Replace or sharpen?

[Joe Shinall]

Ok, so my jointer and planer blades aren't razor sharp anymore. I've only used each one about 20 times a piece but I bought the machines used. Grizzly 8" jointer and Grizzly 15" planer, stock straight knives on both. No nicks on the blades.

So should I sharpen them or replace them? My old small jointer and planer, I never had to change the knives before I upgraded to these. So I have never changed or sharpened jointer or planer blades before.

If I sharpen them, how good are the sharpening blocks made for planers and jointers, the ones that you don't have to take the blades off? I'm not really setup for sharpening yet. I have a chisel sharpener but that's it.

About to work on that curly maple I talked about before so that's why I am asking.

[david brum]

I have a spare set of blades for both jointer and planer. While one set is being sharpened, I have something to use in the machines. Those are both common sizes, so you can get replacements pretty cheap at Amazon, etc.

[david brum]

Oh, to answer your question about the jointer sharpening stones, I haven't had much luck with them. It's difficult to gauge the angle. I just made my blades duller. Perhaps other have had better luck....

Definitely send your old blades out for sharpening. Some people sharpen in the shop, but it ain't easy.

[Michael Schwartz]

I tried one of the sharpening stones for jointers and they won't do much for you if your knives are dull. You may be able to touch up a set once if your careful but you should probably just change knives if they are to that point.

Provided you have enough material left on your knives to have them ground down I would send them out and have them professionally sharpened. If you do not have a spare set, it wouldn't hurt to buy one so that you can use those, while the other is out being sharpened.

Some people have had luck honing there knives lightly, but if your knives are nicked, they need to be ground. The reason knives should be professionally ground is that the weight of the knives needs to be equal in order to keep the cutter head balanced. The edge needs to be perfectly straight as well.

I got tired of changing knives and I am currently running byrd shelix heads in my pm60 jointer, and delta dc380 planer.

[Chip Lindley]

...Definitely send your old blades out for sharpening. Some people sharpen in the shop, but it ain't easy.

I beg to differ! Perhaps ignorance was bliss! You can sharpen your own HSS knives, if you care to take the time to make a proper jig to hold them. Your tablesaw, drillpress or pedestal grinder can be set up to sharpen your knives as well as any grinding service. (and lots cheaper!)

I have sharpened my planer/jointer knives for years, using a friable white cup wheel held in my drillpress. A hardwood holding block was made to hold the knives for 30 degree grinding. The jig came from an old article in Woodsmith magazine. I'm searching now for the issue.

[Peter Quinn]

I don't doubt that it is possible to sharpen jointer and planer knives in the shop, but the time it takes is time I am spending NOT working wood, and presently time is precious. So for me given the infrequency with which I need to change knives and the cost, which is not excessive, I prefer to have them sharpened professionally. They are jointed perfectly and well balanced. All I have to do is pull the rubber coating and install, which suits me fine.

I like having at least two sets of knives for each machine, so I don't have any down time when a set is out being sharpened, as there is typically a 1 week turn around with the service I use. I suspect the knife stock on the Grizzly machines is a decent quality worth sharpening, though I also suspect it is probably not the highest quality either. So I'd say both replace them with a fresh set and send the old ones out to be sharpened for next time.

[Joe Chritz]

1: Buy replacement blades
2: Install said blades.
3: Ship or deliver old blades to sharpening service
4: Next time you do the same but you already have to sharp knives to go.

It is possible to sharpen your own blades but it is likely not worth it. it should cost less than 15 dollars for a three knife 6" jointer for professional sharpening.

Joe

[lowell holmes]

My experience is that you can buy new jointer blades from Amazon for less money that it costs to have them sharpened profesionally. I am intrigued about using a jig on a drill press.

[Frank Drew]

IMO, you've really got to have at least one spare set of knives so you can get back to work ASAP following a big nick (ever plane reclaimed wood?)

I applaud Chip for sharpening his own knives -- I never tried -- but no matter who sharpens them it seems much less wasteful than simply throwing them away when they get dull, unless they're not the kind that can be sharpened.

[Tom Adger]

I sharpen my jointer blades with a shopmade jig. Does a great job. My planer knives, 12", are a bit much for a jig.

Consider Dynamic Saw in Buffalo. I have used them, they do a great job, and they have a very good reputation. On jointer and planer knives, they charge 50 cents per inch, so figure that plus shipping, and it is still cheaper than buying new knives.

[Joe Shinall]

Anybody had any luck with the Freud blades? And does anyone have any of the store bought jigs to set jointer/planer knives to height when installing new ones?

[John Coloccia]

1: Buy replacement blades
2: Install said blades.
3: Ship or deliver old blades to sharpening service
4: Next time you do the same but you already have to sharp knives to go.

