SS Pro Planer Blades Too High at Lowest Setting

[piegolf]

A few months ago I got a pro planer that needed some repairs and have been fixing it up to get it working again. The last step to get the planer working is to sharpen and set the blades. While the sharpening went fine, I can't get the blades set low enough for them to touch at the mark on the blade setting tool. I was able to set the blades on my SS Planer (not pro planer) with good results although i don't remember the details since it's been a while since I sharpened and set those blades.

These are the things i have checked/troubleshooted:
I measured the length of the blades, which was ~0.745" -/+ 0.003" so the blades are slightly shorter than brand new blades which are 0.75".
The tape is set precisely 7/16 away from the bottom of the blade setting tool.
All of the height adjustment screws are set far enough back that the blade is not touching them.

Also, the blade setting tool keeps getting cut by the blades instead of lifting up, I've had to use a fine file to remove marks from it 2-3 times, I did not have this issue with my non-pro SS Planer.

The only reason I can think of for why the blades are too high would be that the blades are too long (even though they're shorter than 3/4") but that doesn't explain why the blades are damaging the setting tool.

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[JPG]

For starters, the blades are NOT resting on the adjustment screws.

2) Thee is not supposed to rotate the blades PAST the mark.

3) The height is adjusted to just touch the gauge at the mark.

[piegolf]

For starters, the blades are NOT resting on the adjustment screws.

I know, however for troubleshooting I wanted the blades as low as they can be which would be the blade resting on the bottom of the cutterhead

3) The height is adjusted to just touch the gauge at the mark.

To my understanding, raising the blade causes it to touch the gauge higher, and lowering the blade causes it to touch the gauge lower which would be closer to the mark since the blade is currently hitting above the mark

[JPG]

The blade is contacting beyond the mark(blue tape area) because the blade is too low.

[piegolf]

I thought that the gauge is supposed to touch the blade at the mark (red arrow) and the cutter head in the front (blue arrow) when properly adjusted.

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When the blade is set as low as possible, the blade touches the gauge at the mark but there is a gap between the gauge and the cutter head.

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When the blade is set higher with the screws, the blade still touches at the mark but the gap between the gauge and cutter head is larger

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[JPG]

What you said is correct. Now what is the other end of the gauge doing?

Take a pix of the whole scene.

[chapmanruss]

piegolf,

You said in you first post

Also, the blade setting tool keeps getting cut by the blades instead of lifting up, I've had to use a fine file to remove marks from it 2-3 times, I did not have this issue with my non-pro SS Planer.

The reason I bring this up is if the Knife Setting Gauge is getting dinged up enough to need filing to "clean" it up are the Knives getting dinged up too? When using the Knife Setting Gauge it should only "touch" the Knives, not put pressure on them.

Your pictures have been very helpful in describing the problem you are having. As JPG suggested an overall picture showing both ends of the Knife Setting Gauge may be helpful too.

I don't know why, if the Knife Leveling Screws are all the way down in the Cutterhead, the Knives are still too far out of the Cutterhead to be set properly by the Knife Setting Gauge. Although it has been some time since I have set the Knives on my Pro Planer, I didn't have the problem you are describing. Something is keeping the Knives raised up too high in the Cutterhead since as you said they are slightly less in width than they originally were before sharpening.

Below is from the page in the manual for using the Gauge to set the Knives.

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I have been trying to tell from your pictures what the end of Your Knife Setting gauge looks like. Does it have the little angle end (left end) where it rests on the Cutterhead like my Knife Setting Gauge below?

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From the picture of yours below it doesn't look like it has the same angle shape on the end of the Knife Setting Gauge to rest on the Cutterhead as mine does or the diagram from the manual shows. That may be the problem. Do you have another Knife Setting Gauge since you have two Planers? If so try the other Gauge.

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I hope you have a manual for either the Mark Mounted Planer you already had and/or the Pro Planer you are now working on. There is very little difference between the Mark Mount Planer and Pro Planer themselves. I know once you get it working properly you will like having a dedicated Planer on its own stand as opposed to having to lift the Mark Mount Planer onto you Mark to use it.

One suggestion I have is to remove the Knives from the Cutterhead now before you get them set and clean off the rust starting on the Cutterhead as seen in your first group of pictures. Doing that now will save headaches later. You can wax the Cutterhead after the cleaning it up to protect it. Do be careful as the edge of the Cutterhead where the Knives mount can be sharp. It does look like from the second group of pictures you may have done that already.

