Sedgwick PT255 Strip down and rebuild (with Photographs)

[kirkpoore1]

Excellent results. They sure didn't do you any favors with that giant junction box on the motor. Since it's single phase, can we presume it has start and run capacitors in it?

I hope you don't bang your knuckles on the starter box when you're cranking the table up or down.

Kirk

 

[Andy RV]

Excellent, it's always good to see machines given some tlc and given another life cycle.

For future reference you could of avoided all of the trouble of changing your motor by using the original motor with a 240v single phase to 240v three phase digital inverter, this is easily wired up and allows a lot of motor control, variable speed ect.
The only modification required for your motor would be to open up the terminal box and swap the linking plates across the terminals to change the required input from 415v star to 240v delta. A suitable digital inverter unit would cost in the region of £150.

 

[kirkpoore1]

Andy:

I think he mentions that above, but decided against it. I would have gone that way (OK, I did go that way on my lathe and DP).

Kirk

 

[houtslager]

The only modification required for your motor would be to open up the terminal box and swap the linking plates across the terminals to change the required input from 415v star to 240v delta. A suitable digital inverter unit would cost in the region of £150.


HMM interesting, but from where could one get such a thingy for so much ?

K

 

[Andy RV]

There are number of companies offering them, transwave, newton tesla, drives direct. Google will provide a number of sites.

 

[ndbrown]

Hi and the comments about the inverter route are very valid and I would say that I did look at this option in depth at the beginning and yes, the big box has the start and run caps in it as well as the links for the motor direction.

In the main part of the article, I wanted to outline the options for potential buyers of three phase machines without offering too much of an opinion on what the best route/option was, I think they both have advantages and disadvantages. However, i should probably explain a little why I went down this particular route but that not to say it the best route for all individuals / machines.

Inverters: In this particular application, a soft start was not a significant advantage as I was fairly sure this size of motor would start fine on a 13A supply, the brake feature is not really needed for this particular machine or variable speed either. There was not a significant cost either way when comparing the price of a new single phase motor and switch with an Inverter. If I had a machine with a much larger motor, a lathe or a need for a separate two speed feed then the inverter would have been a better option.

This is very much a personal view:
Having worked in the electronics industry for 35 years, I am getting to the point in my life where I don't want any more complexity than I really need. The lifespan of most modern consumer items is getting shorter, although lead-free components are great for the environment, the jury's still out on whether modern electronic circuits will have a similar lifespan over those with the older leaded components and to top it all, there is software involved. Set against a single phase contactor, and a couple of capacitors, I had a feeling that a simpler solution was all that I required. I am finding that if I have to read a manual, I dont really want to use it now - obviously I am getting grumpy and old :wink:
I also suffer from tinnitus and I was concerned that the high frequency element of these inverters would just annoy me as well. I guess in summary I did the single phase conversion because it was a viable and cost effective solution and could easily be done this way (if I had picked the correct motor) in other situations, I might not have had a choice.

Nigel

 

[kirkpoore1]

Nigel:

I hear you, and given your priorities you've made a perfectly valid choice. You are essentially betting that the 1ph motor's centrifugal switch, capacitors, and the IEC starter's coil will outlast the the inverter, with the possible bonus of a little more power in the motor, too.

I have my doubts about the longevity of these inverters, too. I do assume that they're not going to get any more expensive. Mine did have a whine to them when I started, but was able to adjust the carrier frequency to a point where I couldn't hear it.

Kirk

 

[wallace]

=D> Very tidy work Nigel

 

[ndbrown]

I just noticed the same machine as the one I have been rebuilding in this topic on e-bay. It looks to be in MUCH better condition than the one I started from and is 240v single phase. A nice compact quality Planer/Thicknesser for the home workshop if someone wants an alternative to the far east machines.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271138047672?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Added:
Another, albeit 3-phase later version with longer tables with no bids when I wrote this, less than 2 days to go and a starting price of £350 here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sedgwick-...ies_Carpentry_Woodwork_ET&hash=item337f31ab18

Nigel

 

[Benchwayze]

A nice compact quality Planer/Thicknesser for the home workshop if someone wants an alternative to the far east machines.
here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sedgwick-...ies_Carpentry_Woodwork_ET&hash=item337f31ab18

Nigel

That's the model I have, and it's a cracking machine. Mine was almost £2,000 twenty years ago. And that was on offer.

Another one here..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sedgwick-MB12 ... 2ec55ba856

Pricey eh?

 

[marcros]

Mobile Base
For me, a mobile base was a first step as I need to be able to move the planer out from its parked position next to the wall easily when I need to use it. As I had already discovered, lifting a completed machine onto a mobile base was not going to be an easy task, so I decided to rebuild the machine on the base. There are plenty of options for commercial mobile bases, Axminster, Rutlands to name a few. These machines were originally designed to be bolted down, in the case of this model, adding fixings to the four mounting holes in the fabricated base really stiffens it up as well. This is probably not true for larger machines with cast iron or much more elaborate bases. Another reason for bolting it down is stability in use. However, for me, I need it to be mobile and I felt that none of the commercial bases met my requirements, so making one was the route I decided on. I should say that I have already made two previous bases using the same design for my Bandsaw (Minimax S45 - see my other post) and for my Axminster AW19FM floor standing morticer.

