Carbide Planer Blades

[Stew Hagerty]

I am looking at possibly upgrading to Carbide Tipped blades. Oh, I've given Byrd a lot of thought, but I just can't seem to justify the expense plus the time & effort when compared to just upgrading to a better unit in general.

I am the proud owner of the the ubiquitous DeWalt DW735. For what I do, it seems to work just fine for me. OK, yes a Byrd head would give me less tearout on some woods, and yes it would be quieter. But, I'm just a hobbyist, I have a small shop, and I'm on a fixed income. I just think that if I ever find that I need a Byrd head, I would probably also need a bigger, better planer.

However, I think that the cost of upgrading to Carbide is definitely justifiable. I've look around a little and right away found two different companies that supply them. One, of course, is Infinity and they always seem to get high praises. The other is one I am not familiar with (of course, there are a great many things about which I am unfamiliar. Just ask SWMBO. :o), Global Tooling.

All things being equal, I would normally just go with Infinity without question. However, as is usually the case, all things are NOT equal...

Infinity sells their set for $249.90
http://www.infinitytools.com/DeWalt-DW734-DW735-Planer-Knives/products/1649/

While Global's set goes for $158.00
http://globaltooling.bizhosting.com/products/knives-planer/portable-planer-jointer-knife-sets.html

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with Global in general and specifically with their Carbide Blades. I mean, going with Global means a 37% savings in precious green backs.

And as long as I'm asking for advise, are there any other options I should be looking at? BESIDES A HELICAL HEAD!

[Larry Edgerton]

Stew, don't be afraid of Global Tooling.

I buy all of my Tersa Knives and a lot of other cutting tools from them. Always prompt, and never any problems with money. They are more of an industrial supplier than a hobbist joint, a good thing in my book.

Is that a four knife head or a three? If its a four try two carbide for long life across from each other, and steel on the other two for quality of cut. You only replace the steel when needed, not the carbide. I do that on my SCM.

Larry

[Michael Heffernan]

Stew,
I purchased a set of carbide blades for my DW735 from Holbren. They are friends of the creek and you get a 10% discount and free shipping if you order the blades from them. Use SMC10 coupon code. Price is $149.95, less 10%, comes to $135.
They are good blades. Been in my planer for about 6 months now and I've run a couple thousand BF through it. They do have some nicks in them, as I run rough stock through it all the time. Probably some debris on the boards. I'll have to shift them again to see if I get a smoother cut. All in all, I am happy with the blades. Still sharp.
Note: if you get a set, they are only single sided and much thicker than the stock steel blades. Don't use the black blade stiffeners when you install them. Just put the blades on and the torx or allen button head screws.

[Andrew Hughes]

Hi Stew , I have the infinity carbide tipped knives in my 735 and they are great.At the time they were the only choice for carbide knives for dewalt.Mine came with 45 degree bevel really easy to make a. Jig to sharpen so don't send out your knives if you get a set.The difference may be the micro grain carbide infinity knives uses, they really get sharp.
I Think the planer will die before the knives.

[Sam Puhalovich]

+1 on everything that Michael said.
I bought mine from Holbren about 18 months-ago for my DW735.
I always run mine on the slow-speed.
Wonderful results with pine and all other species.

[Stew Hagerty]

+1 on everything that Michael said.
I bought mine from Holbren about 18 months-ago for my DW735.
I always run mine on the slow-speed.
Wonderful results with pine and all other species.

Sam,

I was wondering about that... Does running on slow actually make a difference on the blades? I know that it makes a difference with how clean the cuts are. You naturally get more machine marks and a rougher surface at the high feed rate.

First of all, I use almost exclusively hardwoods. In fact I use a lot of exotics. Because of that, I tend to make more passes while taking off a smaller amount each time. Since I make more passes, I like using the fast feed rate up until the last couple of passes where I also take off even less.

If it only affects the surface then I don't mind, but if it is harder on the blades, then that's a different story. Although, I suppose that if I run at the slower rate I could take off more on each pass; but doesn't that mean it's pretty much a wash either way??

[Stew Hagerty]

Stew,
I purchased a set of carbide blades for my DW735 from Holbren. They are friends of the creek and you get a 10% discount and free shipping if you order the blades from them. Use SMC10 coupon code. Price is $149.95, less 10%, comes to $135.
They are good blades. Been in my planer for about 6 months now and I've run a couple thousand BF through it. They do have some nicks in them, as I run rough stock through it all the time. Probably some debris on the boards. I'll have to shift them again to see if I get a smoother cut. All in all, I am happy with the blades. Still sharp.
Note: if you get a set, they are only single sided and much thicker than the stock steel blades. Don't use the black blade stiffeners when you install them. Just put the blades on and the torx or allen button head screws.

Thanks Mike, I had forgotten about Holbren.

