Quickset knives for Jet longbed jointer

[Chuck Ketcham]

I recently put together my brand new Jet 6" long bed jointer with the quickset knives. The knife part number is 708801DX (not to be confused with the 708801 knife for the standard Jet jointer without quickset knives). After only an hour or so of jointing, the knives already have small knicks in them. Perhaps this happened because I was jointing 2x4's, which have a lot of knots and pitch -- I don't know. But even so, this seems like way too short of a lifespan. Fortunately, these knives have edges on both sides, so I will flip them and keep going. But after this experience, it probably won't be long before I need to sharpen or replace them. So here are my questions:

1. Can these quickset knives be sharpened without effecting their positioning when put back into the cutterhead? I'm asking this because I know many planer knives can't be sharpened these days for this reason.

2. Perhaps my Jet jointer knives are made from poor quality material. Are there any replacement knives, such as from Freud, that will work for me? I had a hard time trying to select from Freud's website, especially given the fact that I don't know what makes quickset knives different from standard knives.

Thanks.

Chuck

[Grant Charlick]

Wow I have finally found someone else to share in my pain. I also have thae jet quick set knives in my jointer. When I purchased the jet I thought the quick set knives where the way to go. Couldn't have been more wrong. The knives are about 25$ more than regular knives. With reguar knives you have the option to purchase carbide tipped, but not with the jet. I have been able to get 1 maybe 2 sharpenings if I really take it easy at the sharpening center. For the most part I have found that they are disposable though. I know of no aftermarket suppliers making replacements. Right now I have a Byrd Shelix spiral cutterhead ordered for mine, seems like the only permanent fix. Post back with what you think. By the way if you have to replace the knives make sure you order them early, I have had a hard time getting them.

[J. Greg Jones]

I have the same jointer and I bought the Byrd head for it and could not be happier. While it may seem foolish at first to buy a head that cost more than half of what the jointer did, I believe I will save money over the life of the jointer and have better cuts to boot.

One thing to be aware of with the Byrd on this jointer is that the head is larger in diameter than the stock head and you may not be able to get the outfeed table high enough to sit flush with the cutters. I had to file about .025 off the side of the pivot arm to get the additional clearance I needed.