# Jet 15" Planer tune up questions



## Gravel7 (Mar 16, 2009)

Hello,
I was hoping I may be able to get a little advice on a planer I just picked up. Found a nice JWP-15CS planer, been sitting for years. Table has a lot of surface rust.
The first thing I was going to do was change the gear box oil. The manual calls for 50wt gear oil. Kind of tough to find. I have found, through searching various websites that 85/90WT is fine and one person even stated that the Jet service dept. told him this.
I hate to stray from the WT called out in the manual, but I can't even find 50wt, soooo.....What would you do?

What is the best lubricant to use on the 4 pillars, or whatever, that the table rides up/down on. I have to get some light rust off of these first. I didn't want to use grease thats just going to hold a ton of shavings.....Is there something that people normally use to lube these areas?

Any silver bullets out there for rust removal on the table?

Thanks for any help!!


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

I have the Delta. I don't lube those posts, though I have lubed the screws inside with white lithium grease. Don't forget the chains that tie those posts together. As for the gearbox, Delta had some recommendation that I tried to stick to, but lets be honest: these gear boxes just don't see the high use of an auto differential, or a planer in a commercial shop, or any thing else you could think of where gear mesh teeth. I would bet that almost every kind of gear oil made has been used in them, and with no problem. I wound up using 140 wt. Mobil 1 SHC 634 (I think it has some funky additive that Delta specs), but almost any HD gear oil at the local auto store wil do. If you box leaks (mine did) a thicker weight oil might help with that, or if the planer sits in an unheated barn and then gets used, a thinner one might be better. But don't fret too much over being exact with what you put in there...in this case it's just not that critical (IMHO). The rust on the tables may come off with just a scotch brite pad and some WD40.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

If you were using this planer 24/7 it might make a difference years down the road for oil weight......but like Fred said......the forces on the gears aren't anything like truck diffs.......you should have no problem with 90W.


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## Gravel7 (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks for the replies guys! 
I was thinking that (about the gear oil), but it seems that every time I make an assumption, I end up wrong.
This planer I picked up is mint! I'm really excited about it. Been wanting to upgrade to a 15" planer for a few years. I am going to give it a thorough "once over" before I use it.


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

Forgot to mention: ENJOY!


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## troyd1976 (Jul 26, 2011)

hey now..isnt there a rule around here when making a great find such as this you have to include pics? :laughing:


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## Gravel7 (Mar 16, 2009)

:laughing: Sounds like a good rule to me!
Pictures coming in a few hours. I've cleaned it up, looks great!!
Still have to get the rust off of the table though, hopefully get into that this weekend. This planer replaces my 12.5" Wilton that I got onsale at Rockler for $100. Pretty dramatic upgrade:thumbsup:


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## Gravel7 (Mar 16, 2009)

I tried to upload a couple pictures, but am having issues. For a jpeg it states the max size at 97kb or something???? My pictures are a little over 2meg each. My height and width also exceed the limits. When I get out of work I will spend a little time on it and see if I can figure this out.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

You do need to reduce the size. Your computer may have come with some software that can do this. What do you use to manage photos? If you taken them with a smart phone and use the WWT app you can attach them and they are reduced automatically.


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## Gravel7 (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks for the help Shopdad!
I just downloaded the IPhone App.....let's give it a try!


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

Really looks nice, good job cleaning it up!


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

By Jove I think you've got it! Nice machine. Once you have the bed cleaned up you can use Boeshield T-9 on both that and the columns to protect and lubricate.

To clean that much rust off the bed I go to power tools - specifically a random orbital sander. If it's not too bad you might be able to just use a scotchbrite pad. That looks a little heavy though so you could start with sandpaper, maybe 120-180 grit and work your way up to at least 220. Once done with the ROS I'll take a block at the same grit (220) and hand sand in the direction the wood will travel and work up to 400 grit. May be overkill but I've had good results with that.


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## troyd1976 (Jul 26, 2011)

very nice


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## Gravel7 (Mar 16, 2009)

Well, this weekend I dealt with the surface rust. I tried the WD-40 and sandpaper method. The rust was not at all deep. It came right off! I was expecting way more of a fight. I went to 220 grit and would like to go further but can't find a higher grit... At Lowes anyway. For some reason I am thinking Napa Auto Parts might carry higher grit paper. 
Thanks for all the advice with dealing with the rust!!


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## Fastback (Sep 2, 2012)

_If you run into a surface rust problem again try using a single edge razor in a holder. It will scrape all of the surface rust and not remove any metal. I have used this method a number of times with a lot of success. Good luck on the planer._


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## Fastback (Sep 2, 2012)

I just bought a new Jet 15-inch and they call for 80 to 90w gear oil in this machine. So I would guess it would be oK to use the same in yours


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## Gravel7 (Mar 16, 2009)

Fastback said:


> I just bought a new Jet 15-inch and they call for 80 to 90w gear oil in this machine. So I would guess it would be oK to use the same in yours


Thats great because I believe 80 or 85w is exactly what I used. 

Congrats on the new planer! I could not be happier with mine. It does such a good job. Dust collection is great. What a jump from my 12.5" Wilton......although the Wilton did serve me well. Especially considering that I only paid $100 for it at one of the Rockler sales.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

That looks awesome Gravel! Yes, Napa, Auto Zone, Pep Boys etc. all have higher grit wet/dry sandpaper. Happy planeing!


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