# Bridgewood planer



## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

Recently I purchased a used 20 inch planer. It seems to work well except that it leaves "dips" in the wood at times. The dips look like little ripples that require much sanding to remove. I tried to reset the knives with magnetic tools that came with the machine no luck. Can this be fixed and how can it be corrected. If someone has advice it would be greatly appreciated.
thanks


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

When you say "leaves "dips" in the wood at times" I assume that you mean that this does not occur on every piece of wood planned. I also assume that these are not the typical "snipe" often/usually found at the beginning and end of a piece of wood.

Do you have any way of checking the bearings at the end of the shaft. The most probable cause that I can think of is "slop" in the shaft that holds the blades. 

George


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

washboarding can sometimes be caused by feed speed; have you tried slowing down slightly? Does it happen on all woods or just the softer ones?


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

GeorgeC said:


> When you say "leaves "dips" in the wood at times" I assume that you mean that this does not occur on every piece of wood planned. I also assume that these are not the typical "snipe" often/usually found at the beginning and end of a piece of wood.
> 
> Do you have any way of checking the bearings at the end of the shaft. The most probable cause that I can think of is "slop" in the shaft that holds the blades.
> 
> George


 OK, I will try to check that.
Thank you


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

It has 2 speeds and is set on the slow speed. Can happen on any wood - have used it on oaks and poplar.


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## Julian the woodnut (Nov 5, 2008)

I wonder if it has to do with the infeed outfeed rollers not being set properly, or the main bearings being a bit sloppy?


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

Julian the woodnut said:


> I wonder if it has to do with the infeed outfeed rollers not being set properly, or the main bearings being a bit sloppy?


There was no book with it. I do not know how to set the feed rollers. Is that a difficult task.


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## Old Skhool (Oct 31, 2009)

Would it be possible to post a picture of the mill marks, so that we can see what you are talking about? I'll be glad to help if I can, but need more information. Are the marks very regular in nature when planing oak? Poplar is a much softer wood and the marks may not be as readily apparent, because the surface of the wood doesn't have as much of a sheen, and mill marks may not be as "visiible" under certain lighting conditions as well as the fact that you may be fooled as they will sand out much easier. In addition, even with sharp blades there is a hammering effect going on. The knives hit the board with enough force to compress the fibers as well as remove material, until the next blade hits and does the same thing. In the process you get this "glazed", "unglazed" pattern, especially on hardwoods like oak, but are often not as noticible on softer woods like poplar, as the poplar tends to spring back somewhat and the knife does less hammering as the softer wood is more easily cut. You can hear the process going on, and that's one of the reasons softer woods make less noise when planing them. Staining is also very revealing, as the marks can be missed by the eye until you stain the board and the work hardening is readily seen.... I could go on, but it is unecessary because what we really need is some good pictures, or a very good description of the marks, otherewise we don't know where to begin and could write pages, sending you on one wild goose chase after another. I have a gut feeling, and a couple of ideas, but need you to do the following first. Trim up 3 pieces of of oak scap to about 15"x3"x3/4" approximate dimensions. To reference the cutterhead, send all 3 pieces through the left side of the planer at a very light cut. Send each piece separately, and don't touch the piece until it is completely clear. (no lifting on the end to reduce snipe) Once you have all 3 pieces the same thickness, take note of the surface for any marks. Now take a 1/16 cut on one of the pieces with the table or cutterhead locked,and take notes or pictures, and report back to us. (Leave the planer locked and the other 2 pieces uncut)


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

OK, I tried the three pieces. There is very little difference between the boards. I used dry red oak. I can see the light marks from the knives but did not get washboarding this time. 
I checked some previously planed boards and the washboarding is not consistent. It will be on part of the board and not on other parts. Hope this helps to trouble shoot.
thanks


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## Old Skhool (Oct 31, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> OK, I tried the three pieces. There is very little difference between the boards. I used dry red oak. I can see the light marks from the knives but did not get washboarding this time.
> I checked some previously planed boards and the washboarding is not consistent. It will be on part of the board and not on other parts. Hope this helps to trouble shoot.
> thanks


 
It's getting late, i'll get back with you tomorrow.:smile:


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

Old Skhool said:


