Changed my planer blades tonight. How long are they supposed to last? How many feet of wood can I run through a two blade DeWalt Planer?
I ask because it didn’t seem that long ago that I changed them, but I still can’t remember. That said, they didn’t seem very dull as compared to past times when I changed them. Can they just be honed with one of those planer/jointer hones?
On a final pass on some cherry I got some small gouges (grumble!). I was taking off off less than 1/32-inch. I had a 2HP DC hooked up to it. GRUMBLE!
Replies
Depends on what you're running through it. White oak & walnut seem to do a number on mine, while cherry not so much. (I hate power planing walnut -- downright noxious!) And dirty stock will wreak havoc on a set of blades. I'd guestimate that I get around 750 - 1000 BF, +/-, from a set of new blades, assuming that I'm taking rough down about 1/4 inch (8 passes).
While some planer blades don't take well to a full sharpening, you can hone them to extend their lives somewhat. I just pull them and run a diamond stone over them by hand a few swipes to create a mini secondary bevel. I'm not sure a jointer hone would work on the planer since the ones I've seen are used without taking the blades out and are referenced off the table.
Whatever method you use, just be consistent, taking the same number of swipes over each blade so they stay relatively even.
That said, "small gouges" may or may not indicate dull blades. Could just be wacky grain. I usually look/listen for the tool working harder than usual, the blades sounding like they are "chopping", rather than cutting the stock, or boards starting to not feed at a consistent rate, or the feed rollers slipping. Any of these symptoms prompt a blade check.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
As Mike H says, dirty wood will very quickly ruin the edge on the blades. In my experience, that's usually more of an issue than number of board feet sent through the machine.
-Steve
I buy all my wood rough sawn and I found that there is always dirt on these boards and after planing a few boards you have numerous nicks in the blades. For the last several years I have been having my supplier take a skim cut on each side to clean up the surfaces. I costs me 10 cents per board foot more but it saves a lot of blade changes and sharpening costs. In addition I get to see the grain pattern of the various boards.
Okay, that may explain things. I dimensioned some very rough cherry boards a few months back. I am now taking those boards down to final thickness and of course, the blades were less sharp than what I expected! I wouldn't want blame my technique now would I?
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