Hi hope someone can assist. Got this old classic a few weeks ago and running fine. It had been unused for a year i was told. Its a 24" 3phase. Problem is when I am feeding the wood through it gets really stuck around halfway where the rollers don't seem to be pulling it through. This leaves wee burn marks from the rollers sliding. I'm a relative novice with this so any help would be appreciated. It was bought for planing live edge slabs. Wood has been air dryed.
Dominion Planer Thicknesser help
- Thread starter Meatball
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MikeG.
Established Member
Have you waxed the bed?
Trevanion
Greatest Of All Time
Burn marks are more than likely from the cutter block knives rather than the feed rollers, they don’t really spin fast enough to burn the timber.
It’s probably that the knifes are set too far out of the block so it’s taking too much off when thicknessing and the rear roller isn’t engaging properly. Either reset your knives further back into the cutter block or adjust your feed rollers to be inline with the knives properly.
As Mike said, waxing the bed would help a tonne especially on the wide planks.
It’s probably that the knifes are set too far out of the block so it’s taking too much off when thicknessing and the rear roller isn’t engaging properly. Either reset your knives further back into the cutter block or adjust your feed rollers to be inline with the knives properly.
As Mike said, waxing the bed would help a tonne especially on the wide planks.
Mike Jordan
Established Member
A little candle wax rubbed on, or any wax furniture polish will do. Sprays containing silicone are not good in my opinion and in the long term make matters worse. I suggest that you check that the feed rollers are able to move up and down the full distance. They can get packed tight with chippings over time. The marks you see are made by the smooth out feed rollers, the infeed are serrated and make marks on the timber but before the cutter block removes them.
Mike Jordan
Established Member
Ive just put the brain in gear! A machine of that size and quality will have a table roller, that's the one set in the bottom bed directly beneath the out feed roller, it is adjustable and should be set very slightly above the top of the table to take some of the weight of the planed material and make it move nicely.
wallace
Established Member
Like already mentioned the bed needs to be clean and if not can have a huge impact on feeding wood through it. I normally clean the bed with scotchbrite and degreaser, then rub some wax on or give it a rub with a candle
I not familiar with the 24” model, I’ve only played with the 16” model. I’m assuming that they are similar.
The planner tables lift off easily, there is normally two hold disn clamps that secure them / allow them to be pulled back from the cutter. When lifting off, there are metal pins that stick into a groove that the beds are guided by when sliding back. It’s important to lift the beds off verically rather than sliding to avoid damage.
With them removed access to all of the gubbibs is really easy. It’s proper engineering and everything is very easy to adjust. You will probably find that the two rollers in the thicknesser bed are both jammed in one position and won’t rotate. Usually they are just full of rubbish and need a wire brush and some white grease to get them moving again. The rollers should protrude a smidge above the bed. If you place a flat board on the bed and push whilst raining the rollers you will so be find when they are just protruding as the board will suddenly move easily. Very very useful for heavy wide stuff.
Have a look at the serrated roller that pulls the wood through the thicknesses. Again the serrations will probably be full of gunk. With the planner tables off, cleaning it out is very easy. Check that roller is reasonable straight and dies not have a hollow in the centre where most things will been fed through. Not a big deal if it is, just remember to feed stuff through avoidibg this area if it’s not too wide. Wide boards that span it will be pulled through anyway by the part of the roller that’s in contact.
The Dominion has four supports one on each corner of the thicknesses bed each with its own grib. Check that each is supporting and isn’t loose through wear. If any are loose it can cause the table to tip slightly. Tighten up the gribs as necessary. The beauty of these machines is that just about everything is adjustable and designed to allow for wear.
The gear box that drives the serrated roller is separate to the motor. Check it’s turning and if it’s not been maintained (virtually all wood working machines aren’t, change the oil)
Check the belts, the rear cover comes off to reveal all of the belts, usually two bolts either side (about £20 worth). The belts are easy to replace and as a matter of course should be changed. They will have become hard and probably cracked. This increases vibration and wear as well as reduced grip on the pulleys that can lead to slipping. Whilst changing the belts check the tension pulleys move freely, again they can have become still and no longer move freely again causing slippage of the feed roller.
