Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Sep 13, 2009 02:29pm | #1

   If you do a Google search for "Makita 2030 planer blade" you will turn up a couple of sources for the blades. Blades for the 2030N also turn up but they have a different part number so the chances are that the blades are different. It would appear that the blades can be resharpened, so you may not need replacements, but it is nice to have spare blades on hand.

   Torque isn't that critical just snug them up firmly with the wrench provided. Typically the factory wrenches have a short small handle which discourages over tightening. Because the thought of the blade flying off is scary, it leads many to tighten the bolts down way too hard which actually damages the bolt or what it threads into.

   John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007
1. 
   forestgirl | Sep 14, 2009 04:20am | #4

   "Typically the factory wrenches have a short small handle which discourages over tightening."  Too bad the workers who install the factory blades don't use that short wrench.  I had to put a pipe extension on the wrench to get the blades off my Delta the first time -- I was sure the wrench would break before the screws loosened.  Same with a fastner or two I had to lossen on the Delta drill press.  What's with these guys anyway?!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   oldusty | Sep 14, 2009 06:15am | #5

      FG , If the nuts have been on for a longtime , even if they were not overly tightened it may be helpful to spray a shot of wd 40 or liquid wrench before hand.

                       d

1. 
   forestgirl | Sep 14, 2009 07:09am | #6

   Oh, this was years ago, the first time I removed the blades from the Delta planer.  I've come to expect things to be overtightened at the factory, but alas, I'm not buying tools now, so the knowledge is wasted, LOL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   JohnWW | Sep 16, 2009 05:17pm | #9

   Hi FG,Overtightened blade securing bolts on new bench top planers are fairly common. I now recommend that that anyone with a new machine should take the cutter head cover off as soon as they get it home and check that the blade bolts can be loosened. You don't want to discover that the bolts are frozen months later in the middle of a project or after the warranty has expired.I some cases the only way that the bolts can be removed is to carefully grind off the heads with a Dremel tool. Once the head is off the stub of the bolt can be easily turned and backed out of the head. Of course new bolts will be needed.John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007

1. 
   forestgirl | Sep 16, 2009 05:23pm | #10

   Sound advice John.  Perhaps I was fortunate in that the first lumber I planed was 80-year-old oak from a demolished cabinet, painted, and I was sacrificing a set of edges to get below the paint to a fresh surface.  Wasn't long before I needed to flip the blades, LOL.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   zolton | Sep 16, 2009 06:14pm | #12

   Forestgirl,

    I'm going to take this thread off track a bit here in response to your last post. You mentioned sacrificing a set of planer blades to remove paint from some old oak. Let me suggest an alternative to that if you need to do something similar in the future.

   I'm a veteran collector of old boards, some painted. Many have been removed from bookshelves or drawers that I replaced in someone's house. The lumber is mostly very decent underneath the dirt, and often paint, on the surface. It is usually worth recovering though, and using somewhere else when I can.

   The trick is to remove the paint which, as you know, is very abrasive and can ruin a set of planer blades (or a handplane blade) in nothing flat. What I've been doing for the last several years is taking the paint off the boards before I mill them.

   If you use liquid stripper or a regular heat gun this can be a tedious task, at best. Plus, much of the old paint is lead-based, which releases lead fumes when heated above a certain temperature. Sanding lead paint also allows particles to become airborne - and respirated.

   For the past couple of years I've been using an infrared paint removal tool called a Speedheater. It can remove paint from about a 5x12 inch area in just a few minutes, and doesn't heat the paint to the degree that it creates fumes. The unit consists of an alumimum and plastic housing that holds two tubes that generate the infrared rays (or whatever they're called!). The wood behind the paint is heated, and that releases the paint. You can peel off an eighth of an inch of paint with only one pass of the Speedheater, right down to the bare wood. It's pretty amazing to see the first time..

   In all my years or removing paint, I've found that this is the fastest and safest method. It works best on flat surfaces, of course. I can strip one side of a four foot, 12 inch wide board in about ten minutes.

   Speedheaters are quite expensive (though I bought mine, used, from a professional paint store for $100). They retail for between $500-600, depending on if there there's a sale going on. Pro paint shops rent them for about $35 a day though - so that could be an alternative for you if you ever run into a batch of painted boards again...

