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Hobby Use Planer Question

Started by Lud, March 03, 2015, 02:42:58 PM

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Lud

Once I had a Ryobi 10", replaced it with the DeWalt 13" maybe ten years ago and put UHMW plastic on the bed and have generally been satisfied tho it can be slow.  Since I'm too cheap to really invest and don't even have 220 in the shop , I just sort of look away at all the talk of helicals, etc. as drooling can lead to bad purchasing decisions. ;D ;D

Anyway, I got some new blades , which are needed, but am  working thru the stack of white oak with the old blades as an initial , rough out with the intention of running them all back thru after the blade switch so I wind up with a better final surface and less wear on the new blades.

Is this a reasonable strategy if time isn't an issue? ???

And how does a guy know how hard to push the equipment?  Just the sound?  I don't like to strain the motor or the dust chute's capacity as it's a pain if it plugs up.
Simplicity mill, Ford 1957 Golden Jubilee 841 Powermaster, 40x60 bankbarn, left-handed

21incher

I would think old dull blades would put a lot more strain on the motor and belts which could cause early death. I try to always have sharp blades on my planer unless I am planning dirty / naily wood and then I would change out the blades as you describe. :)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

hackberry jake

Change out the blades sooner rather than later. I too have been guilty of trying to get too much out of blades, but once I change them, I wonder why I didn't do it sooner. After you change them out, try sharpening your old blades. There are a lot of youtube videos on how. Use a piece of glass as a flat surface and stick some wet-dry sandpaper to it. Build a jig to hold the blade at the correct angle and just rub it back and fourth on the paper until most of the nicks are gone. When you re-install the blades, set one in the head shifted sideways from the others and the nicks won't show up in your lumber.
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

red oaks lumber

dull blades are a killer, sharp blades make life planing lumber alittle nicer :)
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Just Me

 I have a Tersa head in my planer which lets me change out 4 knives in a couple of minutes. What you are talking about is standard practice for me. When the knives get a bit rough for finish I set them aside and them use them for the rough. All those footprints you see on rough wood, thats dirt.

hackberry jake

I never thought about having a rough and smooth set of knives with the tersa set-up. I guess when knife changes don't require an hour and a dial indicator, anything is possible. Can the tersa knives be sharpened?
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

Magicman

Put the sharp blades on.  You will even thank yourself.   ;D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

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johnnyllama

I'd put on the sharp blades. Your planer is a pretty light duty machine, not meant for any extra strain. I have a 24", 8 hp older Delta Invicta machine that can deal with dull blades better but also have a portable Dewalt like yours. On a 15 amp 110 volt motor, you will hurt it by pushing too much through a dull blade. They change easy enough. I would suggest looking at aftermarket blades too. There have been some issues with the Dewalt blades not being that hard.
Turner Bandmill, NH35 tractor, Stihl & Husky misc. saws, Mini-excavator, 24" planer, 8" jointer, tilting shaper, lathe, sliding table saw, widebelt sander, Beautiful hardworking wife, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 23 llamas in training to pull logs!!!

Lud

Thanks everyone!  Consensus is to switch and will do so asap.  Will also look at sharpening as I've got an appreciation for edge from carving and lathe tools.  Thanks! :) :)
Simplicity mill, Ford 1957 Golden Jubilee 841 Powermaster, 40x60 bankbarn, left-handed

21incher

I have a Makita wet grinder that works great for my 12 inch Belsaw blades. It is easy to set up and you get a good edge without having to worry about overheating the tip. It can sharpen almost any tool without overheating the steel.
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Lud

So I'd gotten the new planer blades down at Kiem's in Charm, Oh.  Pulled the first blade with  the magnetic  handle of  the allen wrench that comes with the planer.  It's a safe way to handle the sharp blades.  You can twist them in the light and see the reflections of the edges and see the dings on the side that's been used.

And you can see that you haven't turned the blade around yet to use the other edge.

So I hadn't needed to invest quite so quickly.  Oh, by the way, the fresh edge on a planer blade is about as satisfying as a new blade on the mill! ;D ;D
Simplicity mill, Ford 1957 Golden Jubilee 841 Powermaster, 40x60 bankbarn, left-handed

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