Knife Alignment Tool for Planer

[bash]

I have a Delta Model 22-540 thickness planer I bought off of a friend in AZ very cheap a few years ago, but he could not find the manual or knife setting tool. The planer has served my needs, but the knives are now dull. I took one out and discovered the other edge is sharp. I was curious if somebody in the Cary/Apex/Holly Springs area had a setting tool I could borrow (or I could bring the planer to your shop to use the tool)? I live off Ten-Ten Road near US-1. Send a PM if you can help me out. Thanks, Bruce

 

[gator]

I am not positive but if I recall correctly, there is no need for a tool on this unit. The knives just go over the pins and that sets them correctly. Others that know better may chime in and set me straight.

George

 

[JCraig]

Bash,

I have the 22-540 and mine does have an alignment tool that came with it. There are also some very small springs under the knife blade that hold it up on each end. You can replace the blades without the tool, but it just makes it much easier to have it.

As far as a manual here is a website that you can download a copy of the manual.

http://powertool.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/delta/22540.html

Hope this helps.

 

[bluedawg76]

i have the 22-560, so i'm not sure if it's the same. The knife tool is a magnet. you'd probably be ok doing it by hand, just being careful not to slice your fingers. As for the setup, there are alignment pins that the notches in the blade rest on. No need for an alignment jig. i haven't bothered to check the accuracy of the setup though, since there's not much to tweak, However, I've not noted any issues (i.e. if ain't broke, don't fix it).

Sam

 

[ehpoole]

I don't have your model of thickness planer (mine is a DW735, which uses disposable indexed knives), but I can offer some general comments based on others replies.

If your planer includes spring loaded knives (a.k.a. "Quickset" knives) then the original setup jig is a simple mild-steel (i.e. softer than the knives) jig that has two outer legs that conform to the curvature of the cutterhead and a third middle platform that presses each end of the knife to a preset height above the head. You simply press the (double-ended) jig against the knife and cutterhead and then tighten the gib bolts that secure the knife in place. With careful work you could make a DIY version of this (especially if you can borrow an original) and make it out of a very hard wood (such as Purpleheart) that will hold up to the knives. If you make your own it is critical that each end of the knife be set exactly the same height above the cutterhead, so be prepared to fine tune with careful sanding and reshaping.

However, you can easily adapt Quickset knives into traditional knives by simply removing the springs from the equation. With the springs removed a traditional magnetic setup jig can be used to install the knives. You can either build a DIY version of such a jig using some neodynium magnets or you can purchase a retail small-planer jig from Woodcraft (and elsewhere). The jig will magnetically hold the knife at a consistent height above the cutterhead, you then tighten the two outer gib bolts to initially secure the knife at the reference height, then tighten the middle gib bolt, then tighten the remaining gib bolts to secure the knife for use.

Ultimately you will want your own jig if you intend to keep this planer since you will never know when the need will arise to install sharp blades.

PS - My Jet jointer uses Quickset-style knives and they really are quite handy so long as one has the proper factory jig. If for some reason I did not have that jig my preference would be to remove the springs (which is what makes them "Quickset") to adapt them to traditional knives. I would then purchase an appropriate magnetic setup jig to properly set the height of my knives. With the proper setup jig it is really a case of six of one, half-dozen of another.

Installing new knives is only a dreadful chore if you lack the proper jig. With a proper jig the installation of new/sharp knives is fairly quick and stress free.

Quickset Knife Jig​

 

[bash]

Thanks for the advice (and the link to the manual :thumbs_up). I see the springs under the knife I removed, but do not understand the comments about pins and notches in the knife. My knives are solid, ~12.5" long by ~3/4" wide and are dual-edged. Seems I need an alignment tool or magnetic holder to get them level and even with each other. If needed, I will rig my dial indicator and set the knife I removed with the second knife, then repeat the process when flipping the second knife.

Thanks, Bruce

View image in gallery​

 

[ehpoole]

Thanks for the advice (and the link to the manual :thumbs_up). I see the springs under the knife I removed, but do not understand the comments about pins and notches in the knife. My knives are solid, ~12.5" long by ~3/4" wide and are dual-edged. Seems I need an alignment tool or magnetic holder to get them level and even with each other. If needed, I will rig my dial indicator and set the knife I removed with the second knife, then repeat the process when flipping the second knife.

The comments regarding pins are specific to planers with indexed (typically disposable) knives, such as my DeWalt DW735 thickness planer. With this style knife there is no setup jig, you simply align the pins with the holes (or slots) in the cutterhead and then bolt down each knife. Edit: rereading this it is a bit vague, the pins are on the cutterhead, the holes/slots are in the knives.

For a commercial jig, you are looking at something along the lines as this adjustable planer jig from Woodcraft. I believe Woodcraft also sells a simpler (non adjustable) jig for small planers that is a bit cheaper, I just can't find it on their website at the moment (but I have seen it in my Woodcraft store in Greenville, SC).

