Using Planer Pals on a Grizzly G1021 15" Planer

[Fred Floyd]

I have this old Griz 1021 (15-inch) planer. I have never replaced the knives and it seems like a good idea before embarking on the kitchen cabinet door project (26 doors and a dozen drawers).

The planer was purchased used, so I don't have the knife setting jig. I purchased the Planer Pals from Grizzly. After removing the top cover and the chip deflector, I broke out the planer pals. They are too big to fit into the space where the cutterhead is exposed.

The instructions suggest that the springs holding the chipbreaker in place should also be removed. I did that, but still there is no way that I can fit the planer pals into the space. The chipbreaker is held in with a metal bar that restricts its movement to about 1/2". Still not enough room.

Has anyone had experience with the Planer Pals on a 15" planer?

[Josh Bowman]

Fred,
I think you have the same planer as mine. Follow this link for the parts list. I've included a DOC file attached for you to refer to or goto this link. http://cdn1.grizzly.com/partslists/g1021_pl.pdf
Have you removed item 23, the chip defector? It should be held in with 3 screws. This will give you some more room. Next you can remove the item 28 chip breaker springs. All that will buy you is a little more access to the blades.
I just finished replacing my blades (no planer pals used....sorry) and used the Bob Vaughn method. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-986589700074242027
It works very well....although a little tedious, but when you get the hang of it, the replacement goes fairly fast.
Another thing I did was remove my motor, remove the switch first or you'll be holding a heavy motor while you then remove the switch:mad:. That was fairly simple and not a big deal. If it is you first time, it will help alot....assuming your motor is on top.
Don't remove the chip breaker. I did....not very hard to do with the blades out, and will give you lots of room. Only thing, I couldn't get it back in when all the blades were in. I got it out by using one of the empty blade slots area to let the chip breaker rotate out. So that's a dead end unless you can figure a way to get it back in from the bottom.
Anyway try the things I mentioned and see if it gives you enough room. If not you might try some of these.
http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/9/6/6/5/9/6/webimg/214744917_tp.jpgHave not got a clue if they will work, I found them on EBay for 50 bucks and thought I'd try them. I should get them next week. I do agree, that area is tight, but you can use the Vaughn method and get them very accurate.

[Fred Floyd]

I did remove the chip deflector. Without removing that, there's no way. I saw the gadgets you showed. They are available for something around $65.00. If they are smaller than the planer pals, that might be a better choice.

The motor on my machine is well out of the way. That area is just not very wide

[Salem Ganzhorn]

You can order the knife setting jig from Grizzly for 10. I ended up making a jig instead:
http://photos.ganzhorn.org/albums/album761/web0002.sized.jpg

Managed to get them to within .002 across all 3 blades. It was like night and day :).

Anyway you might want the Griz jig anyway or make sure you figure out the height the blade should be at before you remove the old ones :).
Salem

[Josh Bowman]

You can order the knife setting jig from Grizzly for 10. I ended up making a jig instead:


Managed to get them to within .002 across all 3 blades. It was like night and day :).

Anyway you might want the Griz jig anyway or make sure you figure out the height the blade should be at before you remove the old ones :).
Salem

This is the same kind of jig I made. Looks like by accident I went down the correct path. I did not have the stock knife setting jigs when I bought the planer and decided to use the Vaughn method since I had never done this before and his video made it look simple......but it's a skill:(. My only real issue was coming up with something that will pull the blade back up. If you watched the video, he basically sets one side to a height then with that gizmo checks from that side each retaining bolts blade height. You either tap the blade down...that's easy or pull the blade up, not so easy on ours. That space by the head is very tight. I wound up taking a "nut pick", the thing that comes with a nut cracker to pick the meat out of the nut. Heated it's relatively sharp end and bent it to an L shape. Wish I could come up with something like that that would let me pry the blade, but I had to really pull hard to get my blades close. Now don't judge this method from my experience, because my blades did not have a straight edge (the sharpening process left them .004" high in the middle). It took a lot of work to get them even close to right. Now I think if I put my extra set in that are straight, his method will work great and the gizmo is very easy to make and size for you needs. Once I got the hang of the thing and realized I was not going to be able to make those blades perfect, it only took me about 10 minutes per blade. Even with my crappy chamfered blades I was within .008", that's 2 sheets of paper on the whole head as measured at 15 locations low to high? I doubt the Grizz Jig could do better. If you have the right blades, it should be easy to get within .001" to .002"
If you would like I will let you know how the new type of jig works when I get them. They actually can be bought in 2 sizes. I've gotten the larger size. I have also gotten the stock blade jig now and will try it at the same time. It relies on springs under the blades to push against it. If your missing your springs, as I was, ink:)pen springs work just fine. There are six springs in the head.
Unless you've done this before, don't let that motor get in you way, it's not hard to take off or put on.
Boy I came close to buying those planer pals......glad I didn't pull the trigger. If we can find a suitable method for you, you should be able to get your money back out of them, if not refunded, depending of where you bought them.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

This is the same kind of jig I made. Looks like by accident I went down the correct path.

I would be very careful assuming that the path I took was the right one :). The first time I did this it took hours. But the difference is amazing. Previously one blade was .007 or so high so it was effectively only cutting with one blade.

I think the planer pals could work. But the big issue I see is that when you clamp down the blades they move. In my example one of the blades had a slight warp. This slight warp translated into .005 or so when clamping it down. So I just had to account for this and set it .005 low.

Anyway I think the next time I do this it will take much less time :).
Salem

[Josh Bowman]

That's IS what I like about the Vaughn method. You can really see what's going on. I too had the blades rise some, so I just started lower and it worked very well.
I'm a little skeptical about the new gadgets I bought and only see them as little planer pals, but am looking for something that would take less tinkering.

[Josh Bowman]

Hey Fred,
Got the planer adjusters in today. I took the hood off the planer and the plastic chip thing. I also had to take the chip breaker springs off and raise the chip breaker up. These things look like they was sized just to fit in that space. Can't say much else about them yet since I haven't checked how they will work. There is some room for error though.....I think. Oh, see how the motor will get in the way. When I use them, it will have to come off. All that said, I'll just have to see. If I have to take that much off, I would be better off with the Vaughn method. If I feel more positive about them after I use them, I'll update this thread.
Josh

[John Michaels]

The chipbreaker is held in with a metal bar that restricts its movement to about 1/2". Still not enough room.

I also used the planer pals on my Griz "15 planer. Had the same problem you did. After hours of monkeying around I finally got it to work. Can't remember what exactly what I did to make it work, but it was a pain. After I was done setting the knives, I remember looking at that bar and thinking next time I'll just remove the bar and make the whole process easier. There's a set screw that holds that bar in.

[Josh Bowman]

I also used the planer pals on my Griz "15 planer. Had the same problem you did. After hours of monkeying around I finally got it to work. Can't remember what exactly what I did to make it work, but it was a pain. After I was done setting the knives, I remember looking at that bar and thinking next time I'll just remove the bar and make the whole process easier. There's a set screw that holds that bar in.
John I've already been there! I removed the bar and it only lifted a little more. So I removed the other bar that it hinges on and was able to remove the orange chip breaker via one of the blade slots. I kind of had to roll it out. With it out, setting the knifes was easy, but I couldn't get the chip breaker back in with all the knifes in. So again I had to take out one knife, roll the breaker back in then work around it.
Josh