Centering sectional shoe assembly

A sectional shoe assembly for centering workpieces, comprising:

• at least one shoe set comprising a pivotable upper shoe and a pivotable lower shoe defining a distance therebetween;
• a means for directly synchronizing movement of said upper and lower shoes;
• and
• a means for applying pressure to said at least one shoe set.

A planer machine comprising:

• a cutter head assembly, having a top cutter head and a bottom cutter head;
• a feed assembly;
• and
• a centering sectional shoe assembly positioned between said cutter head assembly and said feed assembly, said shoe assembly includes at least one shoe set comprising an upper shoe and a lower shoe, said upper show being in close proximity to said top cutter head and said lower shoe being in close proximity to said bottom cutter head.

A method for centering workpieces in a planer machine having top and bottom cutting heads and a feeding assembly, comprising the steps of:

• aligning said top and bottom cutting heads;
• mounting at least one set of upper and lower centering shoes in close proximity to said top and bottom cutting heads;
• and
• operatively and directly connecting said upper and lower shoes for synchronized movement via a closed circuit, double rod end hydraulic cylinder assembly.

A planar machine comprising:

• a top cutter head;
• a bottom cutter head directly opposed from said top cutter head;
• a top feed mechanism;
• a bottom feed mechanism;
• a first hydraulic cylinder assembly directly connecting said top feed mechanism to said bottom feed mechanism;
• a top centering shoe assembly;
• a bottom centering shoe assembly;
• and
• a second hydraulic cylinder assembly directly connecting said top centering shoe assembly to said bottom centering shoe assembly.