Spring has sprung. Get out and shoot your Henry

Foley-Belsaw/ Craftsman planer

Post Reply
User avatar
Ernie
Cowboy
Posts: 1999
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:07 pm
Location: Southwestern Lower Michigan
United States of America

Foley-Belsaw/ Craftsman planer

Post by Ernie » Sun Mar 29, 2020 5:50 pm

Found new feed rollers for this 12" 5 hp planer so I am going to replace the old ones which are too slick to pull planks through. Found a manual on the Belsaw website but cannot locate new drive chains on any site so I am going to clean up the old ones and lube them before re-installing. No idea how old these are but when they break I think I am hosed. Taken off the covers and gotten pictures of everything in place and spraying all the bolts with Blaster hoping this will go smoothly. Intending to get into it this week after work, just have to get brave enough to start tearing things apart.
0 x

User avatar
Cofisher
Drover
Posts: 2472
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2016 8:02 pm
Location: Colorado/Nebraska
United States of America

Re: Foley-Belsaw/ Craftsman planer

Post by Cofisher » Sun Mar 29, 2020 6:40 pm

Ernie, I hope your project goes well. A good tool is well worth maintaining. Good luck.
1 x
Remember, it's not how many guns you have. It's how many bullets you have.

User avatar
Ernie
Cowboy
Posts: 1999
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:07 pm
Location: Southwestern Lower Michigan
United States of America

Re: Foley-Belsaw/ Craftsman planer

Post by Ernie » Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:41 pm

Found some more parts but they are pretty expensive. Will only buy if needed but it is nice to know they are still available.
0 x

User avatar
Ernie
Cowboy
Posts: 1999
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:07 pm
Location: Southwestern Lower Michigan
United States of America

Re: Foley-Belsaw/ Craftsman planer

Post by Ernie » Sun Apr 05, 2020 10:39 am

Replaced the feeder rollers in the planer yesterday. Was a bit of a challenge removing the drives and returning everything properly. Fortunately I had located a manual with an exploded parts diagram and took plenty of before pictures. Cleaned chains in kerosene and used chain lube. Had to manually work each link to free up and get lube worked in, and greased up all the bearings. Works great. Now have a functional old workhorse, they don't make them like this anymore.
IMG_0739.jpg
IMG_0739.jpg (150.69 KiB) Viewed 5353 times
before removal
IMG_0753.jpg
IMG_0753.jpg (202.02 KiB) Viewed 5353 times
finished project after trials.
1 x

sawdusty
Tenderfoot
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:44 pm
United States of America

Post by sawdusty » Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:58 pm

ok now use steel wool and a good paste wax on table top and make some sawdust!
1 x

Travlin
Cowboy
Posts: 1381
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:06 am

Re: Foley-Belsaw/ Craftsman planer

Post by Travlin » Wed May 20, 2020 11:16 pm

This is very interesting to me and thanks for posting. I have a Belsaw 902 planer. It makes yours look like it was made last week. The good news is that the feed rollers have one vee belt and the rest of the drive is gears. The cutter head only has two blades but by replacing the driven vee pulley I was able to slow down the feed rate so that even rough grain comes through smooth. The motor is an old GE. repulsion induction three hp. that looks like the Mayflower pilgrims bought it used. It runs great and can handle a twelve inch walnut or ash board without strain.
1 x

User avatar
Ernie
Cowboy
Posts: 1999
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:07 pm
Location: Southwestern Lower Michigan
United States of America

Re: Foley-Belsaw/ Craftsman planer

Post by Ernie » Thu May 21, 2020 12:30 pm

Is the cutter head designed for 2 blades or is that just what you have left? I got this planner 20 years ago and used it on two projects then parked it until I got new blades and feed rollers and actually got them installed. This has a 5 hp motor and it is a beast. Got a kick out of looking at the manual for the saw, sander, and shaper accessories.
0 x

Travlin
Cowboy
Posts: 1381
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:06 am

Re: Foley-Belsaw/ Craftsman planer

Post by Travlin » Thu May 21, 2020 9:12 pm

The cutterhead is made to hold only two blades. They are bolted on and are about five sixteenths thick. The G.E. motor has oil cups with spring loaded lids and a little wick inside the curved tube that leads to the bearings plus a little swing away curved lid that covers the set screw that is in the middle of the end bearing on each end of the motor. If I haven't used the machine for a few weeks or longer , I remove the set screw and put a drop or two of oil right on the shaft.
1 x

Post Reply