[Mel Fulks]

The carbide doesn't leave as good a surface as GOOD steel ,running at same feed rate. But if you have the time to use the carbide at a slow feed rate you should get a good surface and not cause extra wear on carbide since it is harder and more heat resistant than the steel. Steel should be used fast as possible for any particular job.

[Stew Hagerty]

The carbide doesn't leave as good a surface as GOOD steel ,running at same feed rate. But if you have the time to use the carbide at a slow feed rate you should get a good surface and not cause extra wear on carbide since it is harder and more heat resistant than the steel. Steel should be used fast as possible for any particular job.

I always clean up machine marks with a hand plane (ok, ok, sometimes I just whip out the RO Sander. Hey, I get lazy sometimes... :rolleyes:) so I'm not that concerned with the surface. Unless, that is, you're talking about tearout. Are you?

[Mel Fulks]

Yes,mainly tearout.

[Stew Hagerty]

Yes,mainly tearout.

Wow, so carbide blades will cause more tearout than my steel blades??? Why is that? Are they not as sharp, or is it because they are thicker, or is the cutting angle different?

[Benjamin Miller]

Carbide, in general, cannot hold an edge as sharp as high speed steel because it is more brittle and the edge fractures almost immediately.

On a metal lathe, a honed high speed steel bit can shave .0001" off a surface, while the minimum depth of cut for carbide is about .005", or 50 times more. The same principles apply to wood, but carbide is still an excellent choice because you're always taking a good-sized depth of cut.

[Sam Puhalovich]

Stew;
In my case, the carbide blades far-out-perform the steel type blades.
Based on my past experience (12 years) with a Delta planar that used double edged steel blades: I would sharpen the steel blades about every 6 - 8 months ... with a rotation in-between.
I had to sharpen the carbide blades 2 months ago ... after 'touching' a rusty nail piece, that got left behind, when I pulled-out the nail. I ended-up with about a .002 knick in the blades.
I was still getting a good finish cut, just didn't like scraping the ridge.
In use ... I don't 'over-burden' the planer and dust collector. If I have a lot of material that needs to come off, and it's a wide board ... I'll use the bandsaw to take off a majority of the material and save the 'laminate' for future use. On narrow 'stuff': I just run it thru taking as-much as 1/16 at-a-time. Easier on the blades, machine and DC.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am interested in comparing infinity to holbren... I have used the holbren with great success. I have been very happy with them compared to the standard blades. Worth every penny.

[Stew Hagerty]

I am interested in comparing infinity to holbren... I have used the holbren with great success. I have been very happy with them compared to the standard blades. Worth every penny.

+1 on that. How do the different brands compare with each other? Is there some technical reason why the Infinity blades are so much more expensive that thee other two?

[Andrew Hughes]

I would like to think that the micro grain carbide is the reason,I can get my blades sharp enough to cut the hand of god.
But it may be the place where their made.
After a couple sharpening you will have to take off the black bar that sits under the screws.The screw heads will start contacting the surface of the wood.So they need to come down out of the cutting circle.
Andrew

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I would like to think that the micro grain carbide is the reason,I can get my blades sharp enough to cut the hand of god.
But it may be the place where their made.
After a couple sharpening you will have to take off the black bar that sits under the screws.The screw heads will start contacting the surface of the wood.So they need to come down out of the cutting circle.
Andrew
With the Holbren blades, I don't use the black bar because the blades are thicker and the screw heads do contact the surface otherwise.

[Pat Houle]

I have a DW735 as well. I'm still on my first side of the original blades. The finish is not as smooth as it was when I first got the planner. I will be switching to the second side soon. My local sharpening shop carries Dimar HSS blades. He said they are much better than the original Dewalt blades. His Dimar blade set is 109$CND. HomeDepot Canada sells the Dewalt set for 80$CND. He doesn't recommend the carbide tipped set (which is 2x the price of the HSS) because they "shatter" if they hit metal and can't be sharpened after that. Even knots in dry wood can make them "shatter". I value what these guys say cause they have always led me in the right direction in the past and provided excellent service and good products, they sharpen my miter saw blades to better than new. For the folks in Ottawa, it's Leroux Sharpening, 1551-B1 Michael St, 613-749-5551, http://www.lerouxsharpening.ca/en/

[Mel Fulks]

Pat, I just looked up the Dimar knives they have M2, M3, and T1 all good stuff ,and way ahead of the semi high speed steel often fraudulently sold as "high speed". If they sell only high quality ,they are an unusually ethical company.

[Pat Houle]

Pat, I just looked up the Dimar knives they have M2, M3, and T1 all good stuff ,and way ahead of the semi high speed steel often fraudulently sold as "high speed". If they sell only high quality ,they are an unusually ethical company.

Great to hear, now I will buy a set with even more confidence! Thanks for the reply.