I'm so confused: Shopsmith Planer Knife Sharpener

[Sterling]

I recently purchased the Shopsmith Planer/Jointer Knife Sharpening Jig and the conical sanding disc.

On my first attempt to sharpen a dull Shopsmith Pro Planer blade, I've discovered that the slot in the sharpening jig that holds the blade is too deep to allow the cutting edge of the blade to protrude past the edge of the sharpener. Using the device in this fashion would destroy the sharpener in short order.

Considering the vast quantity of Shopsmith knowledge and information with which I am very unfamiliar, I am assuming that the problem is with the operator (me), and not the equipment. (I've searched the manual for the sharpener and have found nothing that addresses this issue.)

If anyone has any suggestions or corrections to pass along, I'd be appreciative.

Thanks,

Sterling

[jsburger]

I recently purchased the Shopsmith Planer/Jointer Knife Sharpening Jig and the conical sanding disc.

On my first attempt to sharpen a dull Shopsmith Pro Planer blade, I've discovered that the slot in the sharpening jig that holds the blade is too deep to allow the cutting edge of the blade to protrude past the edge of the sharpener. Using the device in this fashion would destroy the sharpener in short order.

Considering the vast quantity of Shopsmith knowledge and information with which I am very unfamiliar, I am assuming that the problem is with the operator (me), and not the equipment. (I've searched the manual for the sharpener and have found nothing that addresses this issue.)

If anyone has any suggestions or corrections to pass along, I'd be appreciative.



Thanks,

Sterling

How wide are your blades. My once sharpened spare set is about 1/128" under 3/4". Sounds like you have a set of blades that have been sharpened too many times or maybe they are not SS blades. The pictures show how they should look in the jig.

[Sterling]

John, here are some photos of my setup. The blade in the jig is a brand new, never used or sharpened Shopsmith planer blade. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Sterling

[Sterling]

I just checked my planer blades with a caliper. They are exactly the same size as John's, mentioned above.

For what it's worth.

Sterling

[dusty]

The manual says that you should discard blades after they are less than 11/16" wide.

A new blade measures 3/4". This blade, installed in the sharpening jig, should extend beyond the face of the jig by about 3/32".

John's blade looks to be new; about 3/32" extending beyond the jig. Yours appears to be shorter, about 5/8" wide.

[jsburger]

I just checked my planer blades with a caliper. They are exactly the same size as John's, mentioned above.

For what it's worth.

Sterling

If the blade is 3/4" how far does it protrude from the jig? As I said my blades have been sharpened once and measure 1/28" less than 3/4". The top side of the blade protrudes 7/32" from the jig to the sharp edge. The bottom of the blade protrudes 3/32" from the jig to the edge of the bevel. If that is what you have there is no problem.

OK a couple of things to consider in no particular order.

When using the sharpening jig you do not tilt the table 4° as stated in the Conical Sanding Disk manual. That is clearly stated in the sharpening jig manual.

This procedure removes an extremely small amount of material. Also the sanding disk does not contact the entire width of the bevel. You can see that in the picture. Yes it does change the bevel angle very slightly but that is the way SS designed it and it works.

When setting up for your initial pass as instructed in the manual you want VERY light contact with the disk. As the manual says make passes until the sparks stop. Two passes should do it.

If the blade is not sharp (It should be if it was not very very dull or damaged) lower the table as the manual says. Doing so manually a 1/32" as the manual says is pretty hit and miss. I use the adjustable stop collar to lower the table. The scale on the collar is graduated in .001". I just lower it enough to get minimal sparks again.

One issue I found is that the nylon glide on the right end of the jig is off the fence before the pass is complete. Unless you are paying particular attention to that it is very easy to have the jig tilt and ding the left end of the blade. The solution is to add an aux fence to the SS fence that extends the fence about 6" to the right. Problem solved.

So if your blades extend from the jig as stated above there is no problem. Remember this is a sharpening/honing process not a major grind/reshape process.

[ChrisNeilan]

Not to hijack this thread, but how many times can you sharpen the blades? I have a Dewalt that uses reversable blades thare are "not designed" to be sharpened. They are reversable, so you get twice the milage, but very expensive to replace. I may someday want to grab a shopsmith planer for this reason alone...

[jsburger]

Not to hijack this thread, but how many times can you sharpen the blades? I have a Dewalt that uses reversable blades thare are "not designed" to be sharpened. They are reversable, so you get twice the milage, but very expensive to replace. I may someday want to grab a shopsmith planer for this reason alone...

Not a hijack at all. It is right in line with sterling's question.

I guess it depends on how much you abuse them. The SS planer manual says not to use blades less than 11/16" wide. That is 1/16" less than full width. My spare set is 1/128" less than full width after one (I think) sharpening so that would be 8 sharpenings before you got down to 11/16"

[Sterling]

Hmm... Both sets of planer blades I have are less than 3/4". One is 0.721 wide and the other is .738.

Apparently, the set I thought was brand new was not.

If I read your comment correctly, there is only 1/16" of usable meat on these blades. Once that's gone, the blades cannot be used in the planer anymore?

Thanks,

Sterling

[JPG]

Heed John's warning re the nylon glide sliding off the end of the fence.

His is a 520, yours is a "10".