My planer decided to eat a board and then just died on me last Saturday

I'm trying to settle something with myself. So I was running some oak boards through my 12 inch lunchbox planer, nothing crazy, but one piece had a tiny knot I didn't catch. It hit that knot and just went POP. Now the feed rollers won't turn at all. I tore it apart and the drive belt snapped clean off. So heres the debate - do I drop $30 on a new belt and keep using this thing that clearly hates knots? Or do I spend the $400 on a new DeWalt with a better cutterhead design that supposedly handles defects better? Has anyone else had a planer choke on a knot and what did you do about it?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.daniel5d ago

I'd hold off on the DeWalt for a minute and look at something nobody talks about - those little plastic drive gears inside the gearbox. I had a similar situation with my Ridgid where I replaced the belt, and three weeks later the gears stripped out because the knot shock traveled through the whole drivetrain. $30 turns into a $120 repair real quick if the belt was just the weak link. Your call obviously, just something to check before you sink money into it.

victor_perry904d ago

Yeah, "knot shock" is a good way to put it. I've seen that same thing happen on a few different brands, not just DeWalt or Ridgid. It's like the belt is designed to be the fuse, but if it frays and snaps from a hard knot, all that force still has to go somewhere. The plastic drive gear is often the next weakest point, and it's usually not something people think to check until it's too late. I'd give the input shaft a spin by hand and listen for any grinding before you button it back up. Could save you from having to tear it all apart again next month.