# Whitehead thicknesser for restoration



## Karl (5 Jan 2012)

I passed my Axminster standalone thicknesser onto Alan (Mailee). So there I was, browsing through Ebay, looking for a benchtop thicknesser, when up popped a little tempter. Bit grubby looking, but it arrived today and i'm well chuffed !







12" 3 knife cutterblock assembly.






Rise and fall handle with locking tommy bar arrangement - the rise and fall on the table is sweet!






Rollers in the table too 






Side cover






Which, when removed, reveals this lot - you can't really see from the picture, but the motor is huge! 






Starter switch and isolator - a quick inspection of the wiring confirms it's single phase






Here you can see the "W" logo






Which is noticeably absent from the cutterblock cover






And finally, the inspection plate






1951 model 

Can't wait to get my tool box back from site and start taking it apart.

Cheers

Karl


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## andersonec (5 Jan 2012)

Karl, Can you explain in detail as you go through this restoration, would really like to know how one goes about these projects.

Andy


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## Karl (5 Jan 2012)

LOL - me too!


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## Andy RV (5 Jan 2012)

What a monster! I'm suprised its single phase, I'm looking forward to seeing this progress.


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## stoatyboy (5 Jan 2012)

do you know what? - I'm currently struggling to finish restoring a pair of Moore and Wright calipers

but all these resto threads at the moment make me think I could do with getting me a real project!!

love 'em!


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## kirkpoore1 (6 Jan 2012)

Karl, that looks like it has great potential. I'm sure it will clean up really well. Be prepared to replace all the bearings and belts, of course. Your gear puller and probably your bearing splitter are going to get a workout, too. And penetrating oil will be your friend. But when you're done, it'll be great.

Kirk


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## Karl (15 Jan 2012)

Andy - my mistake, it is 3 phase. Fortunately it works through the converter I got recently with my Spindle moulder.

Got an hour on it this afternoon, and started by stripping off the drive belts and removing all the pulleys. When I tested it the feed rollers weren't working - here's the reason






Also found that the tensioner for the feed roller belt is made of wood!






Took the top section off, containing the cutterblock and feed rollers.






Look - gold chipbreakers!






Cutterblock removed






Then tackled the thicknessing table, removing the bolts on the underside






Once the table was removed, the top section could be unbolted from the base






Underside view showing the rise and fall mechanism






Revealing the motor






And the motor plate - quite surprised to see that it's only 2hp






That's all for now - next job is to strip out the motor and start cleaning up all the parts. I also need to decide on whether to replace the motor for something more powerful single phase.

Cheers

Karl


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## wallace (16 Jan 2012)

That looks like a bundle of fun. What condition are the bearings, if there anything like the hoffmans that were in my wadkin stuff. I bet there in good nick. I only finished my drill a couple of days ago and am itching to take something else to bits.
Mark


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## andersonec (17 Jan 2012)

Ok, so far I am following that, it seems easy so far, make sure there are no left over nuts and bolts #-o 

2hp, I wouldn't have thought it would need much power just to spin the cutter block and feed rollers.

Andy


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## kirkpoore1 (18 Jan 2012)

andersonec":2n17m73a said:


> Ok, so far I am following that, it seems easy so far, make sure there are no left over nuts and bolts #-o
> 
> 2hp, I wouldn't have thought it would need much power just to spin the cutter block and feed rollers.
> 
> Andy



That planer will take a sixteenth of an inch off of a 4x12 timber ten feet long, or an eighth of an inch off a 2x8 if needed. It needs that power to move the wood as well as take deep cuts. It will also work all day long at full capacity and not overheat. That's why it needs two horses.

Kirk


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## Karl (18 Jan 2012)

Yes, my concern is that 2hp simply isn't powerful enough, especially as it will be run through a converter.

However, I am going to reassemble it with the existing motor and see how it runs. There is easy enough access to the motor if I decided to replace it after reassembly. 

Cheers

Karl


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## JakeS (18 Jan 2012)

Karl":1rfqiuc2 said:


> Yes, my concern is that 2hp simply isn't powerful enough, especially as it will be run through a converter.



Maybe I'm missing something, I'm not that familiar with these plates and not so well-versed as some on these forums about electric motors, but... "2BHP" is "2 Brake Horsepower", which as I understand it means "2 horsepower measurable at the output, after all the frictions and losses in the motor" rather than the "we just guessed it was 2 horsepower based on how much power it consumes" method which is usually what's meant when companies rate their equipment in 'HP', as it sounds better? So far as my understanding goes, isn't it the case that a "2BHP" motor is probably actually outputting more rotary power than the average "2HP" motor? Or do these plates always specify brake horsepower and just not always use the right unit abbreviation?


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## kirkpoore1 (18 Jan 2012)

Karl":2qgjznc9 said:


> Yes, my concern is that 2hp simply isn't powerful enough, especially as it will be run through a converter.
> 
> However, I am going to reassemble it with the existing motor and see how it runs. There is easy enough access to the motor if I decided to replace it after reassembly.
> 
> ...



What kind of converter? A rotary phase converter will let it run at essentially(1) full power. A static phase converter--well, then you'll be down by a third or more. For a 2 hp motor, a VFD/inverter would be fairly inexpensive, give full power, and take care of overload protection to boot.

Kirk
(1) If well balanced...


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## Karl (29 Jan 2012)

Not had much chance to work on this recently. I did, however, manage to finish stripping the parts and line them up neatly for cleaning :lol: 











I was surprised at how heavy the motor was - a hefty 43kg!

I need to crack on with it over the next week or so. I have a couple of jobs where it needs putting to work (a nice kitchen island unit and some french doors). Given this I don't think i'm going to have time to paint everything up - maybe a coat of primer. At least I know that it'll all come apart nice and easy when I do have time to paint it.

Cheers

Karl


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## Karl (18 Mar 2012)

All is not going well......

Put it back together, running like a dog, but more troublesome was trying to get it to thickness anything wider than a couple of inches. It just stuggled to pull it through, despite several hours faffing about with the height of the feed rollers.

For now it's been put on the back burner until i've got some spare time to spend on it. In the meantime i've had to get a thicknesser for a few jobs i've got






God i'd forgotten how noisy those things are! But it leaves a very good finish. Only -ve is that the dx is poor, but I have a plan in mind to deal with that.

Cheers

Karl


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## kirkpoore1 (18 Mar 2012)

Karl":8484u6es said:


> All is not going well......
> 
> Put it back together, running like a dog, but more troublesome was trying to get it to thickness anything wider than a couple of inches. It just stuggled to pull it through, despite several hours faffing about with the height of the feed rollers.
> 
> ...



Karl:

It sounds like you're going to need a pretty good tuneup to find what's not quite right. I suspect your pressure bar (the bar just behind the cutterhead) is too low--that's what's usually the problem when my thicknesser starts having feed problems. Anyway, this article should help:
http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/Getting Peak Planer Performance.ashx
You'll need a dial indicator, but it shows you how to make a couple of jigs to enable you to get accurate measurements.

Kirk


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## heimlaga (18 Mar 2012)

If something is wrong there is always a reason. Search for it and you will find it sooner or later. Good luck.


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## Karl (18 Mar 2012)

It's probably not as bad as i'm making out.....I hope.

When i've got time i'll investigate further. For now it's relegated to the naughty corner :lol:


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## obie1 (4 Aug 2015)

Hi was wondering how you got on with this I have just purchased the exact same machine over here in new zealand and cannot find much info on these whitehead machines


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