> Would it be possible to post a picture of the mill marks, so that we can see what you are talking about? I'll be glad to help if I can, but need more information. Are the marks very regular in nature when planing oak? Poplar is a much softer wood and the marks may not be as readily apparent, because the surface of the wood doesn't have as much of a sheen, and mill marks may not be as "visiible" under certain lighting conditions as well as the fact that you may be fooled as they will sand out much easier. In addition, even with sharp blades there is a hammering effect going on. The knives hit the board with enough force to compress the fibers as well as remove material, until the next blade hits and does the same thing. In the process you get this "glazed", "unglazed" pattern, especially on hardwoods like oak, but are often not as noticible on softer woods like poplar, as the poplar tends to spring back somewhat and the knife does less hammering as the softer wood is more easily cut. You can hear the process going on, and that's one of the reasons softer woods make less noise when planing them. Staining is also very revealing, as the marks can be missed by the eye until you stain the board and the work hardening is readily seen.... I could go on, but it is unecessary because what we really need is some good pictures, or a very good description of the marks, otherewise we don't know where to begin and could write pages, sending you on one wild goose chase after another. I have a gut feeling, and a couple of ideas, but need you to do the following first. Trim up 3 pieces of of oak scap to about 15"x3"x3/4" approximate dimensions. To reference the cutterhead, send all 3 pieces through the left side of the planer at a very light cut. Send each piece separately, and don't touch the piece until it is completely clear. (no lifting on the end to reduce snipe) Once you have all 3 pieces the same thickness, take note of the surface for any marks. Now take a 1/16 cut on one of the pieces with the table or cutterhead locked,and take notes or pictures, and report back to us. (Leave the planer locked and the other 2 pieces uncut)


I did some checking today. The bearings on the drive and outfeed rollers have slight play - maybe about 1/32 inch. Is that cause for this problem? I could not detect any play in the cutterhead shaft bearing. A 10 inch wide piece of red oak showed washboarding on the left side and not on the right no matter where it was placed on the table to enter the planer.
thanks again


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## Old Skhool (Oct 31, 2009)

*I'll beglad to help walk you through the adjustments*



[email protected] said:


> I did some checking today. The bearings on the drive and outfeed rollers have slight play - maybe about 1/32 inch. Is that cause for this problem? I could not detect any play in the cutterhead shaft bearing. A 10 inch wide piece of red oak showed washboarding on the left side and not on the right no matter where it was placed on the table to enter the planer.
> thanks again


Sorry, busy day. The most likely problem is the pressure bar, or the knives. What I was wanting you to do was plane all 3 boards to the same thickness by running them through the same section (left) side of the planer to get each board exactly the same thickness. Next, turn the hand wheel 1 turn and send one board through and check the cut and mark (left) on the underneath side. Next with the table still locked and set from the 1st cut, run the next board through the center, and label it center on the bottom. Finally do the same thing with the last board and mark it as before.

What we are trying to find out is cutterhead/table parallelism. All other adjustements are made after this relationship is established and corrected as needed. (kind of like pouring the foundation or building the stem walls, if the foundation is out of square, or level it will haunt you all the way through the build)

Ok, so now you've run all three, check to see that all 3 of the boards are the same thickness, also check to see if a certain portion of the planer is cutting better, or are all of the cuts equal in quality. (Use calipers, micrometer, or simply lay 2 boards on a *flat* surface, and feel for a difference in thickness.) Also chech for taper across the width, either by caliper/micrometer, or simply turn one board end for end and run your finger over them.

Now you've established whether the knives on the cutterhead are parallel to the table. If not, the next step is to establish whether the cutterhead itself is parallel to the table. 

After we confirm that the knives are parallel to the table, we can then adjust the pressure bar that is just behind the cutter on the outfeed side. If your ready, I'll explain how to make a gauge block (easy) and set the pressure bar.

We need to go step by step, because the presure bar and other adjustments are made from the bottom arc of the knives. Change the knife height, and we have to start all over.

Let me know, and I'll be glad to help and get it running properly. BTW I don't think the in/out rolls are causing the problem, possible, but it's usually the knives and pressure bar that are the culprits. (The job of the pressure bar is to tightly hold the stock against the table and is directly behind the cutterhead. With the pressure bar adjusted properly, the stock has little chance to chatter, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.):smile:


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

OK, I tried the "three board" test again. The boards get thicker as they move from left to right. Laying the boards side by side there is a noticable difference in thickness -noticable to the touch. How much difference? Several thousands of an inch. The ridge can be felt with the hand. So, apparently the cutter head is not parallel to the table, is that correct. I then took the "right" board and ran it thfough the left side of the planer and it reduced it to the same thickness ad the "left" board and not difference could be felt - they seemed to be the same thickness. - hope this helps
thanks for your help, I am beginning to understand planers


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## Old Skhool (Oct 31, 2009)

