Pro Planer (Dallas/Ft. Worth area expert mechanic)

goodyt · Post by **goodyt** » Mon May 02, 2011 9:42 pm

I have purchased a 1997 Pro Planer that needs some rust removal on the planner bed. It also needed some extreme rust removal on the legs/base, but this was easily resolved by dis-assembly, and then sandblasting/powder coating all of the pieces.

Now that I am ready to remove the table, I have discovered that there are no ShopSmith-written instructions available. SS customer service was nice enough, but, basically, it was "you are on your own!"

I am NOT the world's greatest mechanic, so I really fear barging ahead only to find that 1) I cannot get it back together, or 2) I get all of the pieces back together but the machine is so out of adjustment that it will never perform as a planer again.

Anybody on this forum that has ever broken down the planer head/removed the bed? If so, could you point me in the direction of some step-by-step instructions?

Otherwise, anybody on this forum know of an SS mechanical guru in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area that takes in repair work? Thank you in advance for your responses.

Tom Goodson

claimdude · Post by **claimdude** » Mon May 02, 2011 10:14 pm

Tom,

Skip Campbell lives in the DFW area and worked on my Mark V headstock several times over the years. Always very satisfied with his work and prices. Don't know if he works on the planers or not but is most certainly capable. I'd trust him to work on any of my tools. His website is mkctools.com

Jack
PPro 520, Bandsaw, SS Power Station and Dewalt 735 planer

goodyt · Post by **goodyt** » Mon May 02, 2011 10:48 pm

Jack,

Many thanks for the quick response. I will attempt to contact Mr. Campbell tomorrow! Thanks again.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon May 02, 2011 10:48 pm

???????????http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/item ... =Find+Item

goodyt · Post by **goodyt** » Mon May 02, 2011 11:14 pm

JPG,

Thanks for the link. I have the manual.

However, as I said, "I am not a great mechanic." The manual is well illustrated for initial assembly, changing blades, etc., but there is nothing in the way of detailed instructions for removing the planer bed from a factory fully-assembled planer head.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon May 02, 2011 11:30 pm

goodyt wrote:JPG,

Thanks for the link. I have the manual.

However, as I said, "I am not a great mechanic." The manual is well illustrated for initial assembly, changing blades, etc., but there is nothing in the way of detailed instructions for removing the planer bed from a factory fully-assembled planer head.

Since you have the manual and still are reluctant to disassemble it, Skip is probably your best alternative.

Disassembly involves removal of both side plates which essentially spills everything. Reattaching the table and properly aligning the sprockets to the chain is not easy.

The exploded view guides you as to how it is put together, but as you have said, nothing related to reassembly or adjustments.

It can be difficult and error prone, which is why IMHO SS does not support user action for this.

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Mon May 02, 2011 11:56 pm

I remember when I took a tour of the factory they said something about the planer is built around the table. They had some kind of jig that held the table. Everything was added to that. So my guess is the table is the last part to come off.

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Tue May 03, 2011 9:39 pm

I have replaced the jack shafts on several Thickness Planers in the past month. The jack shafts gets bent during shipping unless a really strong plywood box is used. I find it is easlier to disassemble, reassemble and adjust than the headstock. Contact me offline as I have several notes that was easy for me to follow which I did not understand in the planer manual.

Dusty: I still have one set of notes to copy to a file. You are not forgotten.

Shop_Smith_Poppi · Post by **Shop_Smith_Poppi** » Tue May 03, 2011 9:51 pm

hey bill how you been you live in the Tulsa area right if so were piratically neighbors I live in Sallisaw now.

goodyt · Post by **goodyt** » Wed May 04, 2011 8:35 am

Bill,

I just attempted to send you e-mails at info@billstoolz.com and bill@billstoolz.com. However, both of them came back as undeliverable.

I had already heard back from the gentleman in Ft. Worth, and he declined any interest in providing repair service. Bottom line on this piece of equipment, I purchased it used (and rusted) because I figured that I could put a little elbow grease into the project and have a nice addition to my new workshop. At first glance, it looked as if the table could just be unhooked and slid out of the machine. What I belatedly failed to notice-or take into account-was the potentially irreparable damage that I could do by dis-assembling the entire planer head assembly.

Is there another e-mail address, or phone number, that I can use to contact you? Thanks.

Tom Goodson
goodyt@sbcglobal.net