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Thread: DeWalt 733 planer died today

  1. #1
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    DeWalt 733 planer died today

    I bought it new in 1997 and used it off and on for the first 17 years but in the last 3 I have used it a lot, sometimes daily. It has always run fine but today I turned it on and it ran for 1/2 a second then quit. Here's what I know:

    1) It is getting power, I even switched to different circuit altogether
    2) I pulled the switch out to verify that it is good
    3) The brushes, though original, are still 1/2" long and show no signs of chipping or abnormal wear
    4) The wires on the brushes are intact and the springs have plenty of tension
    5) The motor is easy to spins (took the side covers off to verify)
    6) The 18 amp built-in breaker on the top of the motor is in the position it should be in
    7) In shining a light onto the commutator I see no chips or bridged arcs between segments

    I don't really want to spend the money on a new planer and would rather get this one running again. I can order new brushes just to rule that out but again, the current ones look fine to me.

    Ideas?

    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  2. #2
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    Sounds like you are being thorough. I will just add that I had a tool with brushes that looked fine. Blew everything out real well, ordered new brushes, got bored waiting and put the original brushes back in . . . yep, it started working and has been for some time now. At least I have new brushes for when they finally do wear out.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  3. #3
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    Thanks, Glenn, but I did that, too. Ugh!

    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  4. #4
    "It's getting power." Did you check with a volt meter to see if power was going to switch? Then check to see if it passing thru over load device. Next check at brushes, both in and out of armature. Narrow down your choices to the correct one.

  5. #5
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    I pulled the switch completely out, plugged the planer in again, and checked power on both sides of the switch and there's a full 120 volts on the motor side of the switch. I didn't check at the brushes, not sure I've ever done that but I assume it would be the brass threads for one lead and ground for the other.

    This is the position of the breaker switch, looks to me like that's where it's supposed to be. And it doesn't want to move at all other than a slight rocking back and forth but it's always been like that. And it has never tripped.

    002 - Breaker switch.jpg

    001 - Breaker switch.jpg

    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  6. #6
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    Can you bypass the breaker switch? If it won't move so you can trip and reset it maybe it is defective.

  7. #7
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    I had never tried to move it before, Doug, so no reference as to how or if it even moves. The only way to bypass it is to do a complete breakdown and I can't do that right now - no time. Maybe by the end of the week I can get to it.

    Thanks!
    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  8. #8
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    The cheap AC/Dc motors from harbor freight often come with a spare set of brushes and springs. I think the springs can lose temper with heat. I would turn it on and push both brushes in with a stick of dry wood. Wood not a pencil with conductive graphite.
    Bill

  9. #9
    Have you considered the possibility that you may have an open winding?
    Before I go any further with this do you have a volt meter?

  10. #10
    Sounds like a bad capacitor to me.

  11. #11
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    These motors don't have capacitors, Bob. It's just like your router motor. Thanks, though.

    I got to thinking that maybe I can see the breaker through the switch opening if I remove the switch and I can see it just fine, no disassembly necessary. And the good thing is that the breaker is closed so I can rule that out. I still don't really have time to break the unit down to get the motor out so that may have to wait.

    003 - Breaker inside.jpg

    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  12. #12
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    Can you get a voltmeter voltage reading by testing from one brush mount to the other with the power connected and the switch on? (be careful, because the planer might start without warning) If there is significant voltage across the brush holders, you either have bad brushes or springs, or a defective armature. Brushes and springs are easy. A defective armature will be expensive to replace. If no voltage reading from one brush holder to the other, your problem could be the circuit breaker, power switch, broken wire, etc. For broken wires, try carefully wiggling them with the power connected and switch on. Again, be careful, since the planer may start without warning. Checking from a voltage pin to (green) ground doesn't work reliably. Always use the neutral (white) wire for one probe and the other probe to sample various electrical connections, but use both probes when testing from one brush holder to the other..

    Charley

  13. #13
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    I didn't try that before I took the motor out, Charley. I did check at each brush holder to white neutral and there's no voltage present.

    I took the time to take the motor off after I figured out that I didn't have to disassemble the entire unit (makes sense that it would come off without that...).

    So here's what I have:
    1) The two white leads in the photo are open and show no value.
    2) There is no short or value between either lead and the commutator.
    3) I went through the brush openings and checked resistance across the commutator segments 180° apart and all read the same.
    4) It appears that going much further in this disassembly may require special tools, puller, etc. I can get the gearbox off but that's not going to do much for me at this point.

    David

    004 - Motor partially apart.jpg
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  14. #14
    I would be tempted to keep an eye on Craigslist-I have seen running DW 733 planers really inexpensive. That would also give you a parts machine in case Dewalt ever decided to stop supporting this.

  15. #15
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    Good point, Chris. For now I'm thinking there's a DeWalt 735 in my future.

    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

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