Planer ridges - stumped!!

[Russell Tribby]

I just put a new set of blades on my Ridgid planer and after a couple of passes I already have what appears to be a nick in the blades. There is a visible ridge that appears on on the boards as they pass through. I initially had changed the knives because I had the same problem. It seems ridiculous to me that I would have the same problem with new blades. I can't imagine what would be causing the blades to develop nicks. Any ideas?

[C Scott McDonald]

Maybe there is a piece of debris in there that it hitting the knifes. Maybe a screw that is out of place.

hard telling :(

[Steve Clardy]

Knots will chip knives, especially pine.


Shift 1 knife slightly over one way or the other. Ridge will disappear.

[Lance Norris]

Did you plane some glue? This will kill knives as well.

[Russell Tribby]

No knots and no glue. I'll shift the knives and see if I can see a screw or something that the knives might be hitting. It's really frustrating considering that I just replaced the knives because of this and here I am back to square one.

[David DeCristoforo]

Most times, new and/or recently sharpened knives are not really "sharpened" but simply ground. If you look at the edge under magnification, you can see tiny "burrs" that will break off the instant the knives touch wood leaving tiny bits of steel floating around which can cause the little nicks. I have always stoned my knives after they come back from sharpening to remove any burrs. A few passes with a fine stone on both the bevel and back of the knife can make a huge dif.....

[Tim Thomas]

Could it be something else on the cutterhead that is causing the grooves? Some piece of debris that sticks up when the head is spinning but not when it is still? I'm just throwing ideas against the wall here... maybe something will stick. Good luck man, I'm sure that is very frustrating.

[Richard Magbanua]

Well, I hope you find a culprit. I have a rigid planer (and jointer) and love it. I have found, however, that while I enjoy the surface that new blades produce, it is short lived. At some point while I am planing away I will hit something and get a nick. I've realized that the planer is simply my shop apprentice, saving me time and effort to flatten my stock, leaving me with a surface ready to bring to life with my smooth plane.

[Bruce Benjamin]

Could it be something else on the cutterhead that is causing the grooves? Some piece of debris that sticks up when the head is spinning but not when it is still? I'm just throwing ideas against the wall here... maybe something will stick. Good luck man, I'm sure that is very frustrating.

The OP said there were ridges, not grooves. That would indicate nicks, (Small voids) in the blades, not something sticking up.

As has been suggested, shifting one blade will at least temporarily eliminate that ridge. There is no need to shift more than one blade at a time. And you don't have to move it much more than the width of the ridge to eliminate that ridge. I've made the DW 735 blades last a long time by just barely shifting one blade at a time. You can shift each blade a few times if you're careful. Using this method you can eliminate ridges many times before you have to replace them. You may have to replace them because they get dull but ridges aren't a problem for mine.

I can't offer an opinion on David's advice because I have the Dewalt 735 and the blades are disposable, not sharpenable. But what he says seems to make sense to me. I wonder if all sharpening services return the blades in this half-done state. I've never used a sharpening service for my jointer, (2 spare sets) and obviously never for my planer so I don't know if this is normal or just a lazy sharpening service. I do know that if I still had to work on my blades after paying someone to sharpen them I wouldn't be very happy with them.

Bruce

[Bruce Benjamin]

I've realized that the planer is simply my shop apprentice, saving me time and effort to flatten my stock, leaving me with a surface ready to bring to life with my smooth plane.

What is wrong with the surface after you're done running it through the planer? With rare exception, the wood leaving my Dewalt 735 is beautiful, requiring only some light sanding before finishing. I've heard/read that the Ridgid planer was pretty decent but if you still have to hand plane it after using it then it sounds like I'm really glad I went with the Dewalt.

Bruce

[Robert LaPlaca]

Are you sure that the lumber you are planing doesn't have any grit, which ruins the new knives? I wire brush rough lumber with a Stainless Steel brush before feeding into the jointer or planer..

[Larry Marley]

laying your stock on the floor can embed small dirt particles that will damage the blade.

[Brian Brown]

I'm with Robert and Larry. I got a lot of planer blade nicks from sand or grit imbedded in the boards. I don't put the boards on the floor, and my supplier keeps the lumber in bunks until delivered. So, most likely the sand gets in during the cutting/milling process, transportation, or when it is in the back of my pickup. I vote for pickup. Now I keep some stickers in the bed when I go for materials, and sweep off (wire brush is a good idea) the wood before it goes to the planer. Much better results, but not perfect. Some wood gets silica sand imbeded into it in the growth process. Not much you can do about that.

