Replies

1. 
   billballeza | Jan 19, 2007 06:34am | #1

   First, make sure the blades aren't reversible. My Delta blades have two cutting edges.

   If not, try to find and removed the offending blade and see if you can hone or grind that knick off with anything you have.. stone, sandpaper, diamond hone etc.

   Just be careful because those blades are very sharp.

2. 
   dstevick | Jan 19, 2007 07:32am | #2

   I'm guessing that the nick is in all three blades since it shows up in the wood. If it was in only one the other one or two would shear most of the resulting ridge off.

   This problem is not all that uncommon in planers. I have two and over time they both develop this. As a result I have two sets of blades for each.

   There is a quick fix that might help. If you planer allows, adjust one blade slightly to the left and a second slightly to the right. If the planer has three blades leave the third as is. This effectively offsets the nicks in the blades so the ridge left by one blade will be removed by the others.

3. 
   philip | Jan 19, 2007 10:38am | #3

   Further to what Dstevix has said, if only one blade has a knick and there is a a step it means the other blade(s) are not cutting -they need raising to the same height as the knicked one.

   Philip Marcou
4. 
   Rich14 | Jan 19, 2007 07:26pm | #4

   Tom,

   Welcome to woodworking.

   By that I mean, welcome to the reality that cutting wood with sharpened steel tools results in the tool becoming nicked and dulled. A nick in planer knives can happen during the first inch of cutting, after placing newly sharpened knives in the machine, or may not happen for hundreds of board feet. But it will happen. And it will happen with "clean" wood.

   Being able to sharpen one's tools, (or to replace blades when necessary) is a fundamental skill. Without it, or without access to replacement blades, any work at all becomes an exercise in frustration.

   I don't know of anything more frustrating to a woodworker than the inability to quickly sharpen tools. Being able to restore your cutting edge in seconds, and getting on with your work, whether the tool is a 1/8" chisel, or a 12" planer knife, is what makes woodworking fun. If there is anything standing in your way of doing that (lack of skill in sharpening, lack of access to replaceable planer knives) it's no fun at all. And not having fun is not nice.

   Does your machine have "quick-change" knives? Such knives have 2 edges. The knives need no setting as the locating pins "set" them exactly at the right cutting height. When they're dull, you take them out, flip them around to the second good edge, and get back to work. The next change, of course requires a fresh set of knives.

   But in-between actual changes due to dull knives, it's a very common practice for both jointers and planers to laterally shift one or more knives, a fraction of an inch, to misalign those inevitable nicks.

   Also, keep in mind that the tiny ridge in your planed boards caused by the nicks are less of a problem than they look to be. They're annoying, without doubt. But you can remove them in a second or so with a scraper or sandpaper. Or just ignore them, as they usually won't interfere at all with your using the board as though they weren't there.

   You should be able to get a source for the replacement knives on the DeWalt Web site. I once had a 13" Ryobi planer. I was only able to get replacement knives directly from Ryobi itself.

   Rich

   
   

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   Edited 1/19/2007 11:27 am ET by Rich14

5. 
   JohnWW | Jan 19, 2007 08:05pm | #5

   Whoever sold you the machine should also stock replacement blades, but an internet search may turn up some at a better price. 

   Blades don't last forever, so you might as well buy several sets.  They can be lightly touched up to extend their life a bit if they get dull, but you can't sharpen out a nick.

   The nick was probably caused by a small piece of sand embedded in the wood.  Always trim off the ends of rough sawn stock, and brush the board down with a steel brush, before you send it through the jointer or the planer.  Avoid planing very dirty wood, wood that has been walked on, or wood that has had muddy water splashed on it, the wood at that point is almost impossible to clean off completely.  Knots should be avoided whenever possible, they can be as hard as a stone.

   John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine 

1. 
   Rich14 | Jan 20, 2007 03:15am | #6

   Tom you emailed me asking for a link. I'm not sure which link you are referring to. Do you mean a link to the DeWalt site? Try this: http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=5934 There is a link on that page to blades for your machine. Rich

1. 
   Tomknixx | Jan 20, 2007 04:35pm | #7

   Thanks everyone for the comments. I knew that knicks and dull blades were a problem (and have learned to sharpen my planer blades) but I didn't know how easy they could occur on the planer. I like the ideas about offsetting the blades to take care of the knick. I think I am going to keep the blades like they are as a long as a I am using the planer for pieces I wont see and the raised area can be easily sanded out. I will move the blades when I am doing the finish front pieces. Thanks for the help - and also the Dewalt site link. Thanks
   Tom