Figure 13. Gauge block.
Figure 14. Checking cutterhead alignment.
Cutterhead Alignment 14
The most critical adjustments made on your
new planer are dependent on the cutterhead
body being parallel to the table. Because of
this alignment, checking the table is the first
step to establishing an accurate planer.
There are two dimensions you should be
concerned about when checking/aligning the
table—the cutterhead casting should be
parallel to the table from front-to-back, and
the cutterhead should be parallel with the
table from side-to-side.
The cutterhead casting and the cutterhead
body has been pre-set at the factory, but it is
a good idea to check any machine thoroughly
before use.
To check the cutterhead-to-table alignment,
do these steps:
1. UNPLUG THE PLANER!
2. If you have not already done so, loosen the
setscrews where the table bed rollers
mount to the planer body at either end of
both rollers. See Figure 12.
3. Use a wrench to lower the rollers on their
eccentric shafts. Leave the table rollers in
the retracted position until instructed to
reset the knife height at the end of this
section.
4. Make the gauge shown in Figure 13 out of
a block of wood.
5. Place the block on one end of the table,
directly under the cutterhead casting.
6. Lower the cutterhead casting so the block
only touches the cutterhead casting (keep
knives rotated out of the way for this
step). See Figure 14.
7. Without moving the cutterhead casting,
slide the block of wood to the other end of
the cutterhead casting. If the block of
wood will not fit, or if the block is below
the casting, measure this gap with a feeler
gauge. If the difference is more than
0.002", then the cutterhead casting needs
to be adjusted from left to right.
Side View Front View
Figure 12. Table bed roller adjustment.
Setscrew
Table
Roller
Eccentric
ADJUSTMENTS