Dead Pro Planer feed motor

[BuckeyeDennis]

My Pro Planer feed motor died yesterday while taking light cuts in pine. The motor measured open-circuit, so I pulled it apart to see what I could see. Inside, I found a failure mode that I've never seen before. The root-cause problem was that one of the magnets on the stator had come detached from the stator housing.

Detached magnet.JPG (170.14 KiB) Viewed 1992 times

The magnet was trapped in roughly the correct position by the rotor and the mounting screws, and the motor had continued to run for a while. I didn't hear anything amiss, probably because of the noise from the cutterhead and its motor. Anyway, the armature had obviously been grinding against the magnet, eventually bending several of the iron laminations.

Bent laminations 1.JPG (142.79 KiB) Viewed 1992 times

Bent laminations 2.JPG (164.42 KiB) Viewed 1992 times

I think what eventually killed the motor was that one of the bent laminations cut a winding. I found at least one completely open-circuit segment on the commutator.

You can see the scoring on the inside of the detached magnet, where the rotor was rubbing on it.

Magnet scoring.JPG (181.85 KiB) Viewed 1992 times

I'm the second owner of the planer, but the commutator shows no significant wear, and there is a lot of brush length left. So the motor was nowhere near the end of its design life. But as you can see, this particular motor is well and truly trashed.

Motor label.JPG (139.57 KiB) Viewed 1992 times

The Mothership shows new a feed motor here for $495, but the part number doesn't match my Pro Planer manual. Maybe it's the one for the Shopsmith-mounted planer? Regardless, I can buy a complete used planer for less that that. If anyone has a better solution, I'd love to hear about it!

[chapmanruss]

The Feed Motor for the Mark Mount Planer and the Pro Planer should be the same just like most of the parts. The main difference between the two for the Planer itself is the table and the drive for the Cutter Head. The Feed Motor part number for my Pro Planer is 514203 per the manual. The one you have in the link is the part number (514690) shown in the Mark Mounted Planer parts list. You are correct that you may be able to find a complete used Planer for less but being used the condition of the parts could be questionable. I bought my Pro Planer used and for much less than the cost of a new Feed Motor.

[jsburger]

There are/were two different feed motors. One like yours and the other one was by the same company but was 90V DC. Probably the reason for the different part numbers. There is a LONG thread here where we discussed replacement brushes and all things about the feed motor. The manufacturer is (or was) still in business. There is (or was) a company that was rewinding the armature.

[BuckeyeDennis]

The Feed Motor for the Mark Mount Planer and the Pro Planer should be the same just like most of the parts. The main difference between the two for the Planer itself is the table and the drive for the Cutter Head. The Feed Motor part number for my Pro Planer is 514203 per the manual. The one you have in the link is the part number (514690) shown in the Mark Mounted Planer parts list. You are correct that you may be able to find a complete used Planer for less but being used the condition of the parts could be questionable. I bought my Pro Planer used and for much less than the cost of a new Feed Motor.

Thanks Russ. I paid just $200 for my Pro Planer, IIRC. It was in very good condition, and even came with a spare set of knives. Then a neighbor friend bought a Shopsmith-mount planer on a power stand for only $100, after I pointed out that CL deal to him. Right now there's a Pro Planer listed nearby for $475, but it's a rust-bucket. Maybe if it goes unsold long enough I can pick it up cheap for parts. Meanwhile, I can use my neighbor's planer in a pinch.

[BuckeyeDennis]

There are/were two different feed motors. One like yours and the other one was by the same company but was 90V DC. Probably the reason for the different part numbers. There is a LONG thread here where we discussed replacement brushes and all things about the feed motor. The manufacturer is (or was) still in business. There is (or was) a company that was rewinding the armature.

Thanks John. Everett had dug up some really good info in that thread. I had saved a link to it back then, just in case something like this ever happened to my planer. The motor manufacturer was VonWeise. I checked out their website this morning, but didn't see anything that looked like a direct replacement. I suspect that the SS motor was a custom configuration. I'd glady pony up the $125 reported cost of a rewind, except that both my stator and my rotor iron are trashed as well.

[DLB]

Shopsmith has these motors 50% off in the current overstock sale. (Assumes you can use the 120 VDC version.) https://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/ite ... tem=514203

- David

[BuckeyeDennis]

Thanks David. I just got the SS email myself, and jumped right on that deal. Sometimes you get lucky!

I also found a good-looking Pro Planer on FB Marketplace, with an asking price of $300 -- not much more than the new feed motor on sale, when you include shipping. It's less than two hours from me, so I was tempted to grab it and have a spare of everything. But I didn't really want to disable a good machine, and don't have storage space for it anyway. If anyone else is interested, here's a link:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 9972471262

The seller is also offering a teal scroll saw and a bandsaw on a Power Stand, for $300 each.

[chapmanruss]

Great timing for you on the sale. It's as if the Mothership was reading here.

The one listed in the sale is the same part number (514203) for the Pro Planer. Maybe there is a difference.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Great timing for you on the sale. It's as if the Mothership was reading here.

The one listed in the sale is the same part number (514203) for the Pro Planer. Maybe there is a difference.

Hmmm. That is indeed the part number given in my Pro Planer manual. When I checked the SS website for it a few days ago, the service-parts list for the Pro Planer showed it as unavailable,and it still does. But when I search for the part number on the website, it takes me to the product page for that part number, which shows it in stock and on sale. Maybe they found some inventory hiding in a dark corner of the warehouse.

I believe that the Pro Planer feed motor has a higher max RPM than the Mark-mounted feed motor, presumably because the planer-stand motor has more horsepower than a conventional Mark V motor. I’d bet that the only difference on the Pro Planer feed motor is a winding with a lower back-EMF constant.

[chapmanruss]

It does list the 514203 Feed Motor as

120V Pro Planer Feed Motor (Fast Speed)

The other Feed Motor for the Mark Mount Planer lists as

514690 Thickness Planer Feed Motor