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Often, people will misjudge the condition of their planer blades, resulting in wasted money and time. They will either buy expensive replacement blades or spend extra money hiring an expert to attach them. In fact, there are some signs that your blades are dull. Here are a few of these signs. First, notice how the planer makes noises. If they sound too soft, they are probably dull.
Maintenance of planer blades
Keeping the blades sharp is important if you want them to last for as long as possible. Planer blades can get dull after prolonged use or from mishandling. Luckily, there are some simple ways to maintain the sharpness of your blades, and you can easily do them yourself without any special tools or expertise. Here are some tips for caring for your planer blades. These tips will help you keep the blades running smoothly and prolong their life.
First, you should wax the cutter head shroud every once in a while. Use paste wax to prevent pitch buildup. Next, you should clean out the shavings passages. Clogged shavings can press down on lumber, causing unsightly indentations. Waxing the passages will help prevent your planer from jamming. In addition, waxing the cutter head shroud can also protect the blades from rust.
The next step in maintaining planer blades is to sharpen them. Sharpening planer blades is similar to sharpening kitchen knives. To achieve the proper angles and strokes, you can use a sharpening stone. If you do not have one, you can purchase waterproof sandpaper to keep the blades sharp. These sandpapers will be more affordable than sharpening stones. But keep in mind that sharpening stones have different grits and costs.
A sharp blade is essential to the smooth running of your wood planer. It is important to sharpen your blades on a regular basis. Also, you must keep the blade oriented in a certain way so that it does not bend. The blades should be positioned in the correct manner so that you can maximize their efficiency and precision. If you are unsure how to sharpen the blades, contact a specialist to do it for you.
Sharpening
You might be surprised to learn that sharpening planer blades is not as difficult as you might think. While the knife of the planer cannot be adjusted in the machine, it can be sharpened by using a sandpaper or rubbing compound. Sandpaper comes in grits ranging from 220 to 600. A leather strip is also used for this purpose, which resembles a shaving strop.
To begin, you need to place the blade on the sharpening material and pull it. The next step is to polish the entire back of the blade. The coarse step will take longer than the subsequent steps. Once you have polished the entire blade, you’ll know it has been sharpened. The abrasive will be about twice as thick as the screen. The process will be completed when the blade has a mirror-like shine.
The process of sharpening planer blades is similar to that of sharpening kitchen knives. The key is to use the right angles and strokes. If you don’t have a sharpening stone, you can use a gritted waterproof sandpaper. You can use coarse, medium, and fine grit to achieve the desired sharpness. Make sure to follow the directions on the sandpaper to prevent damage to your cutting edge.
The process is easy enough for anyone to do. You can use a hand sharpening chisel jig to sharpen planer blades by yourself. Just remember to follow the directions in the manual carefully and use a sharpening stone only if it is absolutely necessary. After all, the blades should be sharp and maintain their edge. Otherwise, they’ll need to be replaced in a few months.
Rehoning
As you work with your planer, you may wonder: how long do planer blades last? The short answer is: it depends. They last several years, but they can lose sharpness over time due to heavy use. A planer blade can also become dull and rusted over time. As a result, your planer will run slower and produce flat, uneven surfaces. These problems will affect any type of planer.
First, you should always use the full width of the blades. When cutting through wood, you should never feed it from the center. If you feed it along the outer edges, you will probably end up with a blade that is sharp as new. You should also use a grinder with a cool-cutting wheel. Alternatively, you can rehone a jointer blade. Both methods can last for a long time, and they are easy to do.
Cleaning
If your planer is not cutting the way you want it to, cleaning the blades and rollers will keep your machine operating at its best. You should use mineral spirits to clean the rollers and restore their stickiness, which will help your wood feed through the machine easier. Before you do any maintenance work, be sure to turn off the machine and unplug the power cord. Then, use the cleaning solution to wipe down the cutters and rollers.
To clean planer blades, remove debris, sappy residue, and lubricants that collect in the cutter head shroud. Afterward, you should apply paste wax to the cutter head shroud to prevent pitch buildup. Also, wax the passages to the cutter head to avoid jamming and making the blades rust. Once you have completed these tasks, it is time to store your wood planer for the next several months.
Feed problems
When using a planer, one of the most common problems is with the feed of the blade. There are many ways to fix this problem, but the most straightforward is to remove the blade and the gearbox assembly from the machine. This should be done by unscrewing the two screws that attach the blade to the machine. After removing the two screws, you can proceed to remove the shaft from the gearbox. You may want to use penetrating oil to do this.
The planer bed and knives work together to control the feed rate, so if one of these components is out of alignment, the other two components will slow down the feed rate. To prevent this problem from happening, always ensure that the knives are properly set in the cutterhead. Ensure that they are in the proper position, by marking the dull edge and changing it when necessary. Another easy way to prevent feed problems is to keep the blades sharp.
If the pressure bar is too high, the wood will bounce up and over the pressure bar. It also serves as a hold down when feeding warped stock. It should be at 1/1000th of an inch higher than the cutting depth of the wood. Otherwise, the wood will not feed properly and end snipe will occur. Fortunately, most surfacing problems can be traced to the position of the pressure bar.
High moisture content in lumber can lead to uneven surfaces and a rough surface. During the process of cutting lumber, moisture content is a major concern. High moisture content makes fibers stringy, making it difficult to cut cleanly. When the planer is used correctly, it will smooth out uneven surfaces and make the faces parallel. When the lumber is too warped, the planer will not be able to straighten it.
