Workers Of Wood

Has anyone tried to sharpen/hone those replaceable double edged portable planer blades? I see lots of suggestions using everything from cup abrasive wheels on a drill press to mounting grinding wheels on the TS.
i just can't decide whether it's worth the time and trouble. Unless you hit something nasty, the blades seem to stay sharp for a pretty long time.
Any opinions?

DaninVan wrote: ↑Tue Dec 22, 2020 6:53 pm Has anyone tried to sharpen/hone those replaceable double edged portable planer blades? I see lots of suggestions using everything from cup abrasive wheels on a drill press to mounting grinding wheels on the TS.
i just can't decide whether it's worth the time and trouble. Unless you hit something nasty, the blades seem to stay sharp for a pretty long time.
Any opinions?

Haven't tried it but I've seen recommendations for all sorts of jigs to either hold the knife or guide the stone...I suppose the appropriate holder might just do the trick. I'm not sure if I could get the edge perfectly square for their intended purpose. Heck I have a hard enough time sharpening mower blades evenly...LOL...

I suspect I would just buy replacements...3 double-edge (Dewalt) for $55 at Lowes...aftermarket gets you 6 for even less. (No testimony to their quality intended). Not sure of other planer manufacturers...

Years ago Derek Willis posted a home made honing jig that he said worked really well. As with all of Derek's jigs it was really simple. Mainly just a board ripped at the correct honing angle on a TS and another to clamp the blade to it. He drug it either backwards or sideways over sand paper.

Yeh, I've seen that, or a copy. Fine Woodworking has a collection of shop hacks, jigs and fixtures that has a section on these. I guess my point was the economics and I think you answered that with the Lowes quote. Mine's a Delta.
I had a spare set in stock so I'm good for the time being, unless I hit something nasty...
The Delta came with an installation tool that has two strips of that rubbery fridge magnet stuff...it's pretty much lost its mojo and as a result I sliced my finger, not badly, but man are those blades ever sharp!

https://www.amazon.ca/Delta-22-562-2-In ... B00002239G
These be they.


https://www.kmstools.com/dimar-12-1-2-p ... 2pc-106960
Ouch!

OUCH is right...! I would say they're made of gold but that would be too soft...

At these prices it might be worth it to find a good sharpening system. I would still wonder about the clearance between edge of knife and head. Maybe that's not significant if it's a light polishing. Are the Delta knives adjustable for height above the head...? It looks like they only have left/right adjustment.

Nickp wrote: ↑Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:02 am OUCH is right...! I would say they're made of gold but that would be too soft...

At these prices it might be worth it to find a good sharpening system. I would still wonder about the clearance between edge of knife and head. Maybe that's not significant if it's a light polishing. Are the Delta knives adjustable for height above the head...? It looks like they only have left/right adjustment.

No adjustment at all; they have three small holes in the blades which fit over locating pins on the cutterhead. Each blade has two cutting edges, so they're reversible.
I'm guessing that a single sharpening (on each edge) might reduce the blade exposure by maybe .001" or .002" ?
I guess it might be worth a try if only to kill a few hours on a rainy day (pretty much every day).

DaninVan wrote: ↑Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:56 am https://www.amazon.ca/Delta-22-562-2-In ... B00002239G
These be they.


https://www.kmstools.com/dimar-12-1-2-p ... 2pc-106960
Ouch!

The Dimar blades might be worth that much more. I've found their bits to be very durable. Years ago at the Cloverdale woodworking show I bought a set of 16" for my planer from one of the outfits in Vancouver that also offers CNC sharpening (at that time that was pretty new). Seems to me the name of the company was Pacific something. Anyway he said they were better than average and had higher cobalt content. He didn't lie. Best blades I ever used.

Cherryville Chuck wrote: ↑Wed Dec 23, 2020 11:01 am

DaninVan wrote: ↑Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:56 am https://www.amazon.ca/Delta-22-562-2-In ... B00002239G
These be they.


https://www.kmstools.com/dimar-12-1-2-p ... 2pc-106960
Ouch!

The Dimar blades might be worth that much more. I've found their bits to be very durable. Years ago at the Cloverdale woodworking show I bought a set of 16" for my planer from one of the outfits in Vancouver that also offers CNC sharpening (at that time that was pretty new). Seems to me the name of the company was Pacific something. Anyway he said they were better than average and had higher cobalt content. He didn't lie. Best blades I ever used.

Me too; German steel and Carbide. I also paid the premium for replacement jointer knives from DIMAR. Very pleased with them.
DIMAR router bits as well (KMS Tools). The bits aren't really any more expensive than any other higher quality (non-Chinese made) bits.
Still, $100 for a couple of planer blades...

I finished tuning up the planer this morning and the new Delta OEM blades are doing a great job. I have to say though, I'm not enjoying working with this Western maple.

Do you mean the DeWalt? My Deltas didn't have holes, but my DeWalt did. Many lifetimes ago, I had a Skil portable,not a benchttop, that had bladethat were 3 1/2" long and about 1 1/4" wide ,they were at least 1/4" thick. I just sent them to the Saw Shop for sharpening. The Dewalts chucked in the scrap bin.
HErb

Nope, Delta. The blades are .060" thick
https://www.amazon.ca/Delta-22-562-2-In ... B00002239G

Thanks, a new one on me. If they are like the DeWalt they are made to throw away or cut down and make spokeshave blades out of,which I did one time.
I got replacement blades from Infinity and they were superior to OEM blades.
HErb

Herb Stoops wrote: ↑Thu Dec 24, 2020 3:08 pm Thanks, a new one on me. If they are like the DeWalt they are made to throw away or cut down and make spokeshave blades out of,which I did one time.
I got replacement blades from Infinity and they were superior to OEM blades.
HErb

Spoke shave blades from planer blades? Now that's a novel idea. My brother in law used to work at a major sawmill in McKenzie, BC and he gave me a few 13" planer blades from their big production planer but only 13" long whre mine are 16". I would have never thought of turning them into spoke shave blades. Thanks.

Cherryville Chuck wrote: ↑Sat Dec 26, 2020 2:33 am

Herb Stoops wrote: ↑Thu Dec 24, 2020 3:08 pm Thanks, a new one on me. If they are like the DeWalt they are made to throw away or cut down and make spokeshave blades out of,which I did one time.
I got replacement blades from Infinity and they were superior to OEM blades.
HErb

Spoke shave blades from planer blades? Now that's a novel idea. My brother in law used to work at a major sawmill in McKenzie, BC and he gave me a few 13" planer blades from their big production planer but only 13" long whre mine are 16". I would have never thought of turning them into spoke shave blades. Thanks.

Here are the spokeshaves like I made.
HErb
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=Shop+m ... &ia=images