Finally the machine should have two blade setting jigs that are stored mounted on the rear of the infeed table. The plane blades sit on springs, you just screw the jigs onto the spindle (taped holes exist) and they push the blade down to the right height, tighten up the blade very securely and it’s set. Very quick and very very easy.
With all of this done it should eliminate any problems your having.
The planner tables lift off easily, there is normally two hold disn clamps that secure them / allow them to be pulled back from the cutter. When lifting off, there are metal pins that stick into a groove that the beds are guided by when sliding back. It’s important to lift the beds off verically rather than sliding to avoid damage.
With them removed access to all of the gubbibs is really easy. It’s proper engineering and everything is very easy to adjust. You will probably find that the two rollers in the thicknesser bed are both jammed in one position and won’t rotate. Usually they are just full of rubbish and need a wire brush and some white grease to get them moving again. The rollers should protrude a smidge above the bed. If you place a flat board on the bed and push whilst raining the rollers you will so be find when they are just protruding as the board will suddenly move easily. Very very useful for heavy wide stuff.
Have a look at the serrated roller that pulls the wood through the thicknesses. Again the serrations will probably be full of gunk. With the planner tables off, cleaning it out is very easy. Check that roller is reasonable straight and dies not have a hollow in the centre where most things will been fed through. Not a big deal if it is, just remember to feed stuff through avoidibg this area if it’s not too wide. Wide boards that span it will be pulled through anyway by the part of the roller that’s in contact.
The Dominion has four supports one on each corner of the thicknesses bed each with its own grib. Check that each is supporting and isn’t loose through wear. If any are loose it can cause the table to tip slightly. Tighten up the gribs as necessary. The beauty of these machines is that just about everything is adjustable and designed to allow for wear.
The gear box that drives the serrated roller is separate to the motor. Check it’s turning and if it’s not been maintained (virtually all wood working machines aren’t, change the oil)
Check the belts, the rear cover comes off to reveal all of the belts, usually two bolts either side (about £20 worth). The belts are easy to replace and as a matter of course should be changed. They will have become hard and probably cracked. This increases vibration and wear as well as reduced grip on the pulleys that can lead to slipping. Whilst changing the belts check the tension pulleys move freely, again they can have become still and no longer move freely again causing slippage of the feed roller.
Finally the machine should have two blade setting jigs that are stored mounted on the rear of the infeed table. The plane blades sit on springs, you just screw the jigs onto the spindle (taped holes exist) and they push the blade down to the right height, tighten up the blade very securely and it’s set. Very quick and very very easy.
With all of this done it should eliminate any problems your having.
sam noscoe
New member
this is all very interesting. i have a 12" dominion planer- thicknesser, brilliant machine, but setting the blades has always been an arduous task.
i was wondering if you could possible show me a picture of the blade setting jig, as i think our has been lost at some point in the last 100 or so years. (god knows how old the machine actually is)
cheers, sam.
sam noscoe
New member
cheers mate, looks like my machine may be more antiquated, could you show me how they work please, i would like to see how similar our machines are.
thanks, Sam.
Hi Sam,
As a hobby I restore ‘old iron’ machines. The picture is of a machine I restored. I’ve done a few Dominions, but this one was the only one that had the original setting jigs.....they are usually lost!!
All you do is bolt them to the block, they connect either end of a knife. The knife is initially inserted, with the cramping bolts loose and the setting blocks screwed down over the knife. This pushes the knife down, compressing the springs that hold the knife up. When the setting blocks are clamped down the knife is at the right height and the clamping bolts of the knife are tightened.
As a hobby I restore ‘old iron’ machines. The picture is of a machine I restored. I’ve done a few Dominions, but this one was the only one that had the original setting jigs.....they are usually lost!!
