# Servicing Craftsman Thickness Planer Model 351.233731



## mose1956 (Nov 14, 2011)

Good morning from Evan in Phoenix, AZ. a new member. I am trying to recondition my Planer. I had posted earlier but I think it got lost. I recently purchased the planer at an estate sale. I have had the blades sharpened and re-installed them with the gauge and confident they are set properly. In the first use the in-feed roller would pause and needed a little push, and then would complete the process easily. I have inspected the rollers and they appear to be in good condition. I can not find a manual showing how to remove them and what possibilities may exist causing the problem. Replacements are no longer available from Sears / Craftsman. Is there some help out there 1. Tips as to the possible problem? 2.How do I remove them to inspect the drive chain and make necessary adjustments. 3. Is there a source for re-building them or finding a after market replacement? And finally my Stanley Hand Router 23K RPM 90008 with .01 Base Cir 1970, I was able to locate the Locking screw on the base. The original one was Plastic, Teflon ? and the threads were striped. Thanks Evan


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

You can always find a post you made or thread you started by going to your personal profile and clicking on Statistics. One of those options will lead you back where you want to go. I thought someone found a manual for it.


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Manual available here...

Manual Craftsman Planer 351233731 | SearsPartsDirect

Look good and are good... two different things sometimes. Also may need feed roller pressure adjusted. The manual should cover that. If you need parts, probably out of luck.


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## mose1956 (Nov 14, 2011)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> You can always find a post you made or thread you started by going to your personal profile and clicking on Statistics. One of those options will lead you back where you want to go. I thought someone found a manual for it.


I have the Owner's manual but it doesn't have any information about removing, cleaning, and replacing the motor, drive belt, drive chain, in-feed & out-feed rollers. I was able to get into it today. I easily removed the in-feed roller and drive chain, and found that the out-feed roller drive chain from the motor was very tight as opposed to the in-feed drive chain from the out-feed roller. I am concerned that this doesn't allow much play in the out-feed roller pressure on the work since it may not have full pressure movement possibilities. But it is fun working on the piece. I just completed a complete restoration of my Craftsman Jointer Model 102.05600, what a work horse. I also found while visiting my local Tool Repair shop the set screw for tightening the Router base to the Router on my Cir 1970 Stanley Hand Router 23K 9000 .02 . The original one was Plastic / Teflon which had the threads stripped and was of no use. Nice to be able to save an old tool. Some times the Journey is more enjoyable than the Destination. Thanks Evan


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Yes, Evan. I agree the journey for me is usually the fun part. Got several old electronic projects that I am having quite a lot fun with. Been out of that for a while.

As for the planer, some slop in the chain is normal. might want to increase the infeed pressure just a bit(like 1/8 of a turn at a time) Too much will put undue strain on the motor and those motors really don't need much undue strain! 

Best of luck with the machine.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Some free play in the chain is necessary. If you have to put force on it to get it to deflect a little then it's too tight and will likely cause early bearing failure.


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