Nick in jointer knives, can they be shifted over

[Rusty Eads]

I have a rigid grey model 6 1/8" jointer that has sharp knives in it except for a spot in the middle that has a small nick in them. Is it possible to shift the knives over a little to eliminate the ridge left by it until my replacement knives come in? I was thinking of moving one over by about 1/64" and then the other in the other direction by about 1/64". It hasn't affected performance up to this point as I have only used it to joint edges but now I have to face joint some 4" material and can't have that ridge in there. Is this an unsafe practice?

[Bob Rossi]

I have a rigid grey model 6 1/8" jointer that has sharp knives in it except for a spot in the middle that has a small nick in them. Is it possible to shift the knives over a little to eliminate the ridge left by it until my replacement knives come in? I was thinking of moving one over by about 1/64" and then the other in the other direction by about 1/64". It hasn't affected performance up to this point as I have only used it to joint edges but now I have to face joint some 4" material and can't have that ridge in there. Is this an unsafe practice?

That shouldn't be a problem.

[Jeff Duncan]

If you have the room (pretty likely you do) on that jointer I suggest moving a single knife over by a little more. Moving one knife is much faster and accomplishes the same end result.
good luck,
JeffD

[glenn bradley]

+1 move 1 knife.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

you sure can. I was adjusting the knives on my Ridgid to get the knives level, and I was surprised how much side-to-side play there was. Just make sure not to adjust a knife so far that it hits anything.

[Ryan Hellmer]

The only concern I would have is if you actually use the rabbetting shelf. If so, the knives (all except one) could only be moved toward the fence as the left edge must register with the machined shelf. Just a thought.

Ryan

[Chip Lindley]

YMMV of course, but in 25 years I have yet to have used the rabbeting ledge on a jointer. I have absolutely no inclination to do so. That is what TS dado sets or routers are for. But, I digress...

Now is a good time for the OP to learn how to set his jointer knives. If the jointer has jack screws in the head for levelling the knives, he is in luck. Loosening the jib bolts and shifting the knife over, and re-tightening the jib screws is all that is required. Otherwise, the knives will have to be adjusted to proper height with one of the approved methods. Actually only one knife needs to be shifted if the nick is small. Rotate to see that the knife end clears all obstructions! When re-tightening the jib bolts, go all the way around the head tightening each. Make sure none are looser than the others.

[Jeff Duncan]

I wouldn't worry about rabbeting either but for different a reason. I actually use my jointer for rabbeting occasionally....much cleaner than using a tablesaw and you can go wider than a router table will do, (easily anyway), think of door jambs and such. Of course if I'm doing a bunch of door jambs I'll set up the shaper to do it. If I need to knock one out quick though, there's nothing that beats the jointer IMHO. And I do not line up my knives super accurately on the ends. I get them close enough and it works fine. If anything, as mentioned already, shift the knife towards the fence if possible and you won't have to worry about it.
good luck,
JeffD

[Howard Acheson]

You have two choices. One is to shift one knife a tad one way or the other. This will not cause a problem. I would certainly do this before I worried about re-sharpening or replacing.

Second and easier, is to just remove the ridge with a cabinet scraper as part of your smoothing process. One swipe and the ridge is leveled and gone. The ridge is also easily just sanded off.