Nothing beats the look of antique cast iron machinery that has been planed. I have a colladay 16” wood jointer, whose tables are still flat as glass and it was made in 1903. It’s led a hard life and lived in barns and unheated shops and still creates an unbeatable surface. Old virgin cast iron and proper tempering and machining will never be equaled today. Glad to see you keep these gems going.
The scraping on this is absolutely beautiful. You have to see it in person to fully appreciate Rees craftsmanship and how wonderful this tool really is. Cheers
I didn't know that Rockford made a 36" stroke planer. I thought you must have meant 36" wide, but I looked it up and yes indeed, they did. And it looks just like the 72" one that I first used. Really nice! Rees
It quite funny that old machines are often easier to retrofit for dro's and cnc's than their more more modern versions, with have more complicated mechanical and electrical parts which are outdated by now. So such a kinck of destiny when old is new again.
probably a dumb question but doesnt planing the rail make the head loose on it? Id like to do this too but I feel like I'd be making a new gib too just to tighten the head
@@reesacheson5577 A big chunk of wood 12"x6" section and clamped on the same as you did with the milling table. I only want to straighten the top edge so I have the clapper box head clamped onto the wood with the grinder in a vertical position so I have rise and fall. The side movement for the depth of cut will done by tapping the head sideways on the Oregon beam. Maybe you call it Douglas Fir over there. All the best. Tamal
@@gettuff2 Ah! I see, just grinding the top edge surface. You should keep in mind that this surface may be the least of the problem. What also effects the tool is the front face of the rail near the bottom. This is usually worn and consequently the tool dips deeper as the head reaches the most worn portion. This is because the tool is out front of the head. And as the head traverses the rail the head dives in at the bottom, but not at the top (the front surface is no longer plumb). The tool, which is out front of this, drops as a result. The tool will cut a concave surface. Maybe you already have, but you might want to look into how straight the front surface of the rail is. Hope all goes well. Regards, Rees
@@reesacheson5577 Thanks. i have that in mind and once the" gigantic" a little over a ton, gearbox is reinstalled and I have some table movement I'll definitely check everything. I had previously checked the top surface so I know there is 3 though wear in it.
Over the past 47 years I think I have planed the table 4 times: Once after I bought it; When I converted to hydraulic cylinder; When I scraped the table ways; And when I planed and scraped the rail. There might have been one more in there somewhere. I think that there should be a very good reason to plane the table. When I was looking to buy a planer one of the problems I found was that the tables had often been planed so many times that the upper portion of the tee-slots had become dangerously thin, and it would not have been possible to use slot-blocks with those machines. Rees
Yes, the travel was close, but I was able to get the flat surface done with a single rail placement. But I had to move it from its original position to do it. As for the order of scraping, yes, I began with the dovetail. But because the planing had created straight and geometrically correct surfaces, the order did not matter - it was just a surfacing operation.. But I began with the angled surface because it is hidden and hard to notice. And I finished with the two broad surfaces on the front of the rail because they would be highly visible. I needed the practice to become more facile with the scraper before doing the most visible surfaces. I don't scrape that often and find that I need to get into shape each time I do it. Rees
In replying to your comment I had assumed that you were asking the order in which I scraped the various surfaces of the rail. Reading your comment again now, it occurs to me that you were asking if I had first scraped the bed and table ways of the planer itself to insure that the planer would produce an accurate planing of its own rail. The answer is yes. Some years before I had done so. And then after finishing this rail project, I again scraped the bed and table ways. But this time they were already in alignment and so it was mostly just a surfacing operation so that they would look like the rail. Rees
I had no video camera back then - my son gave me his old one years later. Even now I still can't figure out how to use the thing. I photographed some of the project mostly because of the absurdity of the concept. Rees
@@reesacheson5577 ah, ok, understood. Yeah it quite funny, on the other hand - one uses what he has to make what one wants to make/have - in that sense, smart use of resources for the task at hands, lol. Shaper rocks)
Nothing beats the look of antique cast iron machinery that has been planed. I have a colladay 16” wood jointer, whose tables are still flat as glass and it was made in 1903. It’s led a hard life and lived in barns and unheated shops and still creates an unbeatable surface. Old virgin cast iron and proper tempering and machining will never be equaled today. Glad to see you keep these gems going.
The scraping on this is absolutely beautiful. You have to see it in person to fully appreciate Rees craftsmanship and how wonderful this tool really is. Cheers
I love the narration! Please do more of these. I'm sure your channel will grow as a result.
Fascinating! Thanks for showing all these.
This is amazing. Love the narration. Looking forward to more of this unique content.
