Thickness Planer rollers
 

What do you guys do and what do you use to clean the infeed and outfeed rollers on your planers?. I seem to have a build up of what seams to be hard small chunks of sawdust. I have the delta 12-1/2"

Daryl,
I've got the 13" Delta. I've tried using a vacuum, air pressure, and a rag, but what seems to work best for me is tape. I just ball up some of the blue painters tape and use it like a lint brush. It works O.K., but I still have some problems with feeding large stock. I probably need to adjust the height of the rollers again...which, of course, isn't very fun.

Hey Daryl:
You could use a liberal dose of turpentine or mineral spirits to soften the lignin in the sawdust and wipe it off with a rag.
Glenn

Yup
 

Brake clean cleans all. Just don't breath the stuff. Then some carnuba wax, helps in the longrun from rustin also.:)

wax?
 

Just wonderin, will stain and paint stick to wax?

Thanks guys. The rollers are not metal or at least the outside of them isn't so I was worried about using heavy cleaner that it might hurt them.

Daryl,

I've got that same thickness planer. My issue is that the rubber coating on the feed rollers has started to deteriorate, a couple cracks, etc.

I would guess the "rubber" is something like buna/nitrile rubber.
Looking up chemical compatibility for buna indicates Isopropyl alcohol is "good"
for mineral spirits what reference I have indicates "excellent" compatibility.

However if they are natural rubber, then the mineral spirits shows a "severe effect do not use"

I'd try a quick wipe with rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) and see if it loosens the residue.

Thanks everyone, I will attack it today, I will go over them with masking tape as Hack suggested and then go over them with alcohol (isopropyl).

Did it work, Daryl??? Inquiring minds want to know :D

No it did not. It seems that the planer is throwing the dust and particles down so its getting squashed between the rollers and the board. Next thing I am going to do it pull apart the planer and do a super cleaning and then take the dust collection setup off and try it again. If it works I will then put the dust collection setup back on and see. If this all works "GREAT" but if it does not I will have to evaluate the dust collection attachment that the planner came with to see if that's the problem. Lots to evaluate here. I do not want to run out and buy new rollers till I have exhausted all the avenues first and as they say " One step at a time". I will keep you posted.