How to Set Knives on a Planer
- 1). Run a piece of scrap lumber through the wood planer to assess what you need to do. If the measurement of the thickness differs a minor amount from one side of the board to the other, you may need to make just a small adjustment in the appropriate setscrews. If the board has a large hole scooped out at the end it may be poor technique in removing the board from the planer or the planer blades are set too high. If the blades are too low, the wood may snag on the outfeed table.
- 2). Unplug your wood planer before you do any repairs or maintenance. Release the infeed table and move it as far out of the way as possible. The outfeed table is stationary and is your guide for setting the planer knives.
- 3). Remove the old blades from the wood planer. Also take off the wedges and spacers that hold the planer blades in place. Use a soft oily rag to thoroughly clean the wood planer before you replace the blades.
- 4). Replace the planer knives. You can resharpen the old blades if you know how or use double-edged disposables. The latter is a good choice for beginners. Loosely set planer knives in place by putting the wedges and spacers back in position along with the planer knives. Tighten the screws only enough to hold the blade securely. Put the infeed table back into position.
- 5). Set planer knives depth. Since you measure this in thousandths of an inch, you need a precise measuring tool. Most planer machines come with such a device. If not, use a dial indicator. Tighten the setscrews until both ends of the planer blades are set at the depth.
- 6). Plug the wood planer back in. Run a piece of scrap lumber through it to check that the depth is correct. If not, tighten the setscrews accordingly.
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