Question about removing knives on Delta 37-190 jointer

I bought a used Delta 37-190 jointer last fall. The knives were somewhat nicked up but I used it during the winter. Now that things have slowed down on the woodworking front, I want to take the knives out to get them sharpened. A new Delta 37-190 came with a couple of open end wrenches but they didn't come with the used one. The wrench needed to losen the 4 locking screws is a 5/16" wrench which I had but there is no way I can get those locking screws to budge. Is there a trick to this that I am missing?

TIA.

Dick Snyder

Reply to
Dick Snyder
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There's a locknut at the base and then the depth adjusting screw goes inward (rh thread) to loosen the gibs.

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Reply to
dpb

Yes I know. I can not get the lock nut to budge. The owner's manual says turn your wrench clockwise. I assume that means as you stand slightly to the right of the cutter head and place your wrench on the locknut, you turn to the right (clockwise). Do I have that right?

Reply to
Dick Snyder

They're right hand thread on every jointer I've ever had -- if won't loosen the way your going, try the other. I'd be very surprised if they aren't RH.

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Reply to
dpb

I believe I am turning the locknuts in the proper direction. The manual says to turn them in a clockwise direction. If I stand slightly to the right of the cutter head and face the cutter head, I turn the locknuts in the clockwise direction. Does that sound correct?

Reply to
Dick Snyder

Since I can't precisely visualize the geometry right now, I can't say unequivocally which way you should move your arm from wherever you are standing.

What I can say is that they are almost certainly RH thread, the locknut needs to go _UP_ the bolt towards the head as if you were putting the nut onto the bolt (not taking it off). Whichever direction it is that does that will be right.

The obvious thing to try when something isn't working the way you're going is try the other way... :)

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Reply to
dpb

Dick,

I believe the heads on our jointers are similar (Jet J6SX) and you have

3 small bolts holding the blades. To loosen, you push the wrench handle towards the fence. Sounds like yours have really been torqued down and may require a slight tapping with a small hammer to shock it loose. If you suspect corrosion, try some liquid wrench treatment.

Why send the knives out when a flat piece of glass or your tablesaw top and some sandpaper (100, 180, 220, 400, 600 grits) and a bit of your time will have them sharp in about 10 minutes time. Look up ScarySharp.

Bob S.

Reply to
Bob S.

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I looked at the online manual--it doesn't appear there are locking nuts on the gib screws on this jointer--scary!!! :(

But, given that there aren't, then the steps outlined (4 and 5) are to loosen the locking bolts themselves (a) slightly each one to relieve stress nearly uniformly, then (b) finish until can remove locking bar (gib).

All jointer heads I've had/have use the same system but have a locking nut in addition to the screw; I was giving directions for that scenario.

In your case, if there really aren't locking nuts (you can tell if you look carefully; if there are, they are at the end of the bolt torqued against the gib not the cutter head side. The bolt head will be against the cutterhead.

If there aren't two hex locations to put the wrench on for each of the four locking bolts, that's a clue, too! :)

Anyway, assuming they're really _not_ there, then when you're at the infeed end facing the outfeed end and the subject knife is at the top to loosen the bolt you will turn it clockwise (as if you were tightening it on the bottom side of the head in a conventional application of a bolt where it would be as if it were holding tension on the bottom side of the head against the gib; in this application it is actually in compression pushing against the cutterhead on the top side of the bolt head).

HTH...

If it still is tight, as somebody else suggested, make sure you have a proper-fitting, good quality wrench (the manual suggests they're metric now, not SAE) and give them a good rap w/ a hammer. You _don't_ want to round over the corners on these puppies...

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Reply to
dpb

I think I am going to use sandpaper as you suggest. In fact the owner's manual suggests the same thing under the heading "Whetting Knives". After reading the reply posts on this topic, I can see that I have been turning the locking screws in the proper direction. I have a good set of wrenches (Sears Craftsman from 1966) but the wrench is slipping and I am worried about rounding over the screws. I am going to make one stab at finding a number for Delta customer service to see if they have any suggestions. If not, I will use your sandpaper suggestion.

Thanks Bob.

Dick

Reply to
Dick Snyder

I got on the Delta website and found a Delta service center in Massachusetts where I live. I called them to find out if there was a central Delta service number but when I told the guy my problem, he told me he had worked at Delta since 1988 and was very familiar with my problem!! He said first of all that even though the locking screws work with a 5/16" wrench, he has found that an 8mm wrench is a tighter fit. He also said to get a punch, move down about

1/8" from the outward edge of one face and give it a sharp whack to loosen it up. What great practical advice. If this fails I am going the sandpaper route and pray that I never have to remove the cutters!
Reply to
Dick Snyder

Whacking the bolts with a punch was the same advice that Car Talk gave to "John from Houston" this Saturday, but he seemed a little wary.

He was asking for help with stuck bolts and stripped heads on his vehicle. They also asked him about the quality of the tools he was using. He said the wrenches were all from Snap-on. They asked him if he was in the business. He said no, the government bought them for him. Eventually, it emerged that his vehicle was 350 miles away, straight up, and he just got back from working on it last week. :-) :-)

Reply to
John Santos

I just picked up a 37-190 jointer and tried to remove the blades too and wen thru the same frustration of the tightened setscrews.

Yes, they do go ClockWise, they THREAD IN towards the blades to relieve the pressure on the hold down bar. It is just a pressure fit. They only turn about 1/2-3/4 turns until tight against the blade holder.

I had to use the 8mm wrench and gently Tap it down and towards the fence with a hammer while gently tugging on it or put a longer wrench or breaker bar to get more leverage. I finally got all of mine loosened up.

Remove the BLADE first, then the blade holder will slide right out. You can then see the fine adjustment screws to align the blades.

It takes a while, after you get it all out, clean everything good and snug them back up.

Good luck. :)

Reply to
mach1registry

I may be asking the obvious but have you tried giving them a good soaking in a releasing oil?

Plus-gas, WD-40........

Reply to
Stuart

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