It is possible to sharpen your own blades but it is likely not worth it. it should cost less than 15 dollars for a three knife 6" jointer for professional sharpening.

Joe

Exactamundo. Uhm, that is unless you want to get good at sharpening jointer blades for some reason. Personally, I'd rather be woodworking.

[Alex Shanku]

Send them to Jamisons....Razor sharp, much much sharper than "new blades"

[Pete Hay]

Anybody had any luck with the Freud blades? And does anyone have any of the store bought jigs to set jointer/planer knives to height when installing new ones?

Regarding Freud blades, we got two sets from them for the very old Makita 1040 planer we have in our church shop. Simply could not find these blades anywhere. Had only one set, and the last sharpening removed more metal than would allow safe reinstallation. Be careful of this or else you'll have a set of sharp blades that get tossed! Anyway, the Freud blades arrived quickly, fit perfectly, were inexpensive, and were extremely sharp. Our old planer's got many more years of like, hopefully

[Carl Beckett]

I had two sets of 15" planer knives (3 blades ea) and two sets of 8" jointer knives (3 blades each). A resharpening service was ~ $.45 to $.50 per linear inch.

So I was looking at well above $100 to get them all sharpened.

I made a fixture for the table saw and a friable wheel (ala chips drill press process but using the table saw). In about 30 mins I had everything sharpened, including some hand plane irons and anything else I could get my hands on around the shop.

It worked well (I was surprised at how easy it went), but you do need to take light passes to ensure it doesnt overheat and you do need a fixture to ensure it clamps flat and straight. With a well made fixture, its pretty accurate.

Its great to have sharp blades again, and also to know I can setup and run them all again when needed (no mailing or leaving them at a sharpening service, etc).

YMMV

[Myk Rian]

Anybody had any luck with the Freud blades?
Yep. That's what I buy.

[Frank Drew]

Carl,

How do you keep the abrasive, cast-off grit from the friable wheel from getting down into the guts of your table saw's various mechanisms?

[Carl Beckett]

Frank,

Good point - it does get into things, no question about it, as expected of an abrasive process like this.

Its a down side (I would have tried Chips method of using the drill press instead, but found it a little harder to setup and find the right type of disk). Still flying abrasives though.

Time will tell if it causes premature wear and problems.

(I was a machinist in my early career so ya, I know I will catch a lot of flack for doing this - bearing wear would be my biggest concern)

[Mike Reinholtz]

I attempted (very poorly I might add) to sharpen my own blades, now I send everything (shaper cutters, router bits, saw blades, etc) to my brother in law. He has a sharpening business in WI, have to say I have never been disappointed. Stuff comes back sharper than new (especially dewalt planer blades:confused:).

[Chip Lindley]

I'm afraid I am just *Old School!* I've changed the oil in all my vehicles since 1972. I get greasy and have to get on my back but it saves me $15 or $20 and having to stand around waiting for QuickieLube to do what I can do so easily myself. And I worry that they really won't do what they are supposed to!!

Same way with sharpening planer/jointer knives. When I began woodworking there really was nowhere to send knives for sharpening that I was aware. I read how to do it myself in Fine Woodworking. It's really TOO Simple!

Yes, I'm Tight, but I am also particular. If I could not obtain the same sharp results in-shop, I would certainly look elsewhere. My freshly ground and stropped knives will shave you! And, a set of 3 knives takes about 30 minutes to grind all knicks out to a new edge, then remove the wire edge on a fine Norton oil stone.

Lets see...I now have a 20", 4-knife Planer, and an 8", 3-knife jointer. At 50 cents an inch, that's $40!!!to sharpen a planer set. Only $12 for the jointer set. AFAIAC, that's good money gone to waste. (Sorry sharpening services, but you still get my carbide!) Since I don't invest in beer anymore, guess I'll take the grandkids to Chucky Cheese, and buy $52 worth of tokens!

[Joe Shinall]

Chip, I feel the same way. I haven't had any of my cars in a shop since I started driving. My wife's car needed a new engine, so I bought one and put it in myself.

I am going to take a shot at sharpening myself, but I am going to buy a set of Freud blades to get up and running so I can take my time with the sharpening process.

Then if I just can't get it right, maybe I'll pay for them to be sharpened. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Thanks for all your input guys. Freud blades it is!

[J.R. Rutter]

I used to sharpen jointer knives right on the head with a router, abrasive stone with 1/4" shank, and a jig base from Tag Frid's Woodworking books. It worked and I didn't have to reset knives much, but the spiral head is so much nicer!

For my old 8" jointer, I had my sharpener grind back bevels to reduce tearout in hardwoods, including curly woods. Same with my planer when I had straight knives.

So I guess the answer is get a second set so that you can change them and keep working regardless of whether you send them out or do them yourself.