All you do is bolt them to the block, they connect either end of a knife. The knife is initially inserted, with the cramping bolts loose and the setting blocks screwed down over the knife. This pushes the knife down, compressing the springs that hold the knife up. When the setting blocks are clamped down the knife is at the right height and the clamping bolts of the knife are tightened.
sam noscoe
New member
my dad got a nice collection of old iron machines about 30 years ago, a few of them still in need of restoration, primarily an awesome looking morticing machine. anyway thats beside the point.
just changed the knives in the dominion and its performing wonderfully, although i had to use our fiddly method of knife setting.
on the planer drum there is nowhere to bolt any jig of sorts. our machine has a bolted clamp system for the knife, is this what yours has? or the inverted tapered slot type?
cheers
Hi Sam,
I can’t remember what that particular PT blade arrangement was. They normally have a removable section to allow moulding cutters to be inserted for making skirting s etc. I sold the PT, I sell most of the machines I restore.....you can’t keep them all!
I can’t remember what that particular PT blade arrangement was. They normally have a removable section to allow moulding cutters to be inserted for making skirting s etc. I sold the PT, I sell most of the machines I restore.....you can’t keep them all!
Hi deema, very new to this so probably a stupid question... we have just unearthed an old Dominion 24" 'AB' planer. Changed the belts given it a good clean and grease, however it is missing the blades. Any idea what blade size we need for it?
Any help greatly appreciated.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Normally the designation is the blade size, ie 24”. However just to be certain measure the width of the block into which the blades are inserted. Certain models need blades with slots in them that fit over retaining pins to stop them being thrown out of the clamp bar us not tightened up sufficiently
Best John
Normally the designation is the blade size, ie 24”. However just to be certain measure the width of the block into which the blades are inserted. Certain models need blades with slots in them that fit over retaining pins to stop them being thrown out of the clamp bar us not tightened up sufficiently
Best John
Hi John,
Thanks for that. Found a couple of old blades for it, actually 26" despite the designation on the machine. Perfect fit so will use them to get some new ones.
Thanks
Tim.
SamDale
Member
Hello All,
So, by strange coincidence, my name is also Sam, I have also acquired a Dominion 24" PT, and... Well...err Have also been known to put a waney edge board through it
. But I'm not the Same Sam as above unless there's something I don't know about my own mind.....
So there's a few problems with my machine that I'm chipping my apprentice engineer's way through. At the moment I'm trying to adjust the amount of material removed when thicknessing.
In the picture I'm pointing at a tiny hole (3mm there's 4 of them around the circumference of a thing I know it not the name?? ) is this how I raise/lower the infeed roller to enable a deeper thicknesses cut ? I got some movement with centre punch til the end broke off. Is there a specific tool for these? Things, duffers whatsits... PS I noticed Deema mention Gribs, what is a Grib please? Any assistance greatly appreciated.
Best
Sam
So, by strange coincidence, my name is also Sam, I have also acquired a Dominion 24" PT, and... Well...err Have also been known to put a waney edge board through it
. But I'm not the Same Sam as above unless there's something I don't know about my own mind.....So there's a few problems with my machine that I'm chipping my apprentice engineer's way through. At the moment I'm trying to adjust the amount of material removed when thicknessing.
In the picture I'm pointing at a tiny hole (3mm there's 4 of them around the circumference of a thing I know it not the name?? ) is this how I raise/lower the infeed roller to enable a deeper thicknesses cut ? I got some movement with centre punch til the end broke off. Is there a specific tool for these? Things, duffers whatsits... PS I noticed Deema mention Gribs, what is a Grib please? Any assistance greatly appreciated.
Best
Sam
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Vann
Established Member
Autocorrect is NOT your friend, or not Deema's friend anyway. I believe he was intending to type "gibs" - as in lengths of steel/iron with one side tapered. When located in the machine these will have two or more bolts engage the non-tapered edge. Used to adjust the amount of play in sliding "ways". Too little play and the movement will be locked tight. Too much play and things might lozenge and jam.
Cheers, Vann.
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