Carbatec CTJ-381X thicknesser blade misalignment
Hi Woodies.
I have a Carbatec CTJ-381X thicknesser that I purchased in 2010 along with a full set of replacement blades. I have been very happy with the planing finish obtained with this machine and the longevity of the blades. I have recently undertaken my first full blade change and am not completely happy with the results. The timber is left with visible cutting lines that need to be sanded out after thicknessing. I have studied the blades more closely and found that there is a slight rotation of the blades as they are tightened on the cutter head. This causes one corner of the blade to be slightly forward of the other which would also result in it cutting slightly deeper.
Has anybody out there experienced a similar problem and found a way to overcome it? At this stage the only solution I have come up with is to wedge the blade somehow while tightening the retaining bolt and using a straight edge to check the final alignment across several blades on the head. This is a very tedious process given that there are 72 blades.