Electric Planers & Blades & Pinblocks

[Paul Chick (Earthlink)]

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Terry
I'm a little late on getting back on this one.  Here's some experiences I've
had with planers:
  -----Original Message-----
  Subject: Electric Planers & Blades & Pinblocks


  I have a Dewald 12-1/2-inch electric planer. I use it quite a bit. I can
plane Sitka Spruce all day with it. I can plane narrow-ish hardwood boards
all day with it. But, I have been making a number of pinblocks lately and
find that when I run wide hard maple boards through the planer numerous
times, it seems to take its toll. I suspect I am simply reaching the limits
of durability with such a tool.
  The blades are what seem to go first. I have enough power (unless of
course the slower rotation when stressed contributes to poor performance).
The unit is wide enough for most of my needs. But the knives get dull
quickly. It takes a long time to sharpen them (I spent four hours removing,
sharpening, reinstalling and adjusting them yesterday). Yesterday I noticed
that one edge was cutting deeper than the rest of the width. I found that
one of the knives had bent at one end.
  [Paul Chick (Earthlink)]
      The knives are ground for general purpose planing.   Increase the
included angle by 5 degrees.  Check the angle of the knives in the cutter
head before proceeding; of the back of the knive may hit the wood.  Your
owners manual may have some recommendations.   The knives will be more
durable for maple, but you may experience a rougher finish and more tear-out
on softer woods like spruce.   Adjust the rate of feed and the depth of cut
to find the optimum capacity for your machine.

  It seems that running wood through the planer with the grain parallel to
the knives is hardest on the planer. Are there any wisdom-type rules for
such grain when planing with an electric planer?
  [Paul Chick (Earthlink)]
  Knives working cross grain tend to peel the wood more easily making long
stringy chips.  They must be very sharp and used with very light cuts for
best performance
  I think this planer is just not heavy-duty enough for running lots of wide
hardwood through it. Do bigger planers have thicker, more heavy-duty,
knives? Are knives of higher-quality metals available -harder (like for hand
planes)? Anyone have a recommendation for a bigger planer? How do others
handle planer knife sharpening (I am sharpening mine on my Tormek unit)?
  [Paul Chick (Earthlink)]
  Thicker knives and carbide knives are available.  Check the capacity of
your cutterhead before purchasing them.  It sounds like you're at or over
the limit of your machine.   Check out RBI.  We bought one of their 20"
planers.  It does not have the cast iron tables you see in commercial
machines, but is very beefy in the right places with a 5 hp motor.  The
first big job through it was 1500 BF of aspen for paneling; no problems and
the knives are still sharp.  It handles the harder woods--maple, birch, oak,
walnut, hickory--with ease.  I think they build a 15" machine that you might
consider.   I recommend calling them and discussing your needs.  They have a
website,  or look in the ads of woodworking magazines.
  Nice job on the pinblock you pictured.

  Paul C

  Oh, and here is a picture of my latest pinblock. Quarter-sawn hard-maple
epoxy-bonded with a Delignit cap. Operators are standing by......



  Terry Farrell

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