   Zolton 

   Oh, yeah. Just wanted to say, for the record, that I'm not affiliated in any way with the company that makes the Speedheater... If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon

2. 
   forestgirl | Sep 16, 2009 07:23pm | #14

   Thanks for the tip on the Speedheater, Zolton.  Sounds like the perfect solution to these old painted boards.  Sadly, my source for such cabinets is gone -- an auction house in Tacoma that brought stuff over from Europe by the container-load.  But I will keep the Speedheater in mind should another good deal come  my way.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   oldusty | Sep 13, 2009 05:32pm | #2

   kiss.

            You don't need a torque wrench , it's not that critical .Use common sense and like lug nuts on a wheel tighten them not just from one end to the other ,but alternate  to equalize the pressure all along the knives .

              regards    dusty

             

1. 
   Samsquanch | Sep 13, 2009 08:16pm | #3

   To John and Dusty,
   Thanks for the prompt relies! Unfortunately I had a blade come loose yesterday which is why I needed to ask both of those questions. Apparently I went a little light on the torque side, and it worked fine until I sent a wide piece of oak through. I did learn a lesson though, and will be sure to snug the bolts a little tighter next time. Thanks again, I really appreciate it!K.I.S.S.

1. 
   JohnWW | Sep 16, 2009 06:04pm | #11

   I would be suspicious that the blade retaining bolts or their threaded holes were damaged by a former user. Even moderately tightened bolts should not have come loose. I believe that these machines had a jig that was used to position the blade properly. Do you have the jig and the instructions for the machine?John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007

1. 
   zolton | Sep 16, 2009 06:21pm | #13

   John,

   I'm not sure if there was a jig supplied by the company that helped position the planer blades in a Makita 2030. There are two milled flat areas on the machine though, that straddle where the blades peek through the top (covered, when in operation, by the chip deflector).

   The way I learned to set the blades was to first deploy the (not-very-accurate) top-dead-center pin that engaged the rotating head, and then use a short piece of edge-milled stock to press the blades down even with the flat areas. You'd then tighten the bolts. Pretty simple, and I suppose reasonably accurate for the time..

   It is possible Makita supplied an inexpensive plastic piece (something about that is floating around in my memory) to do the pushing down of the blades, but I must have lost that and used lumber from that point forward.

   ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon

3. 
   Don01 | Sep 14, 2009 07:18am | #7

   Check with your nearest Makita service center. The folks in Edmonton are extremely helpful.

   Don

4. 
   zolton | Sep 14, 2009 09:39pm | #8

   I have a 2030 and am still on the original set of blades on the thing (since 1978 or so). There is a good deal of high speed steel laminated to a softer steel backing on the blades, and if they're sharpened carefully they should last a long while.

   Can you still see some of the hard steel on your blades? Is there any left? It's thin, little more than 1/16 of an inch, and is visible when you hold the blade up to the light.

   As John White said, you can get the blades sharpened for way less than what it will cost you for new ones - though, again as he said, it might convenient to have a second set on hand. I never did though...

   As to torquing the blade bolts down, I never used a torque wrench, but reefed on them pretty well with a 3/8 inch socket set. Never had a blade come loose, as you said you did.

   Zolton 

   If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon

5. 
   Wylie | Feb 16, 2012 10:03am | #15

   Makita 2030 blades

   I see that this is an old thread, but if anyone can still respond, is it reasonable to remove the jointer and planer knives from the Makita 2030 and sharpen them by hand or is it preferrable to send them to a pro?

   Thank you.

   John

1. 
   SLCLarry | Feb 22, 2012 06:43pm | #16

   Sharpening Makita 2030 Blades

   When I had my 2030, I bought the Makita rotating wet stone sharpener.  I never did the process right.  The blades were sharpened, but they were not flat across the cutting edge.  The ends got ground off more than the center.  I eventually got a second set to change when they needed it, and tried to get to sharpening the spare set when time permitted, but like most jobs I hate, it always got put off.

   I finally sent the blades out to be professionally sharpened, and adopted a new method after that.  I purchased sharpening jigs from Lee Valley, got a big piece, maybe 15" square, of 3/8" scrap float glass (free at my local glass man!), and went to work with wet-sanding carbide paper layed on the glass and plenty of water.  I usually started with 220 git and went finer once the nicks were out.  Never had to send them out again.

   I recently gave my 2030 to my son, and bought a Laguna 16" Jointer-Planer combination machine with a sprial cutter head. He now has my sharpening jigs for these blades, but alas, has no time to woodwork.

   Hope this helps