Make a square block about 6". Be sure the sides are as straight&parallel as you can get them. You may want to use a at the end crosscut sled or miter saw to ensure the end grain cuts are perfectly parallel. Be sure there is no sawdust on the fence, and do not flip the board on the second cut. You are going to make a guage block to check the cutterhead (not knives at this point) and table parallelism. With the block standing one one of the end grain cut, mark the tops (end grain) center point. Now measure each way 1" and make a mark. Cut the top 2 corners at a 45 degree angle, leaving a flat spot of uncut endgrain that is about 2" long. The block should now roughly resemble the gable end of a house, with a 2" flat spot where the peak should be. (Boy, I really need to download sketch-up) Last step is to provide clearance for the bed roller for other adjustments. Simply cut a somewhat flat arc on the bottom side end grain to make 2 little legs that the block stands on. These 2 flat spots the block sits on should be about an 1" to 1 1/2 wide for each leg.
Now your done! The block should look like the gable end of a house with the peak sawn off parallel to the ground, and the bottom with an arch cut out with the house standing on 2 flat legs. (I must stop procrasinating downloading sketch up. ha,ha)

Now lower your planer table down a little more than 6". (turn off the breaker, if not hardwired, unplug) Slide the gauge block under the cutterhead and rotate the cutter so the block will contact the head, not the knives. Now slowly raise the table until you get a light contact with the head. If you come up too tight, back down 2 turns and sneak up on it again until you get light contact. Almost all larger machines have a lot of play even when new, and the adjustment always needs to go up or against gravity. Now you have a feeler gauge and can determine if the cutterhead is parallel to the table. Try the gauge block in several spots along the cutterhead. Now you know whether the head is parallel, and if the table needs adjustment. Next step is to check knife height by turning the cutterhead backward so each knife barely touches each blade. But you need to establish and correct table parallelism first. Let me know, dinnertime!


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

Old Skhool said:


> Make a square block about 6". Be sure the sides are as straight&parallel as you can get them. You may want to use a at the end crosscut sled or miter saw to ensure the end grain cuts are perfectly parallel. Be sure there is no sawdust on the fence, and do not flip the board on the second cut. You are going to make a guage block to check the cutterhead (not knives at this point) and table parallelism. With the block standing one one of the end grain cut, mark the tops (end grain) center point. Now measure each way 1" and make a mark. Cut the top 2 corners at a 45 degree angle, leaving a flat spot of uncut endgrain that is about 2" long. The block should now roughly resemble the gable end of a house, with a 2" flat spot where the peak should be. (Boy, I really need to download sketch-up) Last step is to provide clearance for the bed roller for other adjustments. Simply cut a somewhat flat arc on the bottom side end grain to make 2 little legs that the block stands on. These 2 flat spots the block sits on should be about an 1" to 1 1/2 wide for each leg.
> Now your done! The block should look like the gable end of a house with the peak sawn off parallel to the ground, and the bottom with an arch cut out with the house standing on 2 flat legs. (I must stop procrasinating downloading sketch up. ha,ha)
> 
> Now lower your planer table down a little more than 6". (turn off the breaker, if not hardwired, unplug) Slide the gauge block under the cutterhead and rotate the cutter so the block will contact the head, not the knives. Now slowly raise the table until you get a light contact with the head. If you come up too tight, back down 2 turns and sneak up on it again until you get light contact. Almost all larger machines have a lot of play even when new, and the adjustment always needs to go up or against gravity. Now you have a feeler gauge and can determine if the cutterhead is parallel to the table. Try the gauge block in several spots along the cutterhead. Now you know whether the head is parallel, and if the table needs adjustment. Next step is to check knife height by turning the cutterhead backward so each knife barely touches each blade. But you need to establish and correct table parallelism first. Let me know, dinnertime!


OK, I made the block and tried to follow your directions. It would appear that the cutterhead and table are parllel. 

Proceeding further - your statement, "turning the cutterhead backward so each knife barely touches each blade". What do you mean by that?

What I did do is turn the cutter head backward and discovered that the blades do not all contact the block evenly. this is a bit of a puzzle because I used a magnetic device to set the blades in the cutterhead and then redid all of them again to be sure they were correct.

Thanks for your help


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## Old Skhool (Oct 31, 2009)

You've got a piece of the puzzle. Knife heights can be difficult to set, which means your pressure bar is probably off too, meaning the stock can chatter.... The best solution is to set up a dial indicator, along with your knife setting gauge. (A dial indicator and the gauge block are all I ever needed to set up the planer, btw save your gauge block, if it ever needs touching up, use the table saw and the rip fence, and shave a few thou off to true up the end grain, that will insure the top and bottom are perfectly parallel.)

