Testing Sharpness of, and Setting, Planer Blades
I have a Gilbro Workmate Combination Saw Bench Jointer, and would welcome some advice on the Planer Blades,
The unit is almost as old as I am, and like me, did not come with any instructions.
Firstly, are there any simple (like me) tests to determine if the blades are sharp or not
Secondly, The Blades are not set evenly. Both the Infeed and outfeed beds are adjustable, and I can use a straightedge extending from the outfeed bed over the cutterhead as a means of setting each of the three blades to the same height, but what I need to know is how much the blades should extend beyond the diameter of the cutterhead cylinder/barrel.
Thanks
Dan
Blade Sharpness and Setting.
Hi and thanks Michael,
I think the blades might be reasonably sharp as they do not burn the wood, but I will get someone with better eyesight than I have (which is just about anyone without a white cane or seeing eye dog) to have a look in the light for the silver line as you suggest.
With regard to setting the cutter blade heights, what do you mean by a "0" setting ?.
Might that be setting up the infeed and outfeed beds to be in the same line as the outer circumference of the cutter head cylinder ?
I have a Ryobi Thicknesser, and the cutter blade guage supplied with that is set to achieve a cutter blade height 1.5mm above the cutter cylinder radius,
The Gilbro Workmate unit I have is approximately 50 years old, and I do not know if current blade height settings would apply to older planers.
Thanks and regards
Dan