I have been on the lookout for an old planer to replace my Dewalt lunchbox for some time. It is the last piece in the shop that needed to go. I was really wanting an Oliver 399 but the prices and availablility kept them out of my reach. So, I recently spied this on an auction site and set my bid and hoped for the best.

This will fit well in the shop. A 1958 Delta 13" 22-101. Not sure on hp yet but will be either 2 or 3 hp and 3ph. The planer is in good shape and coming from a cabinet shop in Utah. Mr Whitlock is gona be nice and pick it up for me next week. Looking forward to getting it home.

BTW my Dewalt 734 is still available if anyone is interested

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

Wow! Great find Ken! It's in pretty good shape as is isn't it? Looks like they got a nice old timey jointer as well next to it. Question, lever on the left, what is it?

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

John, the silver lever? It is the lever to engage the drive roller.

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

That's the lever, pretty cool Ken, thanks for sharing, so what are your plans for it? Complete overhaul, does it need one?

Ken Rasmussen said:

John, the silver lever? It is the lever to engage the drive roller.

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

I am not sure on the over haul yet. I have to get it into my grubby little hands first. It is currently in Utah and gonna be picked up this week and brought home. I will take a few days to evaluate it and see. From what I can see in the pics I think a good cleaning, maybe a few minor adjustments and plug it in.

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

Ken,

Nice Score! 

 That's one of my dream machines.

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

The planer was delivered yesterday and is currently siting in the shop. It is still on a furniture mover and I will get a chance in a couple of days to give it a better once over. My first overall impression is that it is in good shape but looks like it will need more than just a good cleaning. There is oil seeping from the gear box and the previous owner had replaced the cast cover with a piece of 1/4" plexiglass to monitor the oil level. Not a bad move, but repairing the leaks would have made more sense. I was lucky and they did include the original cast cover. The motor is not original, I think Mr Whitlock has that, but I am not gonna sweat that either. The motor was replaced with a Baldor 3hp 3ph that looks almost new. I cant wait to hear it fire. More in come in a few days after I get a good look and will add some more pics as well.

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

Ken,

It could be worse, but I still think from the photos that it's in pretty good shape for a machine thats born on date is the same as me. Did the original cover come with it?

I wish I was in as good of shape as it appears to be. 

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

Larry....I did get the original cover. As for condition it does look good. Hopefully however you are not leaking as much oil as the planer

Larry Buskirk said:

Ken,

It could be worse, but I still think from the photos that it's in pretty good shape for a machine thats born on date is the same as me. Did the original cover come with it?

I wish I was in as good of shape as it appears to be. 

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

Ken,

Glad you got the original cover with it.

I'm not leaking oil ,...... but am running low on sanity.  

 I wonder where it all went 

Larry

Ken Rasmussen said:

Larry....I did get the original cover. As for condition it does look good. Hopefully however you are not leaking as much oil as the planer

Larry Buskirk said:

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

That would take care of the leaking to the outside of the machine, but it is also leaking to the inside, under the table. My fear is the shafts and bushings are worn allowing them to leak. The tolerance is so tight Delta did not use any type of seal, which I find odd, to keep the oil where it belongs. Once I drain what oil is remaining and clean things out a little I will get a better view of the problem at hand.

Joe Lyddon said:

Need a new / better gasket?

Well what I have found so far is not good, not good at all. This particular planer does have an achilles heel. Its an intermediate gear made of bronze in the gear box that drives the feed rollers and cutterhead. It would appear that at first glance that someone used the incorrect lubricating oil and the gear overheated and burnt. The worm portion of the gear is starting to splinter and the helical end is badly worn. I can have a new gear machined but it may be cost prohibitive. I will also need to replace the worm gear on the cutter head shaft as well.

Joe Lyddon said:

OOooo...

Looking forward to what you find...

Parts are made from a very rare metal, unobtainium and coated with kryptonite. I do have a few options and will decide which road to follow during the restoration. Parts for a planer built in 1958 are not easy to come by, especially ones that are known issues.

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

Sweet Ken.  That'll make a nice shop addition. 

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Ron Dudelston
Site Host


Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Ron Dudelston said:

Sweet Ken.  That'll make a nice shop addition. 

