SICMA 16” Jointer knives?

[Jack Hovanec]

I just picked up a nice SICMA 16” jointer. I got it for a really great price and it was one of those spur of the moment same day type of deals to ensure that i got it.
Anyway i didn’t have time to do much research on it for that reason, but i knew in the back of my mind that parts will be few and far between. I got it back to the shop and it seems to be really well built machine at probably like 2500 lbs. I was really liking it until i took a look at the knives. For one i have no idea how to remove them from the head. For seconds i have never seen anything like it (i am used to the good old fashioned straight knives) so i have no idea if i will be able to buy replacements.
Does anyone know who manufactures this machine and whether or not knives are still available for it. It’s a 1989 machine so i kind of doubt it. If i can’t locate knives my only option would be a shelix which they surprisingly make for this machine. NOTE: I don’t want this to turn into a debate of spiral heads vs straight knives :)
Thanks again, you all are very helpful.
Jack

I can post pics at a later time if needed.

[Kevin Jenness]

Jack,

I think you are going to need to post pictures to get an answer.

Do your knives look like this? https://www.globaltooling.com/products/tk-160t-t1-hss-terminus-style-planer-knife

Or this? https://www.globaltooling.com/collections/tersa-brand/products/ts-1956630-m42-tersa-planer-knife

[Tom Trees]

Are you sure its not a SCM sigma, not sicma?
Tom

[Erik Loza]

Are you sure its not a SCM sigma, not sicma?
Tom

I scanned and saw “SCM” too.

SCM makes a machine called a Sigma but it’s a huge commercial beam saw, not in the classical range. Curious to know what the OP actually has.

Erik

[Patrick Kane]

Yep, pics will help, but im with Kevin that it is most likely to be tersa or terminus knives. They look similar, but have very distinct profiles. Get in close, and take a close photo of the end of the knife sitting in the cutterhead. Depending on the guard, you may have to remove it to take a proper photo. I have a similar age machine,and it is tersa. Knives are readily available in various lengths. Im guessing yours is 410mm.

[Tom Trees]

I found a few Sicma machines after having a look
They are Italian, so there might be parts easily got from the likes of Scott&Sargeant, but if they do sell parts...they will be really expensive as with everything that comes from them.
Big possibility this machine will have some generic parts shared other Italian machines like SCM and so on...
Eric and others would know a lot more than I do, on the subject.
You might have a better time finding them if you search for planer thicknesser or maybe surfacer or surface planer, as these machines more commonly go by those names
in Europe, rather than jointer.
Interesting I have never stumbled across them before
They look the bees knees :cool:
Tom

[Erik Loza]

I found a few Sicma machines after having a look. They are Italian...

Crazy: I had never heard of them until this thread and googled them, too. If I were a betting person, I would bet they were made by Griggio. The whole Italian ww’ing equipment manufacturing scene is like a shell game of re-branding.

Erik

[Patrick Kane]

This is comical. You all thought he was talking about SCM, I thought he was talking about SICAR! I just now realized with Tom's post it is Sicma. I dont think ive seen a sicma machine before. I have a generic italian jointer from the same year or very similar year, and im all but guaranteeing he has a tersa cutterhead.

[Jack Hovanec]

Or this? https://www.globaltooling.com/collections/tersa-brand/products/ts-1956630-m42-tersa-planer-knife

Kevin you nailed it! Thanks so much. Not sure how you were about to tell by my horrible description. My other question, how do you remove them? There are no gib screws like i am used to. It seems like the are wedged in with a long steel shim. Do i have to pound it out from the side? Excuse my ignorance on this topic.
But yes from what I’ve found, these machines are VERY few and far between. I’ve only seen two others online. I’ll post some pictures if anyone is interested in seeing it (once i figure out how). It is definitely SICMA though. I thought the same thing when i read the ad “that must be an scmi”.
Jack

[Erik Loza]

Jack: Google “Change Tersa knives”. There are a number of videos on youtube. You tap the gib bars in from the top and the knife slides out the side of the head. Be very careful sliding the knives out. Imagine pulling a straight razor out of a tight sleeve. Use gloves or a towel.