An inexpensive dial indicator can be found for $35-40 and will work fine. From the top, attach the D.I. by clamping or using a magnetic base. Harbor freight, sears,...seem to work fine. Roll the cutter backwards so the bevel touches first, then at the high point turn the outside of the indicator to read "0". Then continue to roll and check each blade height. Use your knife gauge and a piece of hardwood (end grain) to tap the blade down to zero. It is usually easier to tap down then tighten. The blade will often move slightly as you tighten it, so have enough tension on the screws to try to minimize this. Using the dial indicator simplifies getting the knife cutterhead parallel. This can be trying, because you'll find that as you tap on one side, the other side moves. Patience is key. (With the dial indicator you can also check the height of the blade above the cutterhead.)

I usually start at one end either left or right, and try to get each blade within a thou or 2. Then tighten and check the end screw firm, almost tight. Recheck, and reset a necessary. the rest of the screws are just lightly snugged at this point. I then go to the other end of the blade and reference the same height of the knives in reference to the side you just finished. Adjust the first knife and zero, tighten, then proceed to the other knives repeating the process. Finally go back to the original side after tightening everthing, and recheck, and hopefully your done. (if you tap a blade too low you can often get a small screwdriver under the blade at the end of the cutter and lift it slightly high(right on if you want to try) and tap back into position.

I know this is tedious, but it is the best way, unless there are screw jacks for the blades. If you can get everything within 2 thou, your planer will run well. The first time I did this, it took me about 2 hours. After a couple of times, it was a 15-20 job. same with jointer. Every thing else is easy. BTW, The first couple of times I did this, I just used my Gauge block on the planer table, and very slowly raised the bed until one knife just barely touched rotating in reverse, sot it wouldn't bite into my gauge block, then locked the table. Now I pulled the gauge block out and set it aside. I rotated the knife to the top (or wherever you can clamp), marked the blade, and clamped a piece of hardwood and adjusted it until it just rubbed the high blade. Rotating the blades backward, I would adjust the next knife until it slightly rubbed..., then went to the other side using my gauge block to represent the cutter arc, I would check to see if any blades would contact, then adjust one blade until I had a slight rub, and marked the blade and repeated the process as I did the other side, then recheack. Using this method it's okay to have a slightly different rub on each blade, but you shouldn't feel much resistance on a paticular blade. It is easy to tell if they are very far off. The rest of the adjustments on the planer (Pressure bar, table rolls...) are just a couple minutes each. Patience, and good luck.


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2009)

OK, That seems like it will work. How do I set the pressure bar?
Thanks for all your help


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## Old Skhool (Oct 31, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> OK, That seems like it will work. How do I set the pressure bar?
> Thanks for all your help


No problem, came across a diagram (of a different planer) but should help. You'll use your gauge block to set the height of the pressure bar. It's immediately behind the cutterhead (outfeed side). The block should slide under with a with a definite drag, but should slide back and forth without any real force. Check both sides to get the same feel. If one side is slightly too tight, the board will turn slightly as it exits. In that case you would slighty tighten the the opposite side. 

There should be 2 adjustment screws, 1 on each side, and probably a spring underneath, and possibly a locknut. Find the pressure bar and make the adjustments. (Remember the bottom of the pressure bar is the same as the bottom of the arc of the blades) 

I would take a block of wood with some wet and dry sandpaper (400 or finer) and clean the bottom of the pressure bar using very light oil/wd40 as a lubricant before making the adjustment outlined above. (Don't spend more than a couple of minutes) Be sure to not change the table height, and use some thin ccardboard so you don't cut yourself.

I'll check back later tonight, or in the AM and see if I can find and post the diagram, and see how it's going. 

If you get the 2 adjustments done, you should be ready for a trial cut. Good luck.:thumbsup:


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## PAdaytonaman (Dec 21, 2009)

wash boarding is caused by knives not set evenly. 

Go back and set each knife .065 above the locking bar as a start. Then use a dial indicator or knife setting gauge to make sure all knives are parallel all the way across the head. 

When you get this done properly, you can then go ahead and start setting up the rest of the machine. 


If you don't have a dial indicator that can straddle the knives in the cutterhead, then cut a block of wood or cut a PVC pipe in half.. 2" sched 40 is ideal. Drill a hole in center of the cut pipe and stick a dowel with a stop on it and then epoxy it in place. 

This will then be your reference gauge to make sure that the knives are all the same height across the head. Like I said if you don't have a dial indicator, You'll need to use feeler gauges under the dowel. 

That should cure your washboarding. You then need to set up the rest of the machine off of the parallel knives. Infeed roller, outfeed roller, pressure bar and chip breakers(not as critical) 

Also check bed parallelism to the cutter head. Fun huh

Also, the pressure bar is a wear item and needs to be checked for dishing. If its dished, you need to remove it and sand it until its flat on an edge sander.


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