 

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Ron Dudelston
Site Host

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Ken that is a major bummer about the gears. I wish I could of went and took a good look at the planer for ya. I had seen it back in Oct. of 2010 when they first closed down the business. They had a yard sale and I saw it in the shop but it was out of my price range so I didn't take a very close look at it, but I did see the original motor for it tucked away in the corner so I asked the little old lady how much she wanted for it. I had a couple hundred with me and was prepared to spend most of it on the motor, when she said she wanted 10 bucks for it I about fell over.

I know its a bummer about the gear. I am trying to work out a deal for one of the remaining reproductions still available. BTW thanks for rubbing it in on having the original motor. Need a planer to go with it? I might know where one is!! Might need some work though.

Shane Whitlock said:

Ken that is a major bummer about the gears. I wish I could of went and took a good look at the planer for ya. I had seen it back in Oct. of 2010 when they first closed down the business. They had a yard sale and I saw it in the shop but it was out of my price range so I didn't take a very close look at it, but I did see the original motor for it tucked away in the corner so I asked the little old lady how much she wanted for it. I had a couple hundred with me and was prepared to spend most of it on the motor, when she said she wanted 10 bucks for it I about fell over.

Shane,

You left the motor there right .....................Yea Right!.....

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

Shane Whitlock said:

Ken that is a major bummer about the gears. I wish I could of went and took a good look at the planer for ya. I had seen it back in Oct. of 2010 when they first closed down the business. They had a yard sale and I saw it in the shop but it was out of my price range so I didn't take a very close look at it, but I did see the original motor for it tucked away in the corner so I asked the little old lady how much she wanted for it. I had a couple hundred with me and was prepared to spend most of it on the motor, when she said she wanted 10 bucks for it I about fell over.

Well, here is a little update on the progress. I have completely disassembled the planer, removed all of the grease, grime, loose paint etc. Luckily I have not found any broken parts, but plenty of worn and missing parts. Thank goodness there is a work around for the missing stuff as it is small. The table rollers had at some point worn out some metal shims that are located at each end of the roller and were held in place with an external snap ring. The ring had been forced off and the rollers were allowed to basically float back and forth on the shaft. In doing so, the rollers did wear a slight ridge in the table but that was easily fixed with a bastard file, new snap rings and some 1/8" graphite impregnated bronze bushings. The bushings did not take all of the play from the rollers but they are much improved, from 1/4" to just thousands of an inch, I can live with that. The bronze gear is toast as I mentioned in an earlier post. I have a new one on the way, $200, ouch!! The cutter head sheave was worn out. There is a visible "step" in the groove so time to replace it. Being the planer is 3hp and wanting to transfer as much of the 3hp as I can I decided to replace both sheaves with a double groove, 2 belts are better than one. The planer was made with a 3 belt sheave, who knows where that went over the years. The infeed roller is concave. Over the years too many board feet were run through the center of the planer causing the roller to wear. It is .020 out and will require a trip to a local friends and machine the roller back concentric again.

There are still a few "issues" that I need to address. The major one being the leaking gear box. The ouside leaks will be simple, new gasket material. However, the internal leaks will be more difficult. I am not sure yet how I am gonna handle those. In the mean time the paint is drying after wire brushing everything with a knotted 4" wire wheel on a handheld grinder, primer and Sherwin Williams direct to metal paint in "Graphite". It is the same paint I have used on my Oliver table saw and Crescent jointer. I really like the hard durable surface and high solids of the paint. I will give the paint a week or so to cure and then start reassembly. That is, if I can remember where everything goes.

The last pic is the underside of the table. I have not yet checked to see if the table is still flat. Given the condition of the rollers that are in there I am guessing the table will also be concave in the middle. If so, it will be taken to a machine shop and ground nice and flat. There are a few fairly deep scratches and grooves in the table so I may have it ground just for aesthetics.

I have also decided to do an electrical upgrade to the shop during this restoration. I am going full 3phase. This machine was going to require I purchase another VFD to run it. I would have been the 4th machine in the shop with a VFD. Instead i purchased a pre-manufactured converter panel and I have a 10hp 3ph motor for an idler. So, I also get to do a little electrical work when I get the planer done. Luckily I have a few friends that are electricians who will help with the 3ph panel. Next update in a week or so, when parts start going back together. Keep your fingers crossed I can remember where they all go....

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

Ken,

It's looking good, I know it became more of an investment then you were hoping.

But when you're done will be a very nice addition to your shop. It should last a long time.

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host