Replaced blades on my Makita 12" Planer

I was a little leary of doing this, but based on the results of recent operation, it needed to be done. Let me say that Makita's instructions wer spot on! I had all the tools and magnets that came with the planer. I still have replacement blades that came free with the planer, but I didn't need to use them as the blade are reversable.

Each blade has a recess in the top of the blade running lengthwise. I had to take of the right side outer housing and the chip cover as part of the operation. In so doing the cutter head locks in position every 180 degrees making the operation a snap. I got it apart, the blades reversed and reassembled in 30 minutes at most. I ran a test piece and the wood came out just like it did when the machine was brand new.

Needless to say I was feeling pretty happy with myself. This did not last long. I decided to replace the cutter blades on my Powermatic Model 53 Jointer. I am taking a break from that as it is not going well. I actually have the cutter head removed, but cannot seem to remove the blades from the cutter head. Powermatic's website is down and the manual is silent as to replacing the blades. It recommends sharpening the blades by running the planer with an India stoen or oil stone over the blades. It sounds and looks extremely dangerous. I will get back to it later. At least this brought me back down to earth.

Doug

Doug,

THat is one of the great advantages of the lunchbox planers with indexed blades. Sure makes blade changing a breeze.

Good luck on your jointer knives! I am working on the same thing now.

The operation is called knife jointing and is not really sharpening. It's a technique more common on special moulders. Typically jointing the knives on planers and such is one step besides actually grinding the bevel.

Why did you take the head out of the machine. I've had them so tight I used my Dremel and an abrasive cut off wheel to partially slice through the gib screw. The pressure is off and the screw comes out real easy and you replace the screw. Try using a good quality wrench first though. The stock wrenches should be tossed.

This is sort of what I use to change knives. I recommend a convex button tip instead of the regular tip on an indicator. I can do a 6" jointer in 10 minutes within .0005".
http://www.shopnotes.com/main/articl...indicator.html