G0453PX cutters not aligned

[Wes Ramsey]

I’ve searched the www and haven’t found an answer, so I’m hoping y’all can point me in the right direction. I just rotated the carbide cutters on my planer and I’m not getting the flat, finished surface I did before.

First I tried just rotating them, but it left a pretty awful finish on the test board. So I took them all off and soaked the bits and screws in acetone, then wiped them all clean with a rag and just a touch of 30wt oil. I also cleaned the cutter head with a steel bristle brush and blew off all the debris. I figured this was meticulous enough for them to align near perfect, but I’m not happy with the results.

What did I miss? Is there a standard method for aligning them to get a better surface finish?

[Nick Decker]

Did you use a torque wrench to tighten them all the same? If your cleaning is meticulous, that's something to look at.

[Wes Ramsey]

Yes, I torqued to 53-54in/lbs.

I did find one article from PWW from 2010 that said to expect some of that from any helical head planer. But this is more than I care for.

[Cary Falk]

I had a similar issue with a new Byrd head I put in my jointer. I removed all the cutters and cleaned them and the head and the issue went away. I have a Grizzly head in my planer and put a Grizzly head in my friends jointer and I would say that you shouldn't see any of it. If you had a good surface before then but not now. You don't have any choice but to take it all apart and clean again. Something is not right.

[glenn bradley]

Yes, I torqued to 53-54in/lbs.

I did find one article from PWW from 2010 that said to expect some of that from any helical head planer. But this is more than I care for.

I can think of no situation where I should "expect" that to happen(???). It is important that the cutters, seats and screws be clean, clean, clean. From what I read on the forums contamination is the primary culprit in poor performance post insert rotation.

[Nick Decker]

Wes, I think I would try to isolate the problem to a single cutter (or group of cutters). Then remove that cutter, reclean it, see if the problem goes away in that area. If not, remove and reclean again, then rotate it back to it's original position, before the problem appeared.

A lot of work, I know, just spitballin' here...

[Jim Andrew]

When I clean my cutter heads, I use an ammonia cleaner with toothbrush, and it works very well. Right now am using some LA awesome cleaner, have to spray it on and let it soak a minute or two, then use the toothbrush and see if it removes all the pitch. If it does not, wait a minute or two longer, then brush away. Also when finished cleaning, I spray the cutters with a little water before drying.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Wes, I think I would try to isolate the problem to a single cutter (or group of cutters). Then remove that cutter, reclean it, see if the problem goes away in that area. If not, remove and reclean again, then rotate it back to it's original position, before the problem appeared.

A lot of work, I know, just spitballin' here...

This is a good idea. Even a speck of dust in the cutter cavity after it has been cleaned will lead to unevenness. It's like spraying a guitar only to find a spec of dust settle on the wood right before you lay a coat of finish.

You should be able to isolate the cutters (two or three) by looking at the board and seeing where the ridges are. Then clean and rotate the ones where you see the ridges. That is why I never rotate all of them at the same time. Basically, I run the jointer with the fence set at full width. The cutters that are used most will be within the first two to three inches near the fence. Those get rotated first. There is a little mark on each cutter so you know where you are with it.

[Wes Ramsey]

Thanks for the replies and thoughts. I know the screws and bits were clean as a whistle, so maybe I didn't clean the head quite as well as I thought. I just started a job that I have to finish this week and will go through the motions again maybe this weekend. I'll post an update when I'm done. For now a card scraper seems to clean it up well enough.

[Kevin Beitz]

I had that problem. I found 3 screw hole that was not countersinked like the rest was.
It sure was hard to countersink them because the metal was very hard.

[glenn bradley]

Here's my jointer routine. I have done the jointer and planer a couple of times over the years.

• Unplug jointer
• Remove guard
• Use wedge and a light tap from the hammer to lock the head in position
• Loosen screw with small torx #20 and handle
• Back out screw with magnetic tip so as not to become unhappy
• Remove insert and wipe the bulk of the crud off of it
• Drop insert and screw into cleaner
• Use nylon brush to scrub seat area on the head with cleaner
• Blow seat area clean with compressed air
• Scrub insert clean and then dry with paper towel
• Blow off screw without sending it flying across the shop
• Inspect insert to assure no foreign matter is anywhere (X-Acto knife helps if you find anything stubborn)
• Seat insert
• Apply small drop of 3-in-1 to threads of screw
• Insert screw with magnetic tip and finger tighten
• Apply 50 - 55 inch pounds with torque wrench
• Repeat