planer blade sharpening question

bergdahl · Post by **bergdahl** » Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:24 pm

What's the best way to sharpen planer blades? I have a craftsman planer
and the blades are about 12" long. They are easily removed and I was hoping to find a way to sharpen them on my own. Is there any type of sharpener that is recommended? Thanks for the help.

8iowa · Post by **8iowa** » Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:46 pm

A couple of considerations; If the planer is an older model powered by an AC induction motor, the blades most likely can be sharpened several times by a sharpening service. If you don't have such a service close-by, our own Nick Engler recommends Shupert & sons in Dayton Ohio. These blades could be sharpened on your Shopsmith using the conical disk sander, but you would have to make your own jig to hold them. Shopsmith's jig is designed for Shopsmith's tapered cross section knives.

The newer high speed universal motor powered "benchtop" planers use rather thin blades that are reversible, but are considered "disposable". The steel may have a very thin hardness on the surface, and softer steel underneath that will not hold an edge. Some users have built special jigs with which to sharpen these blades, but success is not guaranteed. Also, some of the cutter heads do not allow the blades to be raised to compensate for the sharpened reduction in width.

mickyd · Post by **mickyd** » Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:36 pm

bergdahl wrote:What's the best way to sharpen planer blades? I have a craftsman planer
and the blades are about 12" long. They are easily removed and I was hoping to find a way to sharpen them on my own. Is there any type of sharpener that is recommended? Thanks for the help.

Are you certain they need sharpening vs. just honing them with a stone? Are there nicks on the edge?

riot_nrrd · Post by **riot_nrrd** » Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:32 am

I'm not sure, but I think the ss grinding jig would probably work for non ss planer knives. It just pinches the l knife to hold it, and the pressure from the conical disk would push it into the jig, rather than pull it away. Has anyone tried it?

Ron309753 · Post by **Ron309753** » Fri Oct 29, 2010 8:47 am

Most towns have a sharpening service that will sharpen planer knives. If you Google 'sharpening (city state)’ you may find a local service shop.

Sincerely,

Ron309753

rkh2 · Post by **rkh2** » Fri Oct 29, 2010 9:19 am

We do have an individual that sharpens his DeWalt 735 planner blades using the Shopsmith jig and the conical wheel.

Features are a full 6" mouth that will close to plane to 1/8" thickness. Three blades with two sharp edges on each side, and produces minimal snipe. The only fault I can find after two years of service is the rubber pressure rolls need cleaned fairly often to make them able to grab the wood without slipping. I have found the blades which cost $50 for three can be successfully sharpened using the SS planer blade sharpening jig with the conical disk. I bought a second set of blades just in case the sharpening didn't work out, but I'm still using the first side of the original set - after sharpening. I think they can be sharpened twice without grinding them down too much to work. To sharpen the blades I had to put a shim into the sharpening jig because these blades are thinner than the Shopsmith ones.

Not sure if it will work with the craftsman planner but it would be worth a try if you have the sharpening jig and conical disk.

collett · Post by **collett** » Thu Nov 04, 2010 11:47 pm

If you use the planer enough, buy a spare set of blades that way you can have one pair being sharpened while the other is in use. Actually sharpening (versus an interim honing job) these blades requires very special accurate equipment to do any kind of a good job. When the blades are not too dull, you can still hone them up with a small very fine hand stone. A couple of swipes on an edge is about all you need to do, if the blade requires more ... off to the sharpener.