Erik

[Patrick Kane]

Yep, whack the steel wedge from above with a wood wedge. It will make a very distinct clicking noise as it dislodges. Mine has 4-5 sections over the 500mm length, but it is the same concept. After you have the wedge loose, take something slim(i use a no2 pencil eraser) to catch the edge of the knife and slide away from the fence. After you have 5-6" free you can carefully pull it out with your hand. Like Erik says, you are handling a very slim double edged razor blade, so handle with care. Check the other edge of your blades, you might find you have a brand new edge still to use. To insert new knives, slide them back in reverse order and then fire up the machine. The centrifugal force locks the knives back in place. I dont know what you paid, but getting a solid 16" machine with a tersa head is a good find. Post some photos, it might help future guys looking at similar machines in the future.

[Jack Hovanec]

Thank you all for the help. I’ll post some pics tonight.
I paid 1500 for it. It’s a little rough around the edges but i think it’ll do what i need it to do. I’m going to need an experienced welder to fix the locking clamp for the fence but other than that, it seems like a nice operational machine.
Jack

[Jack Hovanec]

After getting some help with a small electrical issue, the machine started right up and purrs like a kitten. As promised, here are some pictures of the machine. It's rough around the edges, but it leaves me with a finish on tough quarter sawn sapele that's better than any jointer I've used (mostly vintage machines and asian imports). I do have some questions interspersed through the pictures if anyone has any answers for me.

402333

Face jointed this piece of sapele with great results. Little to no tear out on that interlocking grain.
402332

I think the clean cutting can be attributed to the hook in the knife profile. These things are razor sharp. Looking forward to seeing how they wear due to that sharp, small bevel. I am impressed at how easy it is to change knives on this machine. The drawback of not being able to sharpen them is greatly outweighed by the convenience of changing them.
402339

Bed is about 8 feet long. This is a 7' piece of sapele.
402334

I will probably wind up replacing the load meter. It looks like someone hit it with a forklift. The depth adjustment gauge is a bonus which reads in millimeters. Depth is adjusted through a very easy to use lever with locking screw. Both infeed and outfeed adjust the same way, however the outfeed side is fully lockable using positive stops.
402335

Unfortunately the housing that holds the shaft for the fence is cracked in half (luckily above the midline so the shaft is still held down). Rack and pinion adjustment in and out. I'll probably have a family friend attempt a brazing job on it.
402336

I have a question on this little feature. Looks like a dust collection hookup on the end of the cutterhead? Is this used as some kind of aircooling method? Or am I overthinking it
402337

The pulley has a chunk missing out of it due to what i assume to be a botched factory balancing job. I replaced the old (original by the looks of it) belts with some new ones. Seems to operate fine with the chunk missing but time will tell if it causes premature wear. I did knock off the sharp edges with a file. Anyone know if this pulley would be readily available or interchangeable with similar machines? You can see the original color before someone did a horrible job painting it white.
402338

Overall its a great machine. I'm glad I picked it up. If it weren't for the issues I'd say this thing would be worth something like 4k give or take in my area.

Jack

[Kevin Jenness]

Nice score. You should be able to find a replacement pulley through a bearing shop or possibly McMaster-Carr, though you might have to get the bore machined to metric size.

Those appear to be Terminus knives, correct? I'm not sure how many options they offer for knife material. The shop I used to work at has a jointer with Tersa knives. We ran the M42 HSS option but they didn't last near as long as the old style HSS straight knives. You may want to invest in carbide. The Tersa/Terminus type are so easy to change that the labor cost is nil, but the knife costs do mount up over time. I run carbide straight knives in my jointer and they last pretty near forever, which considering what a pain it is to set them is a good thing.

I think the fitting on the end of the shaft is just a safety cover and the threaded end is meant to accept a Longworth chuck for an accessory mortising table that bolts onto the access panel below.

There was a thread not long ago about fabricating a guard for a similar machine. I like the accordion style seen on some old German machines, but you can rig up a homemade bridge guard pretty easily or perhaps buy a porkchop type from SCMI.

[Andrew Hughes]

Pretty cool jointer Jack even with all its battle scars. I like it.

[Terry Therneau]

William Ng has a video where he sharpens his tersa planer knives. Running a woodworking school, his argument is that even though they are not horribly expensive he needs so darn many of them. I don't think many people do this, but his jig was pretty simple. A saw kerf at the right angle to hold the knife, and another attached piece at the right bevel to guide his waterstone. He then grabbed the waterstone and slid it along like planing a board. I suspect he'd not work over a chipped knife, but he could hone one pretty quickly.

Terry T.

[J.R. Rutter]

Nice jointer. Tersa head is a nice bonus. I wouldn't bother with the pulley, personally. Heck, two belts would do fine for typical use.