Thread: Wadkin RB Bench Type Buzzer - RB 116

Nice set of knives there Vann.
Your original set could possibly be shorter in width due to years of sharpening ?!
It's good to see the safety slots ground in, that set up will add to the safe operation of your machine.
Vann, just a curiosity, is there enough room for the width of those new knives ?
Wondering if the back of the knife touches your bolts ?!
Melbourne Matty.

Originally Posted by L.S.Barker1970

...just a curiosity, is there enough room for the width of those new knives ?
Wondering if the back of the knife touches your bolts ?!
Melbourne Matty.

Hi Matty. 1 9/16" is the standard width for new Wadkin slotted knives.

RBk4.jpg 4th row - RB & RV 1 9/16" wide slotted knives.

I think these just look wide because they're so short.

None-the-less I just checked a knife on the cutterblock. With the cutting edge flush with the edge of the block, there's ~1.5mm clearance from the outer bolt one end, and ~3mm clearance from the outer bolt at the other end ( must be the skewed head).

Earlier I had checked the worn slotted knives. At maximum extension they only protrude 5mm past the edge of the block - so there's probably less that 4mm of wear left. Now I'm really glad I bought spare knives.

Cheers, Vann.

That's good news Vann, l only ask as when l fitted up a set for myself one side needed a little tickle around one bolt on one side, yes that is the skew head. I don't recall the width of the knives for the moment.
Melbourne Matty.

Originally Posted by L.S.Barker1970

...l only ask as when l fitted up a set for myself one side needed a little tickle around one bolt on one side...

Or you could have ground a nice big clearance slot in the side of the bolt...

Cheers, Vann .

Originally Posted by Vann

Or you could have ground a nice big clearance slot in the side of the bolt...

Cheers, Vann .

🤔😮lol...

I have a problem. My wife would second that - she'd say the problem is I keep buying stuff and not doing her jobs .

Now that I've got a bunch of lovely new studs, I want to fit them into the second cutterblock. The old studs have to be removed first of course. Not long after I got this cutterblock I managed to get three studs out. Now, many months later, I still can't get the other three out.

aRB CB40.jpg RB CB41.jpg

I've soaked them in penetrating oil (acetone/HBF 50/50) from time to time - not as often as I probably should have. I've heated the cutterblock to too hot to touch - on the woodburner (it's winter after all). I've been using two nuts to grip the stud thread. But the threads aren't long enough to get two half nuts fully threaded. I've even stripped the thread on one nut (I am using old nuts, not my nice new ones). I just can't tighten the two nuts tight enough to grip the stud - they just rotate on the thread.

I'm considering drilling a 5/8" hole through a substantial chunk of steel bar about 500mm long and welding it to each stud in turn (no pun intended) to provide enough torque to wind them out. But I'm worried I might just shear the studs off.

Any helpful suggestions?

Cheers, Vann.

File some flats and use a big shifter.

Originally Posted by Vann

...The old studs have to be removed first of course. Not long after I got this cutterblock I managed to get three studs out. Now, many months later, I still can't get the other three out...

...I'm worried I might just shear the studs off...

Originally Posted by hiroller

File some flats and use a big shifter.

I got brave and attacked the remaining three studs with a big pipe wrench.

RB 340.jpg RB 341.jpg

Looking at those threads, lets hope I don't have to resort to the pipe wrench to get the new studs in .

The other problem I have (had?) is two of the blade adjusters are (were) seized. Following many application of heat and penetrating oil I've managed to free one and get ~100 degrees of rotation on the other. Nearly there!

Cheers, Vann.

Originally Posted by Vann

I'm considering drilling a 5/8" hole through a substantial chunk of steel bar about 500mm long and welding it to each stud in turn (no pun intended) to provide enough torque to wind them out. But I'm worried I might just shear the studs off.

Any helpful suggestions?

Cheers, Vann.

A good trick to removing stuck or rusted in studs is to fit a nut on the stud and then weld the nut in place. The heat of welding will usually release the stud and it will come out easily.

I remember Jack filed flats on his RM and had to use a long bar. One of the studs on mine was snapped and I had to drill and chase it. I like the idea of welding the nut onto the stud which would help release the threads

Originally Posted by Bohdan

...The heat of welding will usually release the stud and it will come out easily.

Thanks for the tip guys. I can see that that would work.

Originally Posted by Vann

...The other problem I have (had?) is two of the blade adjusters are (were) seized. Following many application of heat and penetrating oil I've managed to free one and get ~100 degrees of rotation on the other. Nearly there!

The last blade adjuster is now free. Yaah!

I bought some Wadkin scales off ePay UK. They were off an RM planer/thicknesser. I thought Wadkin were into standardising parts, but…

RB 345.jpg
…the scale is too short (yes, I realise I’ve fitted the scale from the other table ). So either the RM has less table movement, or the angle of the wedge is different. If it’s the former, then I can use the shorter scales. If it’s the later then the scales are no good (except for decoration).

Looking at another RB, it looks like the RB has more table movement than the RM.

RB 346.jpg

The RB scale goes from 0 to 1" whereas the RM scale only goes from 0 to ¾". If there are any other RB owners out there, could you confirm that the “scale” of the scale is correct please? The RM one is almost exactly 15mm per 1/4”.

Cheers, Vann.

Originally Posted by Vann

...The "clams" on the cutterblock are damaged as a result of the nuts being over-tightened. This has caused the base of the counterbore (where the nuts are recessed into the "clams") to dish, and the bottom to have a matching "rounding". Obviously the the forces exceeded the plastic limit of the steel.

RB 278.jpg

RB 277.jpg RB 279.jpg You can see the distortion here, around the stud holes next to the "15" & "16".

The underside of each "clam" has a 1/32" recess machined the full length and most of the width (as visible in the above photos). I don't have any way of accurately measuring the "rounding" but at least one "rounding" on each "clam" exceeds this amount by at least a further 1/64".

My machinist friend has offered to machine the undersides flat, and to spot-face the nut recesses flat. This will be quite tricky as this is a skewed cutterblock - so the "clams" are thicker at one end than the other...

Yesterday we (he) set up one of the clams in his shaper and started with a 0.5mm skim.

RB 347.jpg RB 348.jpg

Second pass a further 0.25mm (0.75mm total).

RB 349.jpg RB 350.jpg

Third pass a further 0.25mm (1.00mm total).

RB 351.jpg

At that, we had the sides flat. Time to move to the central recess with two 0.25mm passes, followed by a 0.1 pass to finish off (total recess depth 0.6mm).

RB 352.jpg

Cheers, Vann.

This picture (0.75mm removed) really demonstrates to me how abused this cutterblock is. The distortion is so bad that the middle is higher than the edges (when it should be ~1/16" lower). The picture was taken after the second pass was completed, so it shows just how far the corners had moved.

RB 350.jpg

I can only imagine it must have been overtightened to the point of distortion on one occasion. From then on the cutters can't have been held tightly over the full length, and instead of investigating the problem, they just tightened it further and further - worsening the problem. I think they were lucky there wasn't a cutter or two sent flying .

Strange, considering this machine spent it's entire working life at a major engineering works. Obviously at some point they had a ham-fisted person in the maintenance gang .

I'm not planning to use the cutterblock in the near future, but I'll keep it as I have a longer term plan... (if I live that long ).

Cheers, Vann.

Today it's 92 years since this RB buzzer passed its testing at Wadkin's Green Lane Works.

Test Sheet RB 116.jpg

Thanks to Messers Roberts, O.B. and Humberston.

It would probably be a happier birthday if it was up and running (but I keep getting distracted ).

Cheers, Vann.