Zachary Hoyt
Well-known Member
I haven't used my 18" Woodmaster planer in over a year but today I had 100+ 1x6 boards to plane. The feed is run off a DC gearmotor and a variable speed controller, not sure of the proper terms. The feed system seemed okay at first, then it blew the fuse on the control box partway into the first board. I took the board out, changed the fuse and ran the feed motor again on no load. It turned about 1/2 turn while sounding unhappy and blew the fuse again. I took the belt off the rollers and found that they were a little stiff, so I oiled up the bushings where the shafts run. I unbolted the gearmotor and took the cover off the reduction, I found that there did not seem to be as much grease in there as there might have been. There is a black ring all around the electric motor where the brushes run, I am not sure if this is the armature or if I am mixed up. I put it back together and put in a new fuse and it runs but still sounds unhappy. The half round magnets inside the case seem to be loose, all that keeps them from spinning in the case is the two screws that hold the motor together. I also got a mild electric shock from the case when I touched it. I don't know if the problem is in the motor or the gears but I am inclined to try adding more grease to the gearbox and see if that helps. I would appreciate any advice about how to proceed, and if the grease seems like a good idea I would like to know what type to put in there. Thank you very much, I am sorry this is so long.
Zach
Zach