Nicely done! Beautiful finish on the scraping.
That is amazing! Talk about thinking outside the box! Very cool.
very nice machine Rees!
VERY interesting!
Nice work ! I own a 36" Rockford. --Doozer
I didn't know that Rockford made a 36" stroke planer. I thought you must have meant 36" wide, but I looked it up and yes indeed, they did. And it looks just like the 72" one that I first used. Really nice!
Rees
I'm still laughing at a DRO on a machine from 1905. That's awesome!
It quite funny that old machines are often easier to retrofit for dro's and cnc's than their more more modern versions, with have more complicated mechanical and electrical parts which are outdated by now. So such a kinck of destiny when old is new again.
Thanks, your videos are fantastic!
probably a dumb question but doesnt planing the rail make the head loose on it? Id like to do this too but I feel like I'd be making a new gib too just to tighten the head
Thanks for the great video.
Just setting up to do the same on my planer. I don't have anything long enough so I am using a 12x6 Oregon beam so will be grinding not planing
I don't know what an Oregon Beam is so I can't picture it. Presumably it allows for accurate travel.
I hope all goes well.
Cheers,
Rees
@@reesacheson5577 A big chunk of wood 12"x6" section and clamped on the same as you did with the milling table. I only want to straighten the top edge so I have the clapper box head clamped onto the wood with the grinder in a vertical position so I have rise and fall. The side movement for the depth of cut will done by tapping the head sideways on the Oregon beam. Maybe you call it Douglas Fir over there. All the best. Tamal
@@gettuff2 Ah! I see, just grinding the top edge surface.
You should keep in mind that this surface may be the least of the problem. What also effects the tool is the front face of the rail near the bottom. This is usually worn and consequently the tool dips deeper as the head reaches the most worn portion.
This is because the tool is out front of the head. And as the head traverses the rail the head dives in at the bottom, but not at the top (the front surface is no longer plumb). The tool, which is out front of this, drops as a result. The tool will cut a concave surface.
Maybe you already have, but you might want to look into how straight the front surface of the rail is.
Hope all goes well.
Regards,
Rees
@@reesacheson5577 Thanks. i have that in mind and once the" gigantic" a little over a ton, gearbox is reinstalled and I have some table movement I'll definitely check everything. I had previously checked the top surface so I know there is 3 though wear in it.
very good job
Great ingenuity! How often do you plan the table on your planer?
Over the past 47 years I think I have planed the table 4 times: Once after I bought it; When I converted to hydraulic cylinder; When I scraped the table ways; And when I planed and scraped the rail. There might have been one more in there somewhere. I think that there should be a very good reason to plane the table.
When I was looking to buy a planer one of the problems I found was that the tables had often been planed so many times that the upper portion of the tee-slots had become dangerously thin, and it would not have been possible to use slot-blocks with those machines.
Rees
Amazed it had enough stoke to overtravel the bed both ways. Did you scrape in the v ways first?
Yes, the travel was close, but I was able to get the flat surface done with a single rail placement. But I had to move it from its original position to do it.
As for the order of scraping, yes, I began with the dovetail. But because the planing had created straight and geometrically correct surfaces, the order did not matter - it was just a surfacing operation..
But I began with the angled surface because it is hidden and hard to notice. And I finished with the two broad surfaces on the front of the rail because they would be highly visible. I needed the practice to become more facile with the scraper before doing the most visible surfaces. I don't scrape that often and find that I need to get into shape each time I do it.
Rees
@@reesacheson5577 Thanks for the reply. yeah it takes a bit to get the "feel" back for good looking scraping.
In replying to your comment I had assumed that you were asking the order in which I scraped the various surfaces of the rail. Reading your comment again now, it occurs to me that you were asking if I had first scraped the bed and table ways of the planer itself to insure that the planer would produce an accurate planing of its own rail.
The answer is yes. Some years before I had done so. And then after finishing this rail project, I again scraped the bed and table ways. But this time they were already in alignment and so it was mostly just a surfacing operation so that they would look like the rail.
Rees
Thanks for sharing the voodoo
A bit of a shame there is no video, important and rare operation for itself, worth documenting in all its glory, lol, but still, nice report.
I had no video camera back then - my son gave me his old one years later. Even now I still can't figure out how to use the thing. I photographed some of the project mostly because of the absurdity of the concept.
Rees
@@reesacheson5577 ah, ok, understood. Yeah it quite funny, on the other hand - one uses what he has to make what one wants to make/have - in that sense, smart use of resources for the task at hands, lol. Shaper rocks)
lots of uses of the word "rail" in this video lol