Pro Planer Knife alignment issues.

[killscreen123]

Hello Everyone,


Finally got around to replacing my very worn Shopsmith pro planer knives with a new set. I've never done this before. Having inherited all of my grandfather's shopsmith tools, I cant seem to find the knife setting guide that comes with these planers. I watched the video of Nick Engler using a dial indicator to set the knives, so I went out and bought one with extra tips to try my hand at changing them.


I followed the video as best I could, and managed to get all of the blades within one or two thousands of an inch. Satisfied, I put it all together to test it out.

When I fed my test board in, the rollers of the planer did not contact the board, but the knives cut the wood, kicking back the wood gently. I tried a few more things, but still the rollers would not contact and the knives would cut/kickback. I figured the new blades were longer, so I just have to adjust the thickness scale as per the manual. Well I can't adjust the scale anymore, it reads about 1/4" thicker than the wood actually is.

Can anyone tell me what's going wrong? I can't adjust the height of the rollers, only the pressure they press down with. I'm assuming I set my knives too high, as they will cut before the rollers contact the wood. As per Nick's video, I set the dial indicator on the highest point of the knife, and went about raising the knife until the dial indicator made one full revolution + 32 thousandths. Did I misinterpret Nick's instructions?

Thank you for your time!

[JPG]

I have to think so on both accounts.

Yes the rollers are only adjustable for tension.

1/4" Good Grief!

0.032/revolution?????

Setting the scale is done as the LAST thing. If the knives are set properly the scale should NEVER need to be adjusted.

How far proud of the cutter head are the knives protruding?

[killscreen123]

It would seem the knives are cutting 1/4" before the rollers catch, which I assume is why the scale is so off.

On watching Nick's video again, I think I've found where I've messed up. Nick sets the dial indicator to 0.0068" on the cutter head BEFORE the knife. Then, he proceeds to rotate the cutter head so that the highest point of the knife is pressing against the dial indicator tip, and proceeds to make his adjustments.

I was setting the dial indicator to 0.0068" directly on the knife, which is incorrect, it should be set on the CUTTER HEAD and NOT the knife. I'm quite positive this is the step that I missed, which gave me the terrible results I got. I will return to the shop with this new knowledge and report back on any change!

[chapmanruss]

If you get it figured out using the dial indicator great. If not consider getting the Planer Knife Setting Gauge. It is part number 512414 and sells for $8.99 here on the Shopsmith website. It is very easy to use.

It is shown in the picture below.
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513414 SS pic.jpg (3.4 KiB) Viewed 760 times

[killscreen123]

Hey everyone,

As mentioned above, I went back and used the dial indicator the proper way after watching Nick's video again. Everything went perfect and the problem is solved!

Thanks for your help!

[dusty]

Hey everyone,

As mentioned above, I went back and used the dial indicator the proper way after watching Nick's video again. Everything went perfect and the problem is solved!

Thanks for your help!

This is so good to hear. I read your posts three or four times and had NO IDEA what might be wrong.

[garys]

I picked up a 1985 planer a few of years ago and somewhere along the line the alignment tool disappeared and was no longer with the planer. I simply ordered a new one from Shopsmith. A year or two after getting it, I decided that the blades needed sharpening so I pulled them out, had them sharpened, and reinstalled them using the alignment tool. It worked perfectly, and is still the simplest way to do the job. I highly recommend getting and using the tool from Shopsmith.