esta disposable planer blades

[jud dinsmore]

i recently bought a used 14" general 130 planer with the esta disposable blade system. the previous owner threw them in along with the original knives. the esta blades are hss and i installed a fresh set when i first set up the planer. my problem is i'm getting significant tear out in most woods (maple, cherry, mahogany, ash, purpleheart, pine, etc.). i'm getting typical snipe and a little bit of chatter at the front end, but otherwise, we're just talking about general tear out. it doesn't seem to matter if i feed the board with the grain or not. these blades are thinner than my dewalt 735. i'm taking light passes and the results are still not as good as my dewalt or inca 10". i've got it set on the slowest feed speed and the planer has three knives. i would figure i'd see as good, if not better, as result as the inca (it only has two knives). does anyone have any comment on the esta system? these blades seem too thin to me but this is my only experience.


thanks,

jud

[Steve Jenkins]

did you get the blade holders with the blades? Each blade should have a seperate holder that the blade snaps into before putting it in the cutterhead.

[jud dinsmore]

yes, i have the blades in the holders. i think the blades might be kobalt. they were shipped in a kobalt box but it isn't clear what type of knife they are. just as a back up i took the regular knives to be shapened today.


thanks,

jud