Hello everyone,
I have a Skil 100 5.5 amp and can anyone tell me how to loosen the nut under the front shoe so that the the bar slides easier to raise and lower the front shoe. Do I have to take out the cutting wheel so it will slide back far enough to reach it?
Thank You
Tom
PM me and I’ll give you a step by step.
Thanks Pete
I took the belt and barrel out in one shot, took the shoe off and removed the nut that was holding the lever and ratchet plate. Removed ratchet plate put lever and nut back on and put everything back together.Where can I get new blades these are a little worn in the center from wood planing or can I ground them back to level
Tom
Never remove the clicker plate! Just bend it inwards until the ribs no longer hit the lever. The shoulder screw that holds in the lever needs to have the clicker plate in place to allow the lever to move properly. This mechanism in Skils is very touchy. Usually the pivot screw (the one in the shoe) is worn and has grooves that will catch on the lever, and the lever slot may be worn. In either case, it causes random binding/jamming as you adjust the cutting depth on-the-fly. Check for any wear or uneven areas and correct them with a needle file/dremel. Put the pivot screw in a drill/drill press and take a file to it while slowly turning to get rid of grooves/flat spots (not much off). Lightly lubricate the contact areas with silicone grease (stick type) when you reassemble. The shoulder screw should be tight and then backed off slightly until the level just begins to move freely. Watch the alignment of the hole in the clicker plate and use threadlocker on the shoulder screw.
On the blades, it depends if they’re the carbide type and if you don’t need to go too deep to square it. Take it to a reputable tool sharpening place and see if the blades can be salvaged. Always have them hone and fine finish the blades.
Howzit tjrm63, You can get new blades and some other parts from Fiberglass hi. Aloha,Kokua
There is absolutely NO need for the ratchet plate to remain in the planer.
It is no longer in any of my Skil planers and after over 45,000 shapes, it has had no effect on the operation of adjustment or any other action related to the workings of the planer.
Thank you everyone and thanks for the video Jim
hello PeteC would you be so kind to send me the steps to make the clicker run smoth or softer that normally is? I just bought a 7.5 skil 100 and had no mods,
what else you recomend i can do? It seems that the cord is a bit heavy too... i am a bit scary to desamble the whole thing..should i take it to a propper shop so they do it for me_
I will check the brushes and resharp the blades, thats all I know about planers..
thanks!
Jim is right, and Pete is wrong. Take the clicker plate out, and put it in a place where you will not lose it because people that do not shape, who collect planers, pay more money for the ones that are not modified. I could say more… OK I will, listen to Jim on this one because he knows. So do I. Just because you can fix a planer, does not make you a master shaper.
Jim is right, and Pete is wrong. Take the clicker plate out, and put it in a place where you will not lose it because people that do not shape, who collect planers, pay more money for the ones that are not modified. I could say more… OK I will, listen to Jim on this one because he knows. So do I. Just because you can fix a planer, does not make you a master shaper.
I’ve taken the ratchet plate out of every Skil I’ve owned since 1966, never once effected the way the machine worked, except to help me become a better shaper
Yeah Jim… It is nice to see a strongly held conviction, backed up with tons of foam dust. Everyone wants to establish themselves as the expert without having done the required homework.
With all respect to Jim, take out the shoulder bolt that holds the lever and clicker. Notice that the shoulder is a specific length to accomodate BOTH the clicker plate and lever thickness. If you remove the clicker, the lever has an additional 1/32" of play, which may cause it to bind. I’ve had this happen on more than one, since I used to remove them. Everyone can do whatever they want to their Skil if it works for them, I only offer advice to the best of my ability so that the results have predicable outcomes for others that may not be master shapers or familiar with tools like the Skil.
Pete-----------Your advise and knowledge is appreciated my many on this forum and elsewhere. Thanks again.
Agreed 100%
Perhaps it’s you Pete who deserves more respect…
Everytime I’ve read your posts concerning planer questions, you’ve been more than willing to help answer those questions…
Believe me, your posts are a lot more of an enjoyable read, than listening to some grumpy old farts boastfully ramble on about how many tons of foam they’ve plowed in their grumpy old lifetimes…
With great respect an admiration to all who have helped here on Swaylock’s, THAT was too funny!
Funny, perhaps… But it makes me no better a person for it…
Which was why I logged back on now , hoping to find that I could still hit the edit button before it was read…
Unfortunately not, so I guess I’ll have to let it stand…
Wa wa wa, somebody’s feeling got hurt. The biggest problem I see with wanna-be board builders is how predictably they resort to tearing down those with real skills. You can do it however you want, but If your using a ol’skil it works better the way Jim described. A grump would just let you wallow in your own excrement, but I doubt you have the aptiude to discern the difference. Push the plate out of the way and see, how easily the shoe fills with foam, and binds. The shaper who uses the tool as a an extention of his mind, cannot tolerate those types of distractions when in the shaping zone. It is still true that kooks are still kooks, and goons still goons. Some will say, but “my planers’ shoe never binds”, but it works better without it. Clickity click click… Back in the day most kooks could never make it past the front door, let alone work in in a real surfboard factory, now they have the power of the internet and plethura of knowledge it contains, still finds a way to allude them.
With all respect due to Pete, he really came up with a great vent for the stand-up paddlle boards which resolved a major problem challenging board builders using EPS. While my words are critical when I think necessary, I still always try to give credit where it is due. The Proverb of “iron sharpening Iron” still produces not only friction but sparks.
I don’t work on Skil’s to further my future as a power tool repairman. Some years back, I was approached through my engineering company to design and manufacture replacement parts for the Skil like the shoe and other pieces, and also to even make a complete copy of it. This involved developing an absolute understanding of this tool; how it works, how others besides me used it, and what it takes to keep it in peak performance. To really understand this, I’ve had to get down and dirty with hundreds of design elements and determine why the original Skil engineers did what they did; something you can’t get simply from using it for no matter how many years. This work included the electrical and mechanical aspects. It took well over a year and countless Skil’s where analyzed before I even made any prototypes. I worked with some of the most respected shapers who have done over 50K boards in their careers to do the QA and verify what I’ve done is correct. In return for their continuing help, I maintain and repair their Skil’s for life at no cost. This is how I got sucked into repairs, also from my advisement on this forum. Today, I can tell you that 95% of production shapers using the Skil that I deal with don’t have a clue how to maintain it, and most work is to fix damages they did on home-brew repairs or just plain carelessness. There are many here at Sway’s whom I’ve repaired, rebuilt, and sold Skil’s to. All have been at a loss or at cost because I don’t do this for a living, but really care about seeing this tool live on and knowing somebody is creating with it. So, as ghetto rat has implied, maybe I really am a sucker or kook. I was once told that people will never appreciate your skills unless you charge them the highest possible cost. At my age and what I’ve accomplished in my technical career, I don’t have to defend, prove, or even explain my engineering ability. And, this explaination was the last free one. I’m done around here.