the machine and made changes. Open it back up and poke around. Verify everything is in working order. Chip ejection plus cheap collection is better than overcoming failed ejection with collection. 

Yea, I've got to take it apart again anyways. Even though the blades have self-aligning guide holes that fit them into place, for some reason the planer isn't planing the same thickness evenly across the board width now.

11 minutes ago, gee-dub said:

I think folks here have you on the right track.  If the gouges are ragged edged holes it would be tearout and a new planer is not necessarily going to do anything about that.  If they are more soft depressions (and without a DC I'll bet they are) they would be from spoil getting pressed into the soft surface by the rollers.  Again, a new planer will not solve this.

If there is not duct on the planer and you have no collection method (vac or DC), set up a blower to move air through the planer.  You want to pick up the spoil while it is air borne via a DC.  If that is not available you want the spoil to exit the machine and not land on the surface just planed and about to get pressed by the outfeed roller.

Blow gun held open from an adequate compressor, shop vac reversed as a blower, really strong fan, something to move tha spoil before it can get pressed into the new surface.

BTW, a damp cloth and a clothes iron will raise those depressions back out.  You can then lightly sand or handplane or use whatever method you normally use to prepare your final surface.

The boards are already to the thickness I need, so I can't plane any further, so I'll surely give the damp cloth and clothes iron a try. Thanks

[ShawnP1969]

On 7/29/2016 at 11:05 AM, gee-dub said:

I think folks here have you on the right track.  If the gouges are ragged edged holes it would be tearout and a new planer is not necessarily going to do anything about that.  If they are more soft depressions (and without a DC I'll bet they are) they would be from spoil getting pressed into the soft surface by the rollers.  Again, a new planer will not solve this.

If there is not duct on the planer and you have no collection method (vac or DC), set up a blower to move air through the planer.  You want to pick up the spoil while it is air borne via a DC.  If that is not available you want the spoil to exit the machine and not land on the surface just planed and about to get pressed by the outfeed roller.

Blow gun held open from an adequate compressor, shop vac reversed as a blower, really strong fan, something to move tha spoil before it can get pressed into the new surface.

BTW, a damp cloth and a clothes iron will raise those depressions back out.  You can then lightly sand or handplane or use whatever method you normally use to prepare your final surface.

I did the Damp Cloth & Ironing thing a couple days ago, and then stacked them with spacers to let them dry till today. Then I ran some 100 and 150 grit sand paper over them, looking good as new! Thanks for this tip! This worked GREAT!

[Brendon_t]

On 7/29/2016 at 8:10 AM, ShawnP1969 said:

Do dust collectors adapt to planers fairly well or are there various attachments I need to find?

Lunchbox planers like that normally require a hood or cowl. You unscrew the existing election chute and this takes its place.  Hoods for older delta machines are becoming harder to find. There are a few models available on amazon,  I had to go through a parts house to get mine.