Setting up knives with a dial indicator is a royal PITA compared to setup with a jig since each adjustment to one end of the knife inevitably alters the height of the knife at the other end and you just keep going back and forth until you decide you are 'close enough'.

Best of luck!

 

[junquecol]

I have a couple of 22-540's and an ALIGNMENT TOOL. DeWalt Service Center on Capital sells them for less than $10. You are welcome to borrow mine. If you don't have DC hood, you can check out my home made one. I'm located on the far end of Holly Springs- New Hill Rd, near exit 89 on US1 South. Bruce

 

[bluedawg76]

i guess the 560 and the 540 use different knives. sorry for the confusion. thanks for clarifying this ethan.

Sam

 

[bash]

I have a couple of 22-540's and an ALIGNMENT TOOL. DeWalt Service Center on Capital sells them for less than $10. You are welcome to borrow mine. If you don't have DC hood, you can check out my home made one. I'm located on the far end of Holly Springs- New Hill Rd, near exit 89 on US1 South. Bruce

Thanks! If I can get a tool at the DeWalt Service Center in the $10 range, I'm there tomorrow. And thanks for the offer to borrow one if needed. I can't justify the $50+ right now for a magnetic jig from Woodcraft.

Agree the dial indicator would be a PITA, but as my dad always told me while growing up:

"It's not a disgrace to be poor, just inconvenient at times."

 

[Bryan S]

If the service center does not have it here is a link to a replacement and part #.

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/knife-gauge-p-87093.html

 

[Tim Sherwood]

I'm in the boat with you. I have the 22-540 , and no jig. I ordered it from the Delta repair shop in Greensboro three months ago. It's still on factory back order. They have no idea when, or even if, it will ship. The Delta shop says that their computer system does not allow them to check on the status of a customer's parts order. That sounds weird to me. I also checked several on line sites and they show them back ordered too. Please let me know if your local store has it in stock.

So, I bought a pair of magnetic jigs from Klingspor for about $30;" Mini Planer Pal". I used them yesterday. It was very simple. You leave the springs in place and push the jigs down until the magnets grab the blade and then the cutter head. They seemed to hold the knife in place while I tightened the retaining bar.


But today I ran a test board through the planer, with poor results. A three inch wide board was .005 thicker on the outside edge versus the inside. That happened both on the right and left edges of the bed. When I tried an 8" board it varied .010 edge to edge. It also had significant chip out on about 5" of the left side. I turned it end for end to reverse the grain direction and got the same results.

Evidently I need to do some more tune up!

 

[junquecol]

One World Tech. (Ryobi) has bought the Delta line from Stanley / B&D. They are doing a complete system wide inventory of parts and thus parts aren't currently available. Remember Asheville Hardware's request for parts earlier this year?

 

[ehpoole]

So, I bought a pair of magnetic jigs from Klingspor for about $30;" Mini Planer Pal".

....

But today I ran a test board through the planer, with poor results. A three inch wide board was .005 thicker on the outside edge versus the inside. That happened both on the right and left edges of the bed. When I tried an 8" board it varied .010 edge to edge. It also had significant chip out on about 5" of the left side. I turned it end for end to reverse the grain direction and got the same results.

I believe the magnetic jig you have is the cheaper one I was referring to but could not find on Woodcraft's site (though I know my store carries it).

I've generally not found the springs to be especially compatible with magnetic jigs. You may find that you get better results once you remove the springs from the equation and allow the magnets to simply suspend the knife. Neodynium magnets are not as solid as their chrome finish makes them appear, they are simply composed of compressed powder (and if you have some older neo magnets around the shop, you might even find you have some that are returning to their powdered state). Depending on how powerful your springs are (my Jointer springs, for example, are quite powerful) you may actually be cutting into the magnet a bit.

I also find it helpful to focus on tightening down the bolts at either end (or near the end) of the knife first, while the jig, also located an inch or so from each end, holds things securely, then tighten down the midle of the knife. After that you can remove the jig and tighten down the remaining bolts. By focusing on the two outside edges (nearest the jigs) you limit the opportunity for the blade to shift while tightening the bolts. NOTE: Because the magnet tops are flat (where they contact the knife edge) it is ideal that the knife hit the center of the magnet. Hitting the magnet towards the outer edges of the magnet will introduce a small amount of additional error.

None of this, however, really explains your severe chipping. A 0.01" error over 8", even if it was all focused on a single knife, should only result in scalloping, not severe tearout and chipping. I don't mean any insult, but are you certain your new knives are sharp AND installed in the correct orientation? I ask because a reversed knife could exhibit such behavior. Then again, there are some boards that are just highly prone to tearout -- try running some Poplar (or other well-behaved species) through the planer and see what happens.

