I have a couple of chips in my knives that show up in 3 raised lines. Somewhere, I remember all you have to do is shift one of the knives right or left. Is that true and if so, how do I loosen a knife/knives to move it?
I have a couple of chips in my knives that show up in 3 raised lines. Somewhere, I remember all you have to do is shift one of the knives right or left. Is that true and if so, how do I loosen a knife/knives to move it?
Derek, the Tersa knife are held in place with multiple “gib wedges”, centrifugal force locks the knifes when the cutterhead is powered up. I use a piece of cedar shim and a dead blow hammer to tap each of the cutterhead wedges down,they will make a snapping noise when they release, after the gib wedges are released on a knife, you can move the Tersa knife or remove it if you like. Remember each knife is two sided…
robert called it. i use a brass "wedge" that came with the Martin jointer to tap the gibs loose, and just slide one or two of the knives over a quarter inch or so. when you change the knives, give the pocket a good hit with compressed air to ensure nothing gets snagged when you slide the knives in.
Thanks you guys. I've had the J/P for years and never had to mess with the knives. I guess after about 20 years, I have no complaints.
This is one of the reasons that I happen to love Tersa knives..."stuff happens" and being able to slightly shift one knife to eliminate a visible ridge on the material being milled is wonderful. And...you can do it multiple times given you have multiple knives and can move in both directions. (there's a limit to how far you can go, obviously)
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
I am surprised to read that too. Unless they are carbide and only used occasionally.
Better if I said 15 to 20 year old, I can't recall exactly. They still cut very well planing and jointing. I purchased a spare set when I purchased the machine and have never had to use them. I haven't even used used the flip side of the knives yet. I'm just hobbyist and earlier on used a lot of oak and maple, however these days I use a lot of pine, birch and poplar.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Usually, your ears can tell when the knifes need to be changed. As Tersa get duller, they get much louder.
I had this experience with my DW735. The knives had not been flipped longer than I could remember. I thought they were cutting good then I hit a knot and chipped all three knives. Flipped them to get rid of the ridge left by the chip. Was amazed at the difference in cut quality. The machine was quieter and the motor now barely slowed down when doing a wide cut.
Someone suggested to me that I should get two knives for each slot on the cutterhead so they can be knocked down and put back in and swapped to remove any nicks that develop.
For instance, if you have a 16" jointer, you could order 4" and 12" knives and alternate the 4 and 12" knives back and forth as you turn and install the head. This way, if a nick/chip develops, you could knock 2 rows down and swap the knives in relation to one another for a little more life out of the knives. TIFWIW.
Chris, you can do combinations of shorter knives with Tersa, but you'll want them all to be installed in different orders so none of the places they meet are lined up with another row. But...this is a bit complicated to keep track and honestly, you can move one of the long knives just a skosh to get the same effect.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...