hi. sorry if this has been covered before but did a search and perhaps my search skill are lacking.
i did an upgrade today on my planer to the hitachi and went the extra step to get the shaping drum. first, i can’t believe the difference between the hitachi and my bosch that i’ve used the past couple of years. wow - the power and cutting depth helps tremendously.
but what seemed like a simple thing has turned out not to be for me. how do i get the bladed drum out of the tool to add the sanding one? i’ve unscrewed everything unscrewable and the only logical next step is to pop the rubber tread off thats used to spin the drum. but it’s on pretty darn tight and tinkering around with the screwriver to get it off looks like i might be doing more harm than good. at least cosmetically.
so if anyone can point this clueless one in the right direction it would be most appreciated.
Unfortunately no advice for installing apart from reading the manual. If you’ve lost the manual try the online version (if there is one). What I will also say though is grit drums are in constant contact with the foam as opposed to a normal planer drum only touching the foam once per revolution. This will make a grit drum work your motor far harder and could possibly cook it. Keep a close eye on your planer to make sure it doesn’t get too hot after you get the install sussed.
It’s fairly simple to get the drum out. You have to take the belt off, just put a flat blade screwdrive underneath it at the pulley, and manually turn the drum. The belt will come right off. The bearings are pressed into the plastic housing which is what is holding the thing together even after you unscrew everything.
I’m going from memory here (and it’s been several years since I did it, so maybe someone can chime in if I’m off a bit). You have to take the metal plate off the exhaust side of the housing, then use a flat punch to gently tap out the drum (and bearing) by tapping in the center of the drum/bearing assembly (think axle on a skateboard truck). If it doesn’t move, don’t force it, it’s easy to damage it if you’re not careful.
That said, if you aren’t feeling real confident about doing it yourself, any reputable tool shop that does repairs can get it out for you (should be the minimum shop charge).
Once you have taken off the belt, unscrew the rotors that hold the belt. Then remove the plate, but carefully–it’s possible to dislodge the other ‘axle,’ (the rear one), which can lead to complications. If you have to, brace your other hand on this axle to make sure it doesn’t come out. Once the plate is off, as surfthis explained, you can remove the blade-drum. If you need to, a few gentle taps to the bearings might be necessary, but pad them so that they don’t get damaged. Then pop in your grit drum, repeat the process in reverse, and have at it!
It’s a lot easier than it sounds. I recommend you try it yourself and, in case of emergency, hand it over to the pros.
thanks folks. will try this am. i didn’t think about rotating the drum to help with the belt - makes sense and should help avoid some of the carnage i was headed toward yesterday.