This is the mobile base I made (I used 50 x 50mm wide angle iron - 5mm thick), I suspect it will be strong enough! I originally looked at buying the steel on e-bay for this but when I approached my Local Blacksmith to ask about a quote for welding one of these I found that he was MUCH cheaper for the material. All in cost for enough steel for this base is around £20, 100mm diameter Poly tyre wheels were another £9 and the adjustable M12 x 120mm long feet were another £15. The cost of getting my local blacksmith to weld this one up was £20. Wheels are rated at 230kg each and feet at 500kg, so were more than up to supporting the weight of the Sedgwick.
The finished base is really sturdy and the machine very stable when assembled to it. I will post a separate article on building bases at a later date, you only really need an angle grinder and some basic tools to make them along with a friendly local Blacksmith/steel fabricator!
(click image for larger version)

I have shown the completed machine fitted to the base so you can see the principle. I also made the lift bar to move the base around, the lift bar is shared between all my machines with these bases. Having the machines mobile in my single garage is essential to maximising space and useability as a workshop. (click image for larger version)

And here is the rear of the finished machine so that you get a better idea of the rear of the mobile base. The outriggers with wheels really give stability to the machine. It only raises the machine up by a couple of inches or so! (Click for larger image)

Hi,

You dont have any plans of your mobile base do you- I have just bought a big axi bandsaw and i think it is beyond the rutlands mobile base that i have. Yours looks like the hammer one and would be ideal.

Cheers
Mark

 

[ndbrown]

Mobile base plans: Just started to post it now under the topic "Build your own simple mobile machine base (with Photos)". Will have it completed in the next day or so!

Nigel

 

[ndbrown]

I have been delayed by the acquisition of a Startrite tilt Arbor Table saw - another rebuild on the horizon I think!
(Post updated to restore pictures lost from Photobucket change of 3rd party hosting)

Updates to progress on Sedgwick - Guards and dust shields:

The machine came with a rusty front cuterblock guard but no rear cutterblock guard behind the fence. The original guard looked like this:

I removed the old guard and salvaged the support pillar, I cleaned it up and used the home black phosphate kit mentioned earlier:

Using an off cut of wood and some cardboard, I tried a couple of options for a prototype guard before making the genuine article, I settled on this design:

First, I made a steel version of the hardwood prototype support block, again chemically blackened and secured to the post with a cross drilled hole and a stainless grub screw.

The New stainless guard was made in 2mm thick 304 stainless steel. I had originally planned to use thicker sheet, but this was already fairly difficult to bend at home with the limited tools I had for sheet metalwork! I cut the sheet with a jigsaw using a stainless steel cutting blade and drilled the holes for the slot after bending the sheets. I used a vice plus some 50mm angle iron to create the bend in the guards. It took a lot longer than I originally thought to get it right! I also cut most of the slots with the jigsaw and tidied up with a file.
I used a cut down bolt for the guide pin, some threaded rod for the front adjusting knob and a coach bolt for the rear guard. I had the rear coach bolt welded to the bottom of the guard to prevent it accidentally dropping down onto the cutterblock. The star knobs are from Wixroyd and were bought at the same time as the other parts for rebuilding the machine.
I made the guard in 2 sections to reduce the mount of projection when machining wider section timber.

This view shows the guard in "thicknessing mode", holding the dust chute in place;

For the rear guard, I made a new mounting plate in nylon 6 and fixed it to the rear cover. I then made a one-piece guard in another piece of 2mm stainless steel sheet.

Mounting plate:

With rear cutterblock guard finished and fitted:

An addition to reduce the amount of sawdust escaping down between the back of the surface tables and the rear cover are the parts I fabricated shown below. On later machines, the cover seems to be a much better fit than mine was, but the amount of sawdust in the drive chain persuaded me that a solution was needed. I used 1.5mm thick stainless steel this time to make two plates, plus two moving "L" section plates fitted to the top of the in/out feed roller bearing block. This should keep most of the larger particles from getting down the back of the machine, whilst also allowing the rear cover to be easily removed. I used existing table fixing bolts to secure all the new parts. Time will tell if this has the desired effect on sawdust reduction in the drive mechanism!

Another picture here of the shield above the infeed roller:

In the next and hopefully final "instalment" of the rebuild, I will cover the installation of Barke Disposable Cutting Blades.

Nigel

 

[vormstudio]

Nice rebuild!

 

[Lightning bolt]

Wow! Fantastic job. What's even more amazing is the reason I joined this group is...a friend of mine has offered me the same old Sedgwick planer thicknesser for free! It's been sitting in his workshop for yrs & he's clearing space. The catch...it's missing it's fence & ¼ of the circular housing that holds the fence bar is cracked off!
I'm debating whether to take it or not, but this post has definitely inspired me. Do you know where I could look for a replacement fence?
Any leads much appreciated.
Another strange coincidence, I also bought a start rite tilt arbour saw for €300 a couple of yrs back, hope to get it running in the next couple of weeks. I think it has all it's bit's & elaborate dust collection system. I'll post some pics when running.

 

[ndbrown]

I am fairly sure you could fabricate something or get a local blacksmith or machine shop to help. My machine is an earlier one with a flat steel plate for a fence. Later ones had a cast iron fence and heavier sliding bracket. My fence was more than adequate for home use. I imagine a replacement from Sedgwick won’t be cheap but maybe worth asking. A few options.

 

[Sideways]

A PT for free is not to be sneezed at, but the cast fence and angle adjustment, steel bar arm and cast mounting bracket together make a large heavy assembly and one of the major reasons for buying the current version of the PT255. Used value without these parts would be very low as they will be v. expensive to buy as spares.

 

[Trevanion]

You could always ask Sedgwick direct if they have anything in storage that may fit, but you may need a chair after hearing the price.

 

[davegal]

Long time reader first time posting. The restoration was great.

I have the same planar thicknesser. Going to dismental and service mine in the coming weeks.

While I have it in bits would it be worth upgrading the head to either a tersa or spiral block? Is this even possible?

 

[Trevanion]

While I have it in bits would it be worth upgrading the head to either a tersa or spiral block? Is this even possible?

A tersa block to fit a Sedgwick MB will set you back £1500, not sure about a spiral block but you could always ask Sedgwick directly as they now sell machines with one fitted.