Sharpening jointer knives

[Eric Gustafson]

How difficult is it to do this yourself? I have a Tormek system with all the attachements. Should this be a job fo the experts only?

This question applies to planer knives, too.

[David DeCristoforo]

As long as you have a way to grind the knives accurately, there is no reason you cannot sharpen them yourself. I send mine out just because it's easier but I still hone them by hand with a "finishing" stone before I install them.

[Steven Wilson]

It works well for HSS knives, the jointer is a lot easier than the planer. Having said that, I believe that using some sort of quick change cutter head is easier still (i.e. Tersa) and fairly cost effective.

[Eddie Darby]

Yahoo has a group that deals with the Tormek sharpening system.

It is called - tormekusers - A search of the threads at the group will help.
Jeff Farris of sharptoolsusa.com posts to this group and has been most helpful with his expert advice.

They have to deal with the jig for sharpening jointer knives quite a bit. It would seem to be the most fussy jig that Tormek offer.

[Ron Williams]

I have the tormek system and use it to sharpen jointer and 13" planer knives it does a great job
Have fun
Ron

[Jim DeLaney]

I have the tormek system and use it to sharpen jointer and 13" planer knives it does a great job
Ron

Yeah, me too. I have the Tormek, and the jointer blade jig. It does a very good job. I've even done 15"planer blades, even though the jig isn't really designed for blades that long. As long as I'm careful with the set up, it does great.

One note: You really should run the blade dresser across the blade before sharpening, to ensure that the stone's face is parallel to the blades you're sharpening.

That said, I recently switched both my jointer and my planer over to Esta blade systems, so now I just pop in new blades instead of sharpening the old ones.

[Bob Feeser]

I guess this qualifies as a mini gloat, and a thorough reply to your question. This is a copy and paste of my review on the Tormek SVH320 Jointer & Planer Blade Attachment at Amazon.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
It's a dream come true, January 31, 2004
By Bob Feeser (Springfield, PA USA)

