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Cleaning up a Sedgwick

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AJE78

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Having seen the fine work by Wallace I wondered if I could have some advice on cleaning up a 10" Sedgwick PT I recently bought.

I've attached some pics and basically I want to clean up the tables, fence etc. They are rusted and a bit mucky. I'm not looking to strip the machine and give it a respray or anything like that. Just get the metal work rust free and polished up.

I haven't run the machine yet. In fact I haven't even switched it on! I've sent the blades to Leitz for sharpening and that's as far as I've got. I have given it a basic check over and the thicknessing table moves smoothly, the electrics inside the switch gear are clean, rust free and all terminated tight and neat. The planer head rotates smoothly. This is the first PT I have owned so apologies if this sounds like thick things to say, they were the immediate things that came to mind. So keen to hear anything else I should check.

My job after this is to build an extraction hood. I got a quote for fabrication of one and nearly passed out! I've seen a fair few posts on this so should be ok on this.

The seller said it hadn't been used for 20 years. So if there's anything relevant you think could do with checking or servicing I'd be glad to know.

My immediate thought was autosol and some machine wax but wanted to ask the experts before rushing headfirst into to and making a mess!

Cheers

Andy
IMG_20211030_101650.jpgIMG_20211030_101638.jpgIMG_20211021_193532.jpg

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I would just give all the cast surfaces a good scrub with scotchbrite to remove the surface rust and then wax them, autosol would be a bit unnecessary as you're not looking for a mirror polish.

Other than that it would probably just need a mechanical checking over, take the rear cover off and check the drive belts to see if they've perished, I would tend to replace them anyway if the machine has been sat for a very long time as the rubber belts can take a "set" when left in a single position and tight for many years, it'll still run but you might get a bit of vibration as the belt goes around as it goes in and out of it's now set position.

With the belts off, you can rotate the motor spindle by hand and listen to hear if the bearings are shot, if it spins with little to no noise it should be fine but if there's an audible clickity clacking sound as it turns they will need replacing which is a fairly straight-forward job.

The drive chain should be alright as it's quite a low-wear part and it would take miles of use to wear it out, it may be worth taking it off, giving it a good solvent clean and then re-lubricating it and reinstall it.

Use a dry lubricant for the thicknesser column such as a white lithium grease, using regular grease attracts wood dust and chips and eventually it congeals into a horrid mess.

Underneath the part that's protruding out of the base next to the column is what attaches the bevel gear that translates the horizontal rotation of the rise and fall wheel into a vertical one, there should be a couple of thrust bearings visible from the top that you can oil on occasion, the bevel gear could do with a shot of grease once in a while but you do this from the inside of the machine with the back cover removed, it's a bit of a tight squeeze.
 
Superb! Thanks for all that advice, that give me lots to be getting in with. I wouldn't have known or thought of any of those checks so thats a big help.

Where would I go for a replacement belt? Is this something I could buy off Sedgwick or is it just a common belt that I can measure and buy online or even in my local garden machinery shop who belts for rotovators etc? As you can tell I'm a bit clueless on this stuff!

Cheers

Andy

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AJE78":2w7sw1ir said:
Where would I go for a replacement belt? Is this something I could buy off Sedgwick
Click to expand...

You certainly could, but you'll end up paying 10x as much as anywhere else!

I think the belt for the cutter block is a straightforward V-belt, it might say on it exactly what size and type it is but if it doesn't you'll have to measure the thickness and width to get the profile type and then the length of the belt. It depends on how old the machine is but there might be a flat belt for the feed which may be tricker and more expensive to source.

I usually use https://www.bearingsrus.co.uk/
 
I've a dodgy shoulder at the moment and cleaning by hand was hard work, so I put a sheet of maroon scotchbrite on the sander. Much easier :D
 
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