Startrite Robland SD310 planer thicknesser

Heres a description of the restoration of a Startrite/Robland SD310 planer thicknesser.

I had been looking for a cast iron bedded planer/thicknesser for a while..something that would be easyish to get into my workshop which is in the basement of my house..this discounted the wadkin type of machines as they wouldnt strip down into managable lumps to manhandle down 14 stone steps into my workshop.
I've managed to get a colchester student lathe and harrison graduate woodturning lathes and a largeish startrite bandsaw down there in the past so I am used to moving heavy machinery around.

So I thought the types of machine were either a sedgwick 12" planer or the startrite SD310.

Looking on ebay there seemed to be a regular supply of these machines at affordable prices ~circa £500 I wasnt fussed whether it was 3 phase or single phase so I placed about 6 suitable machines in my watch list and sat back and waited till 15mins before they ended to see what I could win. I was cautious about bidding for  a machine that was too far away because of costs in time travelling to fetch it,so I tried to limit myself to machines within about two and half hours drive away.

After missing a few machines that soared in the last few minutes to a level that I thought was too much I spied one ending very late at night presently at £200 so with finger ready to place my bid in the last 10 seconds I mentally decided to place my max bid of £550....was pleasantly surprised to win for only £440..then the doubts arrived ...
why had I won for so little when other similar looking machines had gone for 600 plus..had I  missed something glaringly obvious wrong with it.
The seller had said in his listing it was in good working order and he had 100% pos feedback...

The machine was only 70 miles away too

The next day saw me hurtling across the pennines in my estate car to fetch my new toy

First impressions was well it looks rougher that the photos suggested but at least it all seemed to be there.
The previous owner had said he had bought it intending to use it from a woodworker who was retiring but in the time he had had it changed his plans so had decided to sell it on.

We dragged it out of his store into the sunlight and I set to with the spanners taking enough weight off it to be able to rock it over into the back of my car

This is how it looked when brought out into the light of day
Note  round 3 pin plug   I wonder when it was last used.
Anywhere that shavings could collect there was chippings all compacted I'm sure it hadnt been used in donkeys years.
Lots of rust on the bottom panals that wasnt shown in the ebay listing pics
The box contained a set of shaw guides/gaurds and there was a set of new blades in a packet dated 1984
The seller declined to plug the machine in to test glibly saying it had worked the last time it was powered
perhaps I should have walked away at that point

Anyway 30 minutes had all the beds off and the chap gave me lift into the car with the main body ,it perhaps weighs about 170kg

On arrival back to Sheffield I managed to slide it out and onto my driveway so I could have a better look at what I had bought. Heres some snaps.....

I always knew that any machine I bought I would be stripping it down to replace any bearings and do any mechanical/electrical work to make it safe and capable of work

The next day I started to strip it down fully intending to give the base a good wire brushing before painting with hammerite paint.However after getting a bare chassis the amount of rust and thick previously applied paint made the wire brush hours  look unatractive so I made the decision to cart the chassis and one panel off to be shot blasted and powder coated

So with the big lump out of the way I could start on the task of cleaning and preparing all of the bits so when the chassis came back I could just slip them back on ...
First off theres an awfull lot of parts in a planer/thicknesser

Whilst stripping the chassis out I had noticed that the cutter block rotated but sounded rough but the feed rollers either didnt turn or were very stiff...new bearings there then I thought...but the sprockets on the end were welded on ! Robland/Startrite obviously thought that the feed rollers were a sealed item to be replaced as a whole...even the bearings were welded into carriers...mental note to start work on them sooner rather than later.

I should at this point remind readers that no manufacturer spares are available for this machine so if anythings missing or needs work you are on your own either repairing or making new parts..

Theres a lot of parts which all needed cleaning and checking so I set to with degreaser and wire brushes etc

I found a broken pin on one of the infeed table lifts so that needed drilling out and a new 8mm dia piece of silver steel welding in and a pin hole drilling to retain the table.

The sprockets I managed to get off by cutting the weld off with an angle grinder in a sort of dishing movement then applying pullers and eventually the old sprockets came off very bent mind...

I bought new sprockets and turned the bores out to 17mm then drilled and tapped for 8mm grub screws to hold them on the shafts...then turning my attention to the bearings for the feed rollers i gently cut away the welds holding the 2 halfs together. On the rubber outfeed roller this released the bearings and the roller so an easy job to replace and a quick welding job to fasten back up the carriers.

The knurled infeed roller however was a different matter as it was welded much more ...holding the anti-kickback fingers in...but i found that by gently bending the carriers back it was possible to wriggle the roller out clean it up and replace with new bearings and wriggle it all back together.

Here are the two assemblies just waiting for a coat of paint..

I dont know if all sd310's have this arrangment of welded up parts making you have to buy the whole assembly.

There was now a few days of cleaning and painting all the bits and pieces. I replaced all the bearings in the machine as a matter of course

4 in the feed rollers

2 in the cutter block

4 in the feed roller drive assembly

1 each in belt tensioner and chain tensioner

After a few days the chassis was ready at the powder coaters ...it looked fantastic I was very pleased that I had spent the money ( £90 ) having it blasted and painted as it was far superior to anything I could have done in my workshop..

It was a pleasure reassembling it with all clean and painted parts...all the prep I had done paid off and I was able to reassemble in about 3 hours.

I replaced all the wiring and switches and placed an extra start switch at the right hand end where previously there was only a stop switch.

After all this the machine sounded great while running...just setting up was needed.

Set up..........

I dont know whether this is the proper way to set up but its worked for me.

1.. make sure that the thicknessing table is clean on its flange that fastens to the rising column

2... install thicknessing table making sure bolts are tight

3... level thicknessing table as level as you can by placing shims under the chassis's feet using a long spirit level.

4...  I used engineers 321 blocks to level the cutter block to the table...raising the thicknessing table to just touch the cutter block ..one at each side in the mid way position between blades..the bolts at the non drive end are slotted to allow adjustment ....if ground blocks are not available then any 2 exact thickness blocks would suffice.

5..level the outfeed table to horizontal with the spirit level....2 nuts at the hinge side...

6..now level the outfeed table to the cutter block using the height adjusters under the outfeed table.

I used a combination square to drop down onto the mid area of the cutter block.

7... install blades and adjust so a straight edge is carried forwards about 2-3mm on turning the blades over TDC

8... adjust infeed table so its level and coplaner to the outfeed table using a long straight edge and feeler gauges. using all bolts that fasten table to chassis 4 bolts and 2 more on a cross shaft which could be replaced when all level

9...Thats all so time to test the whole machine.

It worked perfectly

I would say that in all it cost me about £ 850 and 20-30 hours to do up