Ultimately, your goal will be to try and get the error to no more than 0.005" over the full width of your planer. 5 mils over 12-13" is a fair goal and the error minute enough that any difference will be quickly leveled with just a bit of sanding of the assembled project.

PS - This all, of course, assumes that your new jig was manufactured perfectly AND that the cutterhead assembly is perfectly parallel to the bed. If you have a good set of calipers (the sort that measures in mils) then it may be worth measuring to ensure that the magnets were all fully seated when their glue (usually epoxy) hardened. If you have the means to do so, measuring the knife projection above the cutterhead is a good double-check. With this sort of jig, the knife height above the cutterhead should be constant over the width of the cutterhead and knife.

It is also quite possible that your error has nothing to do with knife setup or your new jig, but is the result of the cutterhead being out of alignment/parallel with the bed. In many portable thickness planers it is possible to adjust the cutterhead to bed alignment by loosening the threaded shafts that raise and lower the cutterhead and slightly rotating one (if there are two such bolts) or two (if there are four such shafts, one at each corner) relative to the other(s) to slightly raise or lower the cutterhead on that side. If you have a four-shaft model, loosen only the left or right side bolts (not front/back of diagonal). Don't make any changes to unthreaded shafts. ONLY ATTEMPT THIS ADJUSTMENT if you have ruled out error within the jig (try swapping the jig left-for-right and see if you get the same error, or if the error follows the placement of the jig).

The other option, if your model allows it, is to shim the low side of the cutterhead's bearing blocks enough to neutralize the error (e.g. if the error is 0.01" over the full 12-13" of the knife, then that is roughly the amount you will want to raise the low side by). If you have to shim the actual bearing (as opposed the the block the bearing is mounted in) then you should use two shims at about the 4- and 8-o'clock positions of the bearing to prevent the bearing from rocking within its mount (which it may do if you use only a single shim).

HTH

 

[JimD]

I have a different planner, a Ryobi AP-10 (the original lunchbox planner) and I have the alignment jig that it came with. I find it is more accurate, however, to use a dial caliper to measure the distance from the blade carrier to the knife tip at each end and get each blade parallel to the blade carrier and thus cutter head and the same height. I use the plastic jig from Ryobi to get it close and then finish with the dial calipers. IMHO, you could skip the jig and also could just measure from the back of the cutter head to the knife tip is you don't have a blade carrier. You want the blade parallel to the head and sticking up the same regardless of how you get there.

Jim

 

[Tim Sherwood]

Great information guys. I have checked the easy items and all looks fine so far. I'll just have to get down to more precise measuring of all these variables.

 

[KenOfCary]

This is a very interesting discussion and timely for me as well. I have new blades on order for my Delta TP305 lunch box planer arriving any day now. Haven't had a chance to look at the mechanics of replacing them yet. I know there is a magnetic tool for doing so stuck in a holder on the underside of one of the infeed / outfeed wings.

Guess I'll be finding out soon. I think my existing blades are very dull as they are leaving small streaks on the wood (raised ridges.) And I'm having to push or pull the wood through the rollers for wider pieces to keep it moving at a constant speed.

Time for a change of blades probably overdue.

- Ken.

 

[CDPeters]

I have the '540 as well. When I set new knives, I always swap the jig left-right between setting the first and second knife. This helps alleviate any error in the setting jig left vs. right end.

C.

 

[bash]

I think my existing blades are very dull as they are leaving small streaks on the wood (raised ridges.) And I'm having to push or pull the wood through the rollers for wider pieces to keep it moving at a constant speed.

Yes, having to help push/pull harder woods through my planer was the first sign of dull blades. It was just a few boards later that I started seeing chipping.

One World Tech. (Ryobi) has bought the Delta line from Stanley / B&D. They are doing a complete system wide inventory of parts and thus parts aren't currently available. Remember Asheville Hardware's request for parts earlier this year?

I am seeing the effects of this. After calling many on-line vendors, I finally found one that said they had the knife gage in stock and took my order. I just got an email this morning that the parts went to backordered with no ETA. I'll PM you later to borrow yours if possible.

I have the '540 as well. When I set new knives, I always swap the jig left-right between setting the first and second knife. This helps alleviate any error in the setting jig left vs. right end.

Good tip. Thanks for the input.

 

[junquecol]

This is a very interesting discussion and timely for me as well. I have new blades on order for my Delta TP305 lunch box planer arriving any day now. Haven't had a chance to look at the mechanics of replacing them yet. I know there is a magnetic tool for doing so stuck in a holder on the underside of one of the infeed / outfeed wings.

Guess I'll be finding out soon. I think my existing blades are very dull as they are leaving small streaks on the wood (raised ridges.) And I'm having to push or pull the wood through the rollers for wider pieces to keep it moving at a constant speed.

Time for a change of blades probably overdue.

- Ken.

Your knives are reversible, so most likely you still have a "fresh set of cutting edges."
I can't remember if the 305 has indexed blades though.