This is the most expensive attachment you can buy for the Tormek system. It is also the most incredible. Before using it, I imagined the problem is not having enough surface area to hold a long planer blade, so it would have to be done in multiple stages, and that would result in less than a level blade. WRONG!
This thing will make your blade perfectly level and sharp no matter how long it is. It does so even if it is not a straight edge to start with. The back edge of your blade which is square, rests on the metal ridge in the clamp, thereby keeping an even distance from the wheel. It's a metal to metal meeting, which eliminates any distance errors.
So your planer blade for example, is sandwiched, and tightened into the jig, so it is not free floating. Then that clamp that holds your blade rides along a keyed channel. Once again metal to metal, no room for an error there.
Part of using this jig is to get your Tormek set up properly. First you true up your stone with the diamond truing tool. That creates a perfectly straight and level surface along the entire surface of the stone.
This jig is extensive, and even comes with its own specialized mounting bars. The bars have threads on them and each has a numbered adjusting disc. You use the adjustable numbered discs on each side, balancing them, to get the entire jig, with your blade attached to it, perfectly level with the stone. Then you take the tilt adjusting knob, located on the back, and set the depth of how much metal you want to take off of your blade. It is easy to determine that by simply looking at the edge of the jig and viewing the gap setting. Then when you sharpen the blade, it keeps taking off material until the whole jig assembly meets with the perfectly flat base plate. Metal to metal mating once again. Then your entire blade is perfectly flat, at a perfectly even depth, and ultimately sharp.
Since the jig is a little over 12" wide, a planer with a 12" blade will be done in a single mounting. If you have a 24 inch blade it will work perfectly with that size as well. You just reinsert it into the clamp mating the back of the blade snug up to the stopping ridge which maintains the same depth setting. The key thing to realize here is that the planer blade for example is referencing off its back flat edge. Then the jig is locked into a setting that doesn't change in reference to the wheel. So you don't change your settings when you move the blade to do the other half, then it will keep sharpening until it gets down to the same plane. Perfectly flat, smooth, and just as important exactly the same depth all along the entire surface. So your setting is referenced off of the back of the blade, rather than the leading edge. That makes a perfect depth on the finished edge.
If you want to know how exacting this jig is, when you go from one blade on your planer to the next, you will need to tweak the angle adjustments to meet up perfectly with the blade. Since a simple stone grading-surfacing, will result in a slightly smaller diameter on your stone, it shows up in your settings on the stone. Now we are talking hundreds of an inch difference.
This thing is so exact that I take it down to completely flat against the jig then I tweak the depth knob just a hair after stone grading to 1000 grit, so that I take off only a hair more with the finer grit setting.
One other thing worth mentioning is that I used to spend hours going through multi grades of sandpaper to get a beautiful finish on my wood. When you create razor sharpness, on your planer blades, you will get a surface so smooth, and perfect, that you will not need to do all of that sanding. The wood almost looks glossy. It is a good idea to go over it lightly with 220 grit to increase the adhesion qualities of the finish.
I quickly learned that any time spent sharpening blades is quickly saved in not having to over sand it. Your projects come out perfectly sculpted to size without showing the over sanding problems of valleys and dimpled edges.
I must admit it took me an hour the first time to learn how to remove the blades from my jointer and reinstall them with the depth gauge and get final settings that are perfect. Next time it will take me 15 minutes. By getting all of your blades at the exact same depth, you are relieving the planer from having to use the one blade that sticks out a little farther, to do the whole job.
Now my planer feeds the wood completely by itself, without having to push the board through. I wiped the rubber feed drums with a little acetone to take the varnish-sap off, and combining that, with ultra sharp blades reduce resistance.
This jointer planer blade attachment is not cheap, but I will recoup the investment in not having to buy new blades very often. Once they are trued up with this jig, the next time you might be able to just polish up your edges with the 1000 grit setting and compound on the leather wheel. I expect to get at least 6 to 10 uses out of my blades since I can sharpen them so well. Then when you figure the same for the jointer knives, your making money. Additionally, you can be sure of getting the job done properly.
Their are professional sharpening services that take pride in their work, and their are those who don't really care about getting it perfect. I prefer to do it myself, no possibility of errors, and no down time waiting for the blades.
This jig is included in the Tormek complete accessory package or individually as shown here. Either way it adds up to excellence in your work, time and money saved, and saved, and saved. Highly recommended.

[Eric Gustafson]

I guess this qualifies as a mini gloat, and a thorough reply to your question. This is a copy and paste of my review on the Tormek SVH320 Jointer & Planer Blade Attachment at Amazon.

Thanks Bob, excellent review. You apparently did not have the learning curve problems most of the Tormek users group has had. You make it sound easy.

The clerk at the store where I bought my planer thought one should not attempt to sharpen planer or jointer blades on their own. Personally, I think sharpening is one of the desired skills for woodworking. My minigloat is that I got the whole Tormek kit, only minus the new stone leveler and the moulding cutter jig, for only $300 used. I intend sharpening every tool I have, except or course, carbide and saw blades. Thanks again.

[Bob Feeser]

Thanks Bob, excellent review. You apparently did not have the learning curve problems most of the Tormek users group has had. You make it sound easy.

The clerk at the store where I bought my planer thought one should not attempt to sharpen planer or jointer blades on their own. Personally, I think sharpening is one of the desired skills for woodworking. My minigloat is that I got the whole Tormek kit, only minus the new stone leveler and the moulding cutter jig, for only $300 used. I intend sharpening every tool I have, except or course, carbide and saw blades. Thanks again.

Ouch! I paid 800 for the complete kit. Great buy. Do they have any more for that price. I could do some buying and selling, and help recover some of my investment. A friend of mine bought the Tormek, with one of their smaller accessory kits, paid about 500 for it at a woodworking show, used it to sharpen some kitchen knives, then turned around and sold it used in eBay for 525. How come everybody is making out on Tormek kits except the Fees?
Tormek is a great setup. When I sharpen the planer blades, it creates such a razor sharp, almost scary surface, that it really shows up in the results you get.
Congrats on the great purchase. You could use that for a long time, and still be ahead of the game if you ever wanted to liquidate it.