Debarker in/out drive shaft broke this morning

Crossroads · May 06, 2021, 09:51:22 PM

Yup, it broke right off and left me with no control of the debarker. The logs were to dirty to even think about sawing without it, so my first thought was that I was dead in the water. I got on the phone with WM and even though my Warrenty has been expired for almost 2 years, they warranted the replacement shaft. In this day and age, ya gotta love a company that stands behind their products. Now, how to get back to sawing? I put 2 bungee cords from the log side of the debarker to the top blade guard hinge pin, then tied a rope to the outside of the debarker and the other end to the far end of blade guide arm. With a little adjustment, I had control of the debarker again, although I had to run the blade guide out about 3" more than I normally would. It wasn't perfect, but it got me through the day. If you zoom in you can see the bungee and the rope. I added a second bungee for more pressure.

Southside · May 06, 2021, 10:50:48 PM

Nice recovery. FWIW I keep a spare of that motor, after replacing mine several times. It also works on my blade guide arm and my 250 sharpener so one spare part prevents three lost time breakdowns.

Crossroads · May 06, 2021, 11:42:30 PM

When I got home tonight, I dug out the original standard debarker that came with the mill and it still had the in/out motor. I'll put it on in the morning although it has a smaller sheave. Then when the replacement gets here I'll put it on with the correct sheave. Thanks southside, that's good to know. That's one of my fears, to have a breakdown that I can't recover from and finish the job. Even though I only schedule 3 weeks at a time, that would be painful to tell a customer I can't get back for 2-3 weeks or reschedule everyone else.

Bruno of NH · May 07, 2021, 06:00:58 AM

I have had mine break as well.

stavebuyer · May 07, 2021, 06:12:01 AM

Quote from: Southside on May 06, 2021, 10:50:48 PM
Nice recovery. FWIW I keep a spare of that motor, after replacing mine several times. It also works on my blade guide arm and my 250 sharpener so one spare part prevents three lost time breakdowns.

Yeah they like to eat them. I found a little red locktite on the setscrews prior to install helps as them getting loose generally causes the failure.

Crossroads · May 07, 2021, 08:52:13 AM

Quote from: stavebuyer on May 07, 2021, 06:12:01 AM
Quote from: Southside on May 06, 2021, 10:50:48 PM
Nice recovery. FWIW I keep a spare of that motor, after replacing mine several times. It also works on my blade guide arm and my 250 sharpener so one spare part prevents three lost time breakdowns.
Yeah they like to eat them. I found a little red locktite on the setscrews prior to install helps as them getting loose generally causes the failure.

Mine didn't have set screws, it had a hole through the shaft with a roll pin holding the sheave. The hole in the shaft is where it broke. I wish it was set screws, that would remove the weak spot.

Southside · May 07, 2021, 09:12:35 AM

The shaft is too small and the roll pin shears off cutting the shaft in time. That and good luck driving the broken roll pin out of the pulley.

I modified mine using my Miller Bobcat hot glue gun and 3/32", 6013 hot glue sticks. Has not been a problem since.

Bruno of NH · May 07, 2021, 12:24:45 PM

Ya that broken pin comes out of that pulley some hard.

Crossroads · May 08, 2021, 12:33:34 AM

Installed the motor from the standard debarker this morning and I did notice a difference in the in out speed with the smaller sheave.

Dan_Shade · May 08, 2021, 05:34:10 AM

Is the entire assembly different on a wide model?

Crossroads · May 08, 2021, 09:11:32 AM

Quote from: Dan_Shade on May 08, 2021, 05:34:10 AM
Is the entire assembly different on a wide model?

Yeah the pivot point for the wide is about 20" in front of the saw head and the debarker swings between the pivot and the head. Also the main motor spins the opposite direction.

Dan_Shade · May 08, 2021, 09:37:16 AM

Does it work as well as the old style?

Crossroads · May 08, 2021, 06:39:24 PM

I think the standard actually works a little better, but I really didn't get to use it all that much. On the wide, it wouldn't reach any under 12-14" if I remember correctly and Woodmizer send out the upgrades pretty quickly. With the new one we have to run a disc under the blade to control the depth of cut and it seems like the disc interferes with the debarker on the first cut or 2. I do like how it throws the chips and dirt away from the operator.

John S · May 08, 2021, 07:42:30 PM

Woodmizer offers an upgrade to prevent the debarker blade from cutting too deep. It is basically a disc that replaces a washer. Mine is also modified to rotate in the opposite direction from when I received it. Looking at it from above, it rotates counter-clockwise. It doesn't trip circuit breaker as much as it did.