during the last major rains (central cal) i found out the hard way that my little shed has a leak.
The hard way being i picked up my planer and water drained out of it. Imagine my jaw dropping as i ponder how the hell water got INTO my planer in the first place and how close i was to crying as this thing was probably the most expensive tool i own. Well, the denial has worn off and i need to face the facts. So i don’t want to just plug it in and see what happens…i’m pretty sure that would be the wrong way to determine if any damage has been done. So i’m going to open her up and take a look.
So my question is…
What exactly should i look/hope for?
I’m thinking rust would be something i may see…but how do i know if damage has been done to the motor or anything else?
I’m hoping it’s super greased up in there. It’s had plenty of time to dry out.
Blow it out with an air hose first, then put it in front of a fan or ceramic space heater (not too close) overnight. Perhaps even open it up to MAKE SURE the interior is dry, before turning it on. Good luck.
Flood the motor and bearings out with WD40, the WD40 will displace any water and prevent any bare metal from rusting. WD40 is also a great solvent you will probably have to regrease the bearings if they are serviceable or replace them if they arent. An AC motor isnt exactly super high tech, just prevent rust from forming and you will be fine I’m sure. I’ve have way more complicated things get wet when they shouldnt and they are still fine.
SHE TURNED ON…now, where can i get new blades? Or can i sharpen my own? Probably just want to get new ones. What am i looking at cost wise? Just thinking out loud, i’ll do a search. Thanks for the info.
I’m not familiar with the Hitachi. Skil 100’s, I know. Richard McCormick did the definitive sharpening thread a few years back. I’m sure it’s in the archives. Perhaps someone has a link to it.
Need to dry something out? Stick it in a vacuum bag and evacuate! Pressure drops, water evaporates, job done. Apply WD40 and off you go. Good way to dry out water logged core as well.
Being in the construction industry in soggy old Cornwall I have had to deal with water in power tools a number of times. Shake out what water you can, spray in loads of WD 40 shake that out and your good to go I find. Thats the in a hurry method, letting your tool dry out for some hours near a not too hot heat source after the WD 40 can’t hurt. I can’t say any of the tools I’ve dewatered seems to mind this treatment, however WD 40 does dissolve grease so you might want to repack bearings to save having to replace them in the near(ish) future. Mind you I’ve got tools that get heavy use and are still going fine years after just the WD 40 and shake treatment. Basically water in your tools is a bummer but definitely not that big a deal.
We keep the blades in stock at all times http://www.foamez.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_25 . You can certainly sharpen them yourself using a little TLC. If you bought the planer new there should have been a gold metal contraption included. That device is made to hold the blades when sharpening to achieve identical edges with each blade. If you do have any issues with your planer you can send it in to us and we can get it serviced by the guy that developed that model.
