After about 15 years of use, I finally hit an embedded screw in a used piece of wood in my jointer. It put a 1/32 nick in the knives that affects the plane profile. Are these blades ruined? Is it worth it to get them sharpened or should I just buy some new ones?
Thanks,
S.
You haven't sharpened them in 15 years???!!!
Depends on what they are and what size. A 1/32" is pretty deep if it is that deep, not wide, but if they're a full profile knife there may be enough remaining width to grind them that much. You'll have to measure that and see if you'll have enough to meet the minimum width when done.
If they're solid carbide, they'll be worth it in terms of replacement cost. HSS isn't too expensive if they're 4-6", 8" starts to add up, but still not too bad...
You can, of course, simply hone/sharpen them to a new edge and forget the knick and offset them slightly to disguise the damage as a "cheap 'n cheery" workaround solution. That means, of course, that using the rabbeting function is out, but not many really do in my observation...
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Are you saying you haven't sharpened them in 15 years, or it's the first time you've hit something embedded? I hope it's the latter ;-).
If it's a small (narrow) nick, try offsetting the knives a little bit. That way, one knife won't cut where the nick is, but the next knife will. Failing that, at least try to get them sharpened. The worst that will happen is they will tell you they can't be salvaged and you don't have to accept them.
good luck.
jc
That's a really good idea to offset the knives. Thanks for the great advise. Yeah, the guy where sharpens for something like
50 cents an inch. But I was curious if these kinds of accidents meant the end of the blade. Thanks again.S.
You can sharpen them yourself with my jig in less time it takes you to drive to the sharpener. Plus, I am willing to bet that you can get them sharper than the professional. But since you haven't sharpened them in 15 years, you might not appreciate the difference. :-)
See my jig section:
1/32" would not even count as a nick when grinding knives in my shop, it would be removed in the normal course of sharpening at 60 cents per inch. I get knives that have 1/32" of dull rounded over edge all the time through my drop off sites.
Daily Grind
Good to know, Daily. I appreciate it.
Mike
After you are finished grinding away ("sharpening") at a knife, can you see grind marks with the naked eye on the edge (bevel) of the knife?
I would like to see you grind out that nick on your jig. got a week? (G) you must really drive slowly.
of course it won't take that long but it would not be fast either. I know how long it takes to remove metal with sandpaper. I Have used hundreds of sanding belts doing that job. but I do know there is a change of uneven sharpening when you have to remove that much metal if your doing it with hand pressure and sandpaper.
So what is your point Steve? I should not suggest that he sharpen his blades himself because it might take longer? Actually I REALLY doubt that it would. I could take that nick out in no time at all (6" jointer knife with a micro bevel) and achieve superior results to a "sharpener/grinder". Have you made my jig and tried it on a 6" jointer knife? I know you wouldn't have much use for it because it can't sharpen a plane knife, but try it before you cast judgment. You are assuming it will take a certain amount of time to sharpen a jointer knife (most likely 6", although he doesn't say) with a jig you never used.
How often have you think folks take blades in to get sharpened and even get them back in the same day?? The last time I took a set in, it took 2-weeks and the "sharpener/Grinder" made my blades look like they were sharpened on the asphalt.
Geesh.
I could take that nick out in no time at all (6" jointer knife
I've glanced at this thread several times but just saw your recent reply. I have a small knick in the blades of my Rigid jointer (my fault) that I would like to remove. You mentioned a jig. Could you send me plans for your jig - I'm sorry that I probably missed it in one of your other replies. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Jim
I am saying that sharpening and grinding are two different things. it is easy to goof up when grinding. there are also good and poor sharpening services. myself all I have to do is rotate a carbide cutter that is far easier then your jig (G) but for a bit before I dumped my cutter head I used my makita on them. work ok but still not as fast as my carbide cutters.
Somehow my email address is wrong in the header/sender area. It should be snipped-for-privacy@mchsi.com
No plans, but it's pretty obvious how it goes together.
- Owen -
Around here the local sharpening service is generally a 1-day turnaround and they do a really good job.
Whatever works...
Chris
Thanks! I think you will find a lot of uses for it. With all of the garbage I see published in FWW magazines 'Methods of Work' section, I still can't believe they rejected my tool.
If you find you use my alignment tool a lot you might want to look into the TS-Aligner Jr which has more features.
"GarageWoodworks" wrote
Keep your eyes open ... now you might see it somewhere you don't expect, like for sale and "made in China".
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