Hello everyone,
I have had this sitting around work for a month or so,
waiting for me to find a chance to bring my planer in from home and install this new Byrd Shelix cutterhead. This is the first one Byrd has made for a General 130, so I hope this goes well.
I finally brought my planer in this week,
First step, drain oil,
and remove dust hood.
I next removed the pulley from the cutterhead and was about to remove the three screws that hold bearing cap to the side of the planer when I noticed this,
Hmmm. The head was larger than my black robbie screwdriver. This is a tool store, I have to have one around somewhere... After 15 minutes of looking I gave up and decided to make one. I don't know what it was that I started with, but we have a bin of them at work, so 5 minutes later on a bench grinder I made a robbie bit that would take out the screw,
Now I was able to take the screws out that hold the bearing cap in place.
I took the gear housing apart so I could take the nut off the end of the shaft that holds a small worm gear in place. I used a tiny puller to get it off,
With the bearing cap screws out and the nut and gear off the other end I was now able to slide the head out of the machine. There was some liberal BFH usage against a block of wood against the end of the shaft to get it started.
I pressed new bearings onto the shaft with a 20 ton hydraulic floor press and installed the head the same way it came out.
Then came the problem that held me up for 45 minutes. I could not get the woodruff key out of the old head. Most people are familiar with a key and keyway on the end of a shaft for a pulley. A small piece of square bar stock engages in a keyway (groove) in both the pulley and the shaft to stop it from free spinning. I usually tap a woodruff key (small semi circle piece of metal) with small hammer to remove it. I hit this key so hard I was worried I was peening it, it would not budge. I ground a cold chisel to a sharp point and drove it into the end of the key and ended up prying it out. I had to file down all the marks I had made in the key and tried to fit it into the new head. Nope wouldn't fit. I spent 10 minutes looking around the shop trying to find another one. I found two, one was too thin and the other was the same size and would not fit either. I spent quite a while filing the key until it finally fit into the shaft,
With the key in place, I could the worm gear back in and reinstall the big bolt that holds everything in,
Install new gasket and reassemble gear box.
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Yup, gotta' love that Shelix! Ever since I got one on the jointer, I just about loathe putting the same boards through the planer! Well done. 
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Originally Posted by chris del
