Thread: Correct use of Ryobi AP13 Planer

Which side are the anti kick back catches? Because they will only allow it to feed in one way. The electrical connections in the motor could have got crossed over to have it end up going the wrong way, which should be easy to fix for some one who knows about these things but difficult to explain without seeing it. If it was easy to put back wrong, it should be easy to put right but then we do not know who, if anyone was in it.
Regards

Hi Ken

Welcome to the forum.

It is likely that you are trying to take too thick a cut, and that the rollers are too low to allow the board in. Try a lighter cut.

Also look through YouTube for examples. Should be many.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by A Duke

Which side are the anti kick back catches? Because they will only allow it to feed in one way. The electrical connections in the motor could have got crossed over to have it end up going the wrong way, which should be easy to fix for some one who knows about these things but difficult to explain without seeing it. If it was easy to put back wrong, it should be easy to put right but then we do not know who, if anyone was in it.
Regards

Hi Hugh, Thank you for the comments.I will take the unit to the local electrical motor repair man and get him to check the the electrical connections. Out of curiosity, where are the anti-kick back catches located and what do they look like? Do they physically stop the timber or do they act on the feed rollers?
Cheers, Ken

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Hi Ken

Welcome to the forum.

It is likely that you are trying to take too thick a cut, and that the rollers are too low to allow the board in. Try a lighter cut.

Also look through YouTube for examples. Should be many.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi Derek, Thank you for the comment. Yes I was aware of the need for small/shallow cuts, which I applied, but that was not the problem. Hugh Duke may be right and the motor is wired incorrectly, I will get the wiring checked.
Cheers, Ken

Originally Posted by disasterrisk

Hi Hugh, Thank you for the comments.I will take the unit to the local electrical motor repair man and get him to check the the electrical connections. Out of curiosity, where are the anti-kick back catches located and what do they look like? Do they physically stop the timber or do they act on the feed rollers?
Cheers, Ken

Hi,
They are a row of metal do hickies that hang across the entrance before the feed roller, they push up and let the plank in but can not swing back so if the plank tries to kick back they jam it. If something goes wrong and you want to pull the job back they wont allow that either, you have to switch off and raise the head until they clear.
Hope that makes sense.
Regards

Hi disasterrisk

The earlier model Ryobi AP13's (like mine) don't have any anti-kickback fingers fitted.

Just had a quick look at mine and your cutterhead and infeed/outfeed rollers do appear to be running in reverse. I'm taking a stab in the dark here but if the previous owner had replaced the OEM 3-pin power plug could it have been re-wired in reverse polarity? Just a thought.

Regards
Twosheds

The other issue you need to address is that the cutters are set correctly,if they are too low you would be lowering the cutter head to try and cut which then jams the timber under the feed rollers.
If you don't have a manual seach on the net,you will find one there which may well answer all your questions and give you all the settings you need for successful use.

There is no such thing as reverse polarity making a motor run in reverse by stuffing up the wiring in single phase AC .

You can however turn all the metal bits of the thicknesser live by connecting the active to the earth so make sure the brown wire isn't connected to any green wires

What you observed with the rollers is correct - the cutter head should rotate in the opposite direction to the feed rollers. I have gone to a more powerful thicknesser, but I remember my Ryobi sometimes just refused to feed occasionally for some unknown reason - I just stopped it, wound the head up then down a bit after removing the timber & everything went OK. The wood travels with the rubber rollers and against the cutter head's rotation.

Some thoughts: try it with a piece of scrap/off cut pine instead of hardwood. Check that the knives in the cutter head are sharp & the right way around. Set the infeed & outfeed tables carefully using a long straight edge right through the machine so all three surfaces are lined up - that way you shouldn't get a board tilting up & hitting any of the inner workings, stopping it feeding - it also helps reduce snipe - I have had a piece get a bit out of straight horizontally and foul the side of the feed space rather than the overhead bits.

Originally Posted by A Duke

Which side are the anti kick back catches? Because they will only allow it to feed in one way. The electrical connections in the motor could have got crossed over to have it end up going the wrong way, which should be easy to fix for some one who knows about these things but difficult to explain without seeing it. If it was easy to put back wrong, it should be easy to put right but then we do not know who, if anyone was in it.
Regards

Just got the unit back from the electric motor repair shop. The unit previously had new fields and bushes installed and these had been incorrectly wired. Unit now runs in the correct direction. Thanks for your comments. PS this unit does not have the anti-kickback fingers.. regards Ken

Originally Posted by twosheds

Hi disasterrisk

The earlier model Ryobi AP13's (like mine) don't have any anti-kickback fingers fitted.

Just had a quick look at mine and your cutterhead and infeed/outfeed rollers do appear to be running in reverse. I'm taking a stab in the dark here but if the previous owner had replaced the OEM 3-pin power plug could it have been re-wired in reverse polarity? Just a thought.

Regards
Twosheds

Hi Twosheds, thanks for the comments. See my current reply to A Duke, the unit was wired incorrectly. How is Soldiers Point these days, I worked for Port Stephens Shire in the 50/60s when the Point was a fishing village at the end of a dirt road which was subject to flooding by high tides.

Originally Posted by nrb

The other issue you need to address is that the cutters are set correctly,if they are too low you would be lowering the cutter head to try and cut which then jams the timber under the feed rollers.
If you don't have a manual seach on the net,you will find one there which may well answer all your questions and give you all the settings you need for successful use.

Hi NRB, Thank you for the comments. I went online and downloaded a manual. See my recent comments to A Duke. The unit now runs okay. Regards, Ken

Originally Posted by dalejw

There is no such thing as reverse polarity making a motor run in reverse by stuffing up the wiring in single phase AC .

You can however turn all the metal bits of the thicknesser live by connecting the active to the earth so make sure the brown wire isn't connected to any green wires

Hi DaleJw, The unit is now running okay after being checked out by an electric motor repair shop. Unit had previously had new fields and bushes installed. Regards ken

Originally Posted by bsrlee

What you observed with the rollers is correct - the cutter head should rotate in the opposite direction to the feed rollers. I have gone to a more powerful thicknesser, but I remember my Ryobi sometimes just refused to feed occasionally for some unknown reason - I just stopped it, wound the head up then down a bit after removing the timber & everything went OK. The wood travels with the rubber rollers and against the cutter head's rotation.

Some thoughts: try it with a piece of scrap/off cut pine instead of hardwood. Check that the knives in the cutter head are sharp & the right way around. Set the infeed & outfeed tables carefully using a long straight edge right through the machine so all three surfaces are lined up - that way you shouldn't get a board tilting up & hitting any of the inner workings, stopping it feeding - it also helps reduce snipe - I have had a piece get a bit out of straight horizontally and foul the side of the feed space rather than the overhead bits.

Hi BSRLEE; Thank you for the observations I will take them on board. I have read where others have attached a long piece of melamine board to the in/out feed tables to correct snipe and ensure a level surface area.. Regards Ken