[piegolf]

The reason I bring this up is if the Knife Setting Gauge is getting dinged up enough to need filing to "clean" it up are the Knives getting dinged up too? When using the Knife Setting Gauge it should only "touch" the Knives, not put pressure on them.

From what i can see, the knives are not damaged maybe slightly less sharp where I've used the gauge, I am using what i think is light pressure/torque on the cutter head pulley to move the blades but I might've used more force earlier, now the blades catch on the already existing dings.

I have been trying to tell from your pictures what the end of Your Knife Setting gauge looks like. Does it have the little angle end (left end) where it rests on the Cutterhead like my Knife Setting Gauge below?

From the picture of yours below it doesn't look like it has the same angle shape on the end of the Knife Setting Gauge to rest on the Cutterhead as mine does or the diagram from the manual shows. That may be the problem. Do you have another Knife Setting Gauge since you have two Planers? If so try the other Gauge.

I think it does? I bought the knife setting gauge from ShopSmith when setting up my old non-pro planer back around April of this year and don't have any others. Here's a photo of the gauge in case it helps:

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I hope you have a manual for either the Mark Mounted Planer you already had and/or the Pro Planer you are now working on. There is very little difference between the Mark Mount Planer and Pro Planer themselves. I know once you get it working properly you will like having a dedicated Planer on its own stand as opposed to having to lift the Mark Mount Planer onto you Mark to use it.

I bought both of my planers used and unfortunately neither came with manuals or any accessories. Also, to clarify, my non-pro planer was already mounted to a stand with a motor when i bought it. I upgraded because it was a good deal (~$100 iirc), I wanted the cast iron table, and my old planer had some scratches in the stainless steel sheet on the table.

One suggestion I have is to remove the Knives from the Cutterhead now before you get them set and clean off the rust starting on the Cutterhead as seen in your first group of pictures. Doing that now will save headaches later. You can wax the Cutterhead after the cleaning it up to protect it. Do be careful as the edge of the Cutterhead where the Knives mount can be sharp. It does look like from the second group of pictures you may have done that already.

When I sharpened my blades, I cleaned the cutterhead's knife slots, knife holders, and derusted the knifes. There wasn't noticeable rust in the knife slots, only surface rust on the outside surfaces of the cutterhead which i later cleaned after my initial post.
As for waxing it, I haven't but that's a good idea, I'll wax it along with the bed after I finish writing this post.

Additional Photos:

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[JPG]

I cannot tell if the away end of the gauge is bottoming out on the tie bar? But if not correcting that would make the issue greater.

I think it is time to determine why the blades are bottoming out too soon. What is there in the head that prevents the blades from bottoming out on the retracted height adjustment screws?

[chapmanruss]

Lying flat your Knife Setting Gauge looks normal. It was the angles in the pictures that made it look like it was different.

Unfortunately, neither of the Planer Manuals are available from Shopsmith any longer. Getting a printed copy would require finding it on the used market. Attached is a PDF copy of the Pro Planer Manual. You can use it for your Mark Mount Planer also, but it does not include mounting it on your Mark and any related setup specific to it. This is for the power feed Planers so if your Mark Mount Planer is an early one with the manual feed that would be another possible difference.

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PL-5126 5-92 Pro Planer Owners Manual.pdf

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For a PDF copy of the Mark Mount Planer Manual it is available by going to the topic Shopsmith Large Format Drawings, Illustrations and more near the top of the Maintenance and Repair section here in the Forum. On the first post you will find a link to Everett's Google Drive. Clicking on it will take you to a list of categories with documents Everett has restored and made available to us. Under Planers the Mark Mount Planer Manual is third from the bottom as Shopsmith Planer Manual PL-5002 Oct 82. The file size for that manual is way too large to be directly linked here. That should cover the Planer Manuals for you. Do keep Everett's Google Drive in mind if you need other Manuals or documents. You may find them there.

Having the manual may help with the problem you are having setting the Knives. See starting on page 28 in the Pro Planer Manual attached above. If that doesn't help, my suggestion would be to start with the Knife Leveling Screws all the way down in the Cutterhead. Disregard the blue tape mark you are using and start with a point on the Gauge farther back (away from where the tape is currently) as a new setting point. As long as all three Knives are set the same it should not be a problem if they are slightly more proud of the Cutterhead than normally expected. If I remember correctly the Knife Setting Gauge does not come marked (scribe mark) from the factory because it is to be marked by the user for their Planer.