Carbide Planer Knives

[Joe Wood]

I'm thinking about going to carbide knives, getting so tired of having to change them after getting nicks.

I mostly plane rough sawn WR cedar. I'm pretty sure I remove all the staples, but then sometimes I find little pieces of what might be road grit that might be nicking the knives.

will carbide knives get nicked by staples, or the road grit?

[Lee Schierer]

The only answer is "It depends" on what size staples or grit, how the cutter hits them, how often and what material the grit really is. The problem is if you nick a carbide, it is more costly to replace.

[Mel Fulks]

They will get nicked too. Dirty wood is a good reason to find another supplier .

[Andrew Hughes]

WR can have high Silica in the wood naturally.Maybe it's why is so good for outdoors.You may not like the surface you get form carbide knives.Since they don't get super sharp and cedar is soft. I don't really have a good answer.But hay your lucky to have rough cedar to work.Wish I had your problem.

[Joe Wood]

Darn not what I wanted to hear, but you've convinced me.

I have a hand held metal detector that I never use because it detects the fasteners in the sawhorses. Think my next step is to build a couple that don't have metal fasteners!

[Dave Arnett]

I can't bring myself to pay the price for (15") carbide planer knives.

I do have (6") carbide jointer knives, though. I've probably hit a foreign object or two, but I can't recall ever having nicks in them.

They are pricey to buy, and have sharpened, but I don't regret getting them. They do go a long time between sharpenings.

[Ben Rivel]

What about switching to a helical head? Might pay for itself in the long run.

[Joe Wood]

I just got the Griz 15", why would a helical head help with the nick issue Ben?

[Jon Nuckles]

In case Ben doesn't check back in to answer your question, the helical head allows you to rotate/change the single cutter with the nick, instead of having to change one or more knives. Easier and cheaper.

[Ben Rivel]

I just got the Griz 15", why would a helical head help with the nick issue Ben?


In case Ben doesn't check back in to answer your question, the helical head allows you to rotate/change the single cutter with the nick, instead of having to change one or more knives. Easier and cheaper.
There ya go. Thanks Jon. Also that would be on top of the other advantages of a helical head.

[Joe Wood]

Now when I get a nick it shows up on all three knives in the same spot, wouldn't the helical get nicked on all 4 knives also?

[Marty Tippin]

Now when I get a nick it shows up on all three knives in the same spot, wouldn't the helical get nicked on all 4 knives also?

It might, but you only have to rotate 4 small (and relatively cheap) carbide cutters 90 degrees to overcome the nick - plus you get 4 cutting edges on each cutter, so you can fix a lot of nicks in the original set of cutters before you have to buy more.

In a straight-blade design, you'd have to replace the entire knife.

Helical cutter heads are also much, much quieter than straight-blade heads.

[Joe Wood]

OK was all ready to order one until I saw the price! $729
http://www.grizzly.com/products/15-Indexable-Spiral-Cutterhead/H7655

is there a less expensive spiral I can get??

[David Kumm]

You can shift straight knives easier than rotating inserts. Dave

[Marty Tippin]

You can shift straight knives easier than rotating inserts. Dave

Disagree. Remove one screw, rotate, replace screw, done.


OK was all ready to order one until I saw the price! $729
http://www.grizzly.com/products/15-Indexable-Spiral-Cutterhead/H7655

is there a less expensive spiral I can get??

As an after-market replacement, they're pretty expensive. Grizzly will be the cheapest by a long shot.

[Tom Deutsch]

A bit off-topic, but the OP mentioned ...


I have a hand held metal detector that I never use because it detects the fasteners in the sawhorses. Think my next step is to build a couple that don't have metal fasteners!

I have been using a pair of "cheap" folding plastic sawhorses for 6 or 7 years, now. SO convenient and plenty strong. I've loaded them with several hundred pounds and had no issues. Can grab them one-handed, squeeze it open and fold them flat against the wall with almost no effort. There's even a little "tray" to keep stuff off the ground when they are open. I don't see myself going back to 2x4 or metal sawhorses.

[Allan Speers]

Now when I get a nick it shows up on all three knives in the same spot, wouldn't the helical get nicked on all 4 knives also?


With a lot of planers, after such a nick you can loosen 2 knives and move them sideways a little. Thus, the 3 nicks no longer line up. It's an OK temporary fix.
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I'm glad this thread just popped up. I was about to buy carbide straight-knives for my PM planer, for the first time. I forgot about nicks. Better to use HSS, and replace the more often, especially since they also give a better finish.

Gotta' save up for a Shelix after all. :(

[Joe Wood]

Hey Tom, thanks for that, never thought about getting plastic horses :-)

[Kerry Wright]

+1 on the plastic horses.

Just before the holidays I treated myself to a Byrd Shelix for my 15" planer. WOW what a difference! The noise level dropped so much you can actually have a conversation while it's running (if the DC is off) and the planed surface is about as close to finish ready as you can get.

[Jay Runde]

As an after-market replacement, they're pretty expensive. Grizzly will be the cheapest by a long shot.

Grizzly sells the Byrd head cheaper: http://grizzly.com/products/15-Shelix-Cutterhead/H7768

[Wes Ramsey]

+1 on the plastic horses.

Just before the holidays I treated myself to a Byrd Shelix for my 15" planer. WOW what a difference! The noise level dropped so much you can actually have a conversation while it's running (if the DC is off) and the planed surface is about as close to finish ready as you can get.

I got a set of Stanley plastic sawhorses for Christmas several years ago and the folding arms lasted a few months before they broke. The horses themselves are still in good shape and they've been sitting in a corner waiting for me to make some replacement arms. I can see how they'd be handy, but I wouldn't go with the black Friday sale version from Walmart :p

As for the spiral cutter on the 15" Grizzly, I will give that a BIG thumbs up. I'd only ever used stright-blade planers, and had even used a Grizzly before I bought mine. When I went to buy a new one a few months ago at the Springfield store they happened to have a scratch and dent spiral head model for only $300 more than the straight-blade version (still haven't figured out what was scratched or dented). I made a leap of faith and am so glad I did! My 2hp Grizz DC is louder than the planer running a wide board. I'm still in awe over how much quieter it is than anything I've used before, and the quality of cut is nice. I'm a believer now and don't think I'll ever mess with straight blades again. Changing straight blades has always been one of my least-favorite jobs in the shop. Next to cleaning :cool: