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Thread: Carbide planer knives for WR cedar and redwood?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    Carbide planer knives for WR cedar and redwood?

    I'm so tired of staples and whatever, chipping the steel knives I use! I have 7 sets of knives right now, all dulled and nicked. I mainly plane down rough sawn clear wr cedar and sometimes redwood. We carefully examine each board and run a hand held metal detector over everything, and within the first few passes I have nicks!! Probably when the tarps get ripped off the staples break off and the little legs remain buried in the wood.

    I've read that carbide knives aren't as sharp as HS steel and not good for softwoods, is this true? Will the little legs nick the carbide?
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    Last edited by Joe Wood; 02-20-2020 at 1:10 PM.
    WoodsShop

  2. #2
    Carbide is so brittle, I don't think it would help you. If the staples are the work of your supliers ,try to get them to
    change methods. Running the first pass thru planer fast as machine will go , will help. When doing that ,take off as much
    as you can so that knives are not in so much contact with trash.

  3. #3
    Woodworking knives are not designed for metal. They may handle soft metals like lead, brass, copper and aluminum but they will dull quick. Carbide will handle softwoods fine. Staples will still likely nick the knives.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Western red cedar sometimes has a lot of minerals in it. The good stuff does at least.
    I think it might be silica sand. I’m not a scientist so take it fir it’s worth.
    Good luck
    Aj

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Williamstown,ma
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    It is likely not staples, or parts thereof. Cedar and redwood are soft, and steel will generally withdraw before breaking.

    On the other hand, it IS most likely grit embedded in the ends of the boards. You should always, always trim your ends back with material fresh from the supplier, and any time an end gets set down on the floor/ground- which of course should never happen.
    I have sent guys home for not trimming, and touching the ground or floor with a piece of wood that still needs milling.

  6. #6
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    Yeah we've found tiny, round, hard particles that we suspect might also be causing these nicks. Someone from Canada told me they're road grit from the mill yards. We usually find them on the faces of the boards but really haven't looked for them on the ends.
    WoodsShop

  7. #7
    Having seen staple 'legs" in soft woods I know they are not always removed by planer. If the staples are not coated ,I guess some are removed . "Restacking" by seller can conceal grit
    and even small rocks. Best to just not buy from a place that sends mis- handled material. Some knife damage is done
    by green employees thinking slow feed is a good idea.

  8. #8
    My guess is also dirt/sand. I run a lot of WRC, reclaimed and fresh from mill. I have carbide knives in one machine that often handles the first pass on rough and dirty wood. The carbide lasts a lot longer than steel. The carbide gets run through everything from painted to dirty wood. I don’t much care how sharp these are because I’m not making final passes with the carbide knives. It doesn’t do much better with embedded metal, however. I have HSS knives in my finish planer.

    A few years ago I picked up a brush sander. Mainly for cleaning reclaimed lumber. Sometimes we use this to clear grit before running through the steel knives or bandsaw blades. It’s slow and more tedious than feeding wood through a planer however.

  9. #9
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    Looks like I'm buying a brush sander!
    WoodsShop

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    So Cal
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    The dirt is in the wood fibers as the tree grows it sucks up the minerals from the ground.
    Ive found quarter sawn faces are particularly brutal.
    Try hand planing a freshly sawn side.
    Not saying dirt from the ground embedded on the surface isn’t a problem.
    Clear WRC is not available around here anymore. All the stuff is see goes straight into the mill works. I’ve been told it’s all slated to build wine cellars for the boozers.
    Aj

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