Jointer Replacement Knives

[Steve Roxberg]

Well, it's time to replace the knives in my jointer. (Grizzly G1018 8")

A new set of HSS blades would cost $90.00

A new set of Dispoz-A-Blade indexable blades would be $185

A new Grizzly Spiral Cutter head with indexable blades would be $195

A new Byrd Shelix head would be $385

I'm not having good luck setting the blades so the three more expensive options look good.

What would the groups recommendation be? The Byrd is the best, but has anyone used the Dispoz-A-Blade indexable setup and what did you think?

[Harley Lewis]

Steve if it were me, I would stick to the HSS knives and improve your skills installing them. I think both the disposal knives and the helix blades are beyond what a normal hobiest needs to do. If you were to be changing blades monthly, or running lots and lots of wood perhaps the other options would be a good solution.

I think the machine you have has jack screws so using a good guage should make installation a snap. Spend a few $ on a tool to help you install and go the HSS route, the improved cuts using the other blade systems are not that dramatic unless you do a lot of figured wood. Just my opinion.

Harley

[Harley Lewis]

Opps, forgot to say just buy one set of HSS, sharpen your original set and you will be good for years of service. Just switch and sharpen up to 4 or 5 times on the two sets of blades. It costs me about $20 to have the four blades sharpened for my 8" jointer and I change them about every 6 to 9 months depending on use.

Harley

[Eddie Darby]

This is from my post earlier on this subject.

"If I were upgrading my jointer, I think I would look at the Byrd Shelix jointer head since the carbide inserts are on the spiral lay-out. The trouble with the one blade spiral designs is if you get a knick in them you can't adjust them to off-set the knicks. You must replace all three blades or live with the knick.

I would only consider the new heads if I were working with difficult grain woods a lot, such as curly maple. This is where the shearing cut excells at doing a nice smooth job, otherwise I find my regular head does a nice job if I make a thin slow last cut to clean things up.

ShopNotes Vol. 15 Issue 89 out on Newsstand right now, has a 2 page article on these after-market heads."

[Tom Jones III]

Try these guys
http://globaltooling.bizhosting.com/planer_knives.html

A replacement set of 8" jointer knives should be in the range of $24. I've got 2 sets of planer knives and 2 sets of jointer knives from them and they are just fine.

[Mark Singer]

Buy an enexpensive set of knives or have the ones you own sharpened....setting them is really pretty easy... I don't like the options.

[Joe Jensen]

:mad: Setting knives - It's probably me, but in 20 years I never got very proficient, and I found the jack screws to be a VERY coarse adjustment. I use a dial indicator and how much I tighten the bolts on the locking gib, the knives move .001-.006" no matter where the jack screws are. I try really hard to get the knives +/-.0005". This takes me 1-2 hours each time. I upgraded to a Terminus head and I am in heaven. I also just bought a Byrd head for my 12" Powermatic planer. Setting the knives on the planer to +/- .0005" used to take 3+ hours each time. I can't wait to get the new Byrd head installed...joe


Steve if it were me, I would stick to the HSS knives and improve your skills installing them. I think both the disposal knives and the helix blades are beyond what a normal hobiest needs to do. If you were to be changing blades monthly, or running lots and lots of wood perhaps the other options would be a good solution.

I think the machine you have has jack screws so using a good guage should make installation a snap. Spend a few $ on a tool to help you install and go the HSS route, the improved cuts using the other blade systems are not that dramatic unless you do a lot of figured wood. Just my opinion.

Harley

[Brad Ivers]

Try these guys
http://globaltooling.bizhosting.com/planer_knives.html

A replacement set of 8" jointer knives should be in the range of $24. I've got 2 sets of planer knives and 2 sets of jointer knives from them and they are just fine.
Great price on the knives. I just sent them an email about knives for my jointer and they are $13.50 for a set.

Couple of questions.

Honestly...good cutting and long lasting knives?
Happen to remember if they nailed you on the shipping?

[Mark Singer]

The best way to set them is a straight edge layed on the out feed table... It should just move the board or straight edge a little when rotating by hand...make both sides match...then each knife.

[Harley Lewis]

I use this method for installing new blades and it works like a charm Don't overtighten the gibb screws, and tighten them with about the same pressure. I don't have this particular dial indicator buy the one I have works the same way. The wood wedges are pretty important because they lock the blade in one position so you can get both ends exactly .000.

Harley

For a high-tech way to set jointer knives, invest in a setting tool such as the Magna-Set (see Introduction page (http://woodworking.homeip.net/wood/Tuning%20Tools/part2.html) for a source). It consists of two steel or plastic bars that slide along a pair of parallel rods. As shown above, each bar has small but powerful magnets that hold the jig to the table and the knives. This keeps each knife flush with the outfeed table while you tighten the gib bolts. Of course the Magna-Set won't work with an aluminum outfeed table.
http://woodworking.homeip.net/wood/Tuning%20Tools/Jointers/images/jt-3-7.gif
A dial indicator setup, such as the A-Line-It, offers yet another way to set the knives. (See the drawing above.) The indicator tells you exactly how high the knives are from end to end, and in relation to each other. These gauges work especially well with knives that you adjust with jack-screws that elevate the knives.
Finally, spin the pulley by hand to make sure the knives don't hit the tables or other parts. Reinstall the cutterhead guard, and plug in the machine.

[Dave Richards]

I was given a Jointer Pal and used it for the first time on Saturday afternoon. It worked well for setting the knives. I didn't even use the jack screws. Just ran them in all the way. Probably the hardest part was marking TDC for knife edge on the fence before setting the knives.

I ended up with an amzingly smooth surface after tightening up the last knife. Spent less than 15 minutes setting them.

Just an idea.

[Tom Jones III]

Couple of questions.

Honestly...good cutting and long lasting knives?
Happen to remember if they nailed you on the shipping?
I don't have any objective measurement of cutting quality and longevity however for the jointer I have 2 sets from global tooling and 1 Amana set that I had bought previously. I rotate sets until 2 are dull and then sharpen them. I cannot tell which set is which by how well they cut and how long they last. If the Amana set did not have a name printed on it then I would have no way of knowing which set was which.

The same goes for my 13" planer knives.

I have no memory of the shipping costs which probably means they were normal.

[Geoff Barry]

I recently bought a set of 6" jointer knives from global tooling - shipping was 8 or 9 bucks.

[CPeter James]

I have the Jointer Pal - Magna Set jig and really like it. I also have the ones for my 15" planer. They both work good and I can get the knives in place and very accurately in just a few minutes. Once you get the system figured out, it pays to replace/sharpen them regularly and not wait until they are so dull you can't force the wood through.

CPeter