Clamshell cutterhead replacement
Moderator: crzypete
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Vince Fricke
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:53 am
Clamshell cutterhead replacement
I've been told that I should replace my clamshell cutterhead on my Oliver 166 (16" head). If Pete and I can come to an agreement on a casting I need, I will move forward to tearing my machine down even further. He suggested that I bring it up on the website, so here I am. Other than the four bolts that hold the cradle to the machine, can anyone help me with how the motor and head come apart. I took the 3 screws out of the cap on the operator's side but not sure what to do next. Also, where can I get another head for this machine since it's a motor on head design? What can I expect the costs to be? Any help, no matter how small, would be appreciated.
Vince, the 166 is very similar to the 399.
here is my post on removing that cutterhead.
http://machinejunkie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=144
There are a number of takes on dealing with a clamshell. from just leaving it to replacing it with a modern tersa type head.
My feeling is that whatever you do, you should keep the machine direct drive. When you get it all apart I believe you will find that there are only two bearings in that whole assembly, they are on either side of the cutterhead. The rest of the shaft that extends into the motor is hanging out......
Pete
here is my post on removing that cutterhead.
http://machinejunkie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=144
There are a number of takes on dealing with a clamshell. from just leaving it to replacing it with a modern tersa type head.
My feeling is that whatever you do, you should keep the machine direct drive. When you get it all apart I believe you will find that there are only two bearings in that whole assembly, they are on either side of the cutterhead. The rest of the shaft that extends into the motor is hanging out......
Pete
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Vince Fricke
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:53 am
Vince the 399 is different in that there is no cradle, the body of the machine is one giant casting, and the cutterhead is attached to that.
You need to do careful planning and budgeting to figure out what to do about the clamshell. By the photos you sent me, it is definitely a clamshell. Although there are some woodworkers out there who still run them, it is not reccomended, as they are not as safe as more modern cutterheads- they have a tendency to throw knives.
You will find that pricing on some new cuttereheads can run into the thousands of dollars range. Used cutterheads can come up, but in you want to keep the direct drive motor, and oliver cradle you will most likely need to find one in the 5" diameter range, which is not as common.
all in all this is a task that will take considerable maching skills, and I would reccomend proceeding with caution. If you study Mr douglas T's rebuild you will get an idea of how involved the process can get. He ended up building new bearing blocks and discarding the cradle that is already damaged. This also entails losing the sexy direct drive motor.
Here is a picture of Vince's clamshell, at some point the original oliver spanner nuts were replaced by hex heads, probably custom made bolts.
Pete
You need to do careful planning and budgeting to figure out what to do about the clamshell. By the photos you sent me, it is definitely a clamshell. Although there are some woodworkers out there who still run them, it is not reccomended, as they are not as safe as more modern cutterheads- they have a tendency to throw knives.
You will find that pricing on some new cuttereheads can run into the thousands of dollars range. Used cutterheads can come up, but in you want to keep the direct drive motor, and oliver cradle you will most likely need to find one in the 5" diameter range, which is not as common.
all in all this is a task that will take considerable maching skills, and I would reccomend proceeding with caution. If you study Mr douglas T's rebuild you will get an idea of how involved the process can get. He ended up building new bearing blocks and discarding the cradle that is already damaged. This also entails losing the sexy direct drive motor.
Here is a picture of Vince's clamshell, at some point the original oliver spanner nuts were replaced by hex heads, probably custom made bolts.
Pete