[Richard Magbanua]

What is wrong with the surface after you're done running it through the planer? With rare exception, the wood leaving my Dewalt 735 is beautiful, requiring only some light sanding before finishing. I've heard/read that the Ridgid planer was pretty decent but if you still have to hand plane it after using it then it sounds like I'm really glad I went with the Dewalt.

Bruce

Well, I'm not sure how long you've had your planer, but I'd think with any model you'll get to a point when the knives start to dull or get nicked. If you're milling stock for a large project or multiple projects you'll start to get a groove to two (or three...) and some tearout and more noise. When this happens of course depends on the kind of wood you're using , board widths, etc. Sure I can get a great surface if I go and spend the money and time on new knives whenever this happens but at 35-40 bucks a set that ain't gonna happen! Besides, by the time you cut the joinery, dry fit, assemble and move your project around, your gonna need to put a final surface the darn thing again anyway (I'm talkin' fine furniture here, not adirondack chairs) wether it be with sandpaper or a smooth plane. Of course a hand planed surface is noticeably nicer IMO. I'm not saying I run my planer with butter knives but I'll try to get as much mileage as I can. And, yes the 735 is a nice one!!

[Tom Esh]

It's practically unavoidable. Grit on the wood surface, silica in the wood. Sand 'em off. Although most planers are capable of producing a nice surface with fresh knives, they aren't finishing tools. You can spend a fortune in knives trying to make it work like one, but chances are it will still leave burnishing and other machine artifacts that are essentially undetectable until finish is applied. Best bet is to always sand.

[Gary Lange]

Something is in the path that the blades are taking and it has nicked the blades or the next knife blade to come around would have taken the ridge off. It is not something in the wood either because one blade may get nicked by it but not all. It sounds to me that all the blades are nicked in the same spot indicating that something in the path of the blades is causing the problem. I would look all around the path of the blades for whatever is sticking up and get rid of it. The first set had the nick also and when you replaced them the culprit nicked the new set.

[Bruce Benjamin]

Well, I'm not sure how long you've had your planer, but I'd think with any model you'll get to a point when the knives start to dull or get nicked. If you're milling stock for a large project or multiple projects you'll start to get a groove to two (or three...) and some tearout and more noise. When this happens of course depends on the kind of wood you're using , board widths, etc. Sure I can get a great surface if I go and spend the money and time on new knives whenever this happens but at 35-40 bucks a set that ain't gonna happen! Besides, by the time you cut the joinery, dry fit, assemble and move your project around, your gonna need to put a final surface the darn thing again anyway (I'm talkin' fine furniture here, not adirondack chairs) wether it be with sandpaper or a smooth plane. Of course a hand planed surface is noticeably nicer IMO. I'm not saying I run my planer with butter knives but I'll try to get as much mileage as I can. And, yes the 735 is a nice one!!

See my post prior to the one you're replying to here, (Post #9). I've had my planer for about 5 years now. I've experienced the ridges but I've never seen any planer put grooves in the wood. How does that happen? My blades last a long time and they have two sides to them so after numerous shifting of the blades to take care of the ridges I can flip them over and get a new sharp side.

I've been woodworking for about 35 years and I've made plenty of both fine furniture and patio furniture. I've never had any wood leave a planer and then need to be hand planed. If that's what you like to do that's fine but I get a very smooth surface by just finishing the wood with a little sanding. Maybe you like smoother wood than I do.:cool::) I've also hand scraped wood too. I suppose a lot of the blade dulling and tear out depends on the type of wood your planing and how much wood you take off with each pass. Also knots are really hard on blades.

Bruce

[Bruce Benjamin]

Something is in the path that the blades are taking and it has nicked the blades or the next knife blade to come around would have taken the ridge off. It is not something in the wood either because one blade may get nicked by it but not all. It sounds to me that all the blades are nicked in the same spot indicating that something in the path of the blades is causing the problem. I would look all around the path of the blades for whatever is sticking up and get rid of it. The first set had the nick also and when you replaced them the culprit nicked the new set.

I disagree. I've got plenty of nicks in my planer blades that showed up in all of the blades. There is nothing in the path of the blades of my planer and I doubt that there is anything other than some grit in the path of the OP's blades either. I could be wrong about the OP's blades but I doubt it. Those blades spin very fast and often one blade won't clear it and the rest of the blades hit it too. Have you never had a ridge show up in any wood leaving your planer before? This is a very common problem for most planers that use softer disposable blades.

Bruce