How to set planer knives

Hello and welcome to Badger Workshop. Setting planer blades is a fiddly job, but if you take your time it is not all that hard to get it right.

This way of setting the blades works with any size of planer. I use a plate of aluminum to set planer and jointer knives.

Set the machine or tables so the lowest knife just hits and skims the surface. With the other knives snug, not loose or tight, I rotate them until they touch the plate.

If the knife sticks out too far, I just tap it with the aluminum plate until it touches. I reset planer knives using mini planer pal jigs. Its not as hard as you might think! I was asked by a subscriber to show the concept of setting the blade height in a planing machine.

I show you how this is done using my HC2and the same pri. The knife setting gauge that came with my delta planer is a different style. Note in the photo that I set the knives about a millimeter lower than that gauge would have set them to.

Mark guides you through the steps needed to replace your hand-held planer blades in this video.

Changing the blades is an easy process, and in some cases onl. Proper and accurate set up of planer knives. In this article, we will show you how to easily and quickly setup your planer knives using a handy IGM jig.

Even nowadays, some carpenters use outdated and inaccurate methods of proper knife set up. Unplug your planer from the power source.

Remove the dust cover from the planer for easier access to the knives. Question I have accurately set knives in a number of jointers and know all the basic moves. Planer Knife Setting Jig.

This one, though, is something else again. Has a roun ball bearing head (original) that takes knives of width. Your planer has been putting out smooth, flat boards for quite awhile. You might have started noticing a few chips or dips in the surface.

Instea I installed a replacement set of planer knives manufactured by Titan Knives and they were razor sharp. Those knives were flat ground to an excellent smooth finish, whereas the original Jet knives were vertical ground which will leave a micro serrated edge since they appeared to be ground to about a rough 1grit.

It is vital when jointing a piece of wood for your projects that the knives be properly set, and so George Vondriska teaches you a low-tech method for setting jointer knives. You can use a straight piece of plywood to measure the distance from each knife to the outfeed table and make any necessary adjustments, accordingly.

The knives are loosened by turning the screws in the wedges with a wrench. To adjust planer knives just invert the gauge in the holder.

I also made this bed-resting base but don’t use it very often. Simple to make using ¼” screws, wing nuts and ‘T’ nuts so the height is adjustable.

Nicked knives that are still sharp can now be easily side shifted in opposite directions to eliminate lines in the planed wood surface and to greatly extend the usable life of each knife. These disposable knives have two edges (just like those on a benchtop planer ). The knives register to pins on a magnetic metal holder that rests in the cutterhead channel on locator tabs, as shown right.

Tearout can get nasty when jointer and planer blades get dull. Disposable blades are expensive to replace, and sending out standard blades for resharpening puts your woodworking on hold.

But with this simple jig and a typical set of sharpening stones, planer and jointer blades can be quickly rehoned in your shop. Set the height of the knives so that if you rest the ruler on the outfeed table, and turn the planer head by han it will pick up the ruler, and move it forward by mm, or about 0. Measure it just above the jack screws.

The next step is to set the working surface of the planer – this can be a table or your working station. The in-feed table, which is usually at the front, should help you set the depth, while the out-feed table should enable you to hold the piece of wood you are working on. Grab your wrenches and loosen the bolts holding your blades in place. Once all of the bolts are loose, carefully remove the blade and set it aside.

Be sure to note the orientation of the blade so that you can reinstall the new blades properly. As the trademarked name says, this is “Private Woodworking Instruction in a Box” and nothing short of Hendrik’s in-shop seminars and courses even comes close.

Once you have learned how the surface planer is set up, the next step is to test the machine. Draw lines on the surface of the board using a pen or pencil to track the progress.

Now, run the board through the machine to get an idea how it works. Tips: The surface planer only works on boards with at least one of its surfaces being completely flat.

This swing set also features a nice climbing wall to one side. See my other woodworking plans HERE. There are many plans and designs to choose from, so make sure you take a close look over the rest of the garden bridge plans featured on our website.

Select correct size of blades by filtering by size given in left sidebar of this page. When buying planer knives and inserts, the ultimate objective is to buy "The Perfect Blade".

Buying the perfect planer blade is actually made of several components and is integral as our mission statement.