Crooked planer blade

[jsbowman]

I've shapened about everthing in my shop and so I just got a planer jig.  Pretty much followed the instructions.  Which in theroy looked simple.  I set up my angle lowered the unit until there was a little space between the adjusting screw (angle screw) and the unit.  I gound away.  Back and forth I went but one side, the right or outside of the wheel side, seem to need more grinding.  So I did.  The result was the blade is now ground to much on that side.  It's tight and square in the holder.  But the unit seems out of square to the wheel.  I press down on it after an adjustment to try to make sure it's sitting correctly.  But apparently it is bent some or I'm screwing something up.  This does not look like rocket science...what am I doing wrong.  Most everthing up until now have been brainless to do on the Tormek.

[jsbowman]

......update.  Read more on this site and more in the book.  Went back out and started all over.  Regraded the wheel.  Reset the jig.  Rechecked that the blade was seated.  I ground another bit off and it continues to "snipe" the outside wheel side of the blade.  The extra grind or snipe is about an inch long.  So I finished the grind as best as I could and checked the flatness on my cast iron table saw table.  Yep, there's definately a snipe on one end of the blade.  So I checked the back of the blade and it was absolutly flat.  Undaunted I jigged up the next blade and had it done within 5 to 10 minutes.  Checked the bevel and it has a snipe on the same end for about 1 inch.  The beats all, I've jiggled the jig in the track and even though there is play, it has about the same amount of play all the way across.  The jig is square to the wheel, as proven by a strong light behind it.....now that was only checked during setup and at the center of the blade only.  The jig is strong and seems well made, but why am I getting the snipe?
Josh

[Jeff Farris]

Josh,

I answered this for you on Sawmill Creek, too.

I believe that you have your depth of cut set too deep.  The blade is floating on the grindstone and you are never reaching the point where the support beam limits the travel of the blade carrier.

[jsbowman]

Thanks for the replys.  Jeff, how do I tell if it's floating?  I look under the jig and see that the jigs moveable table is on the depth screw when I stop.  Now unlike the intructions, my gaps always appear on the depth screw not under the blade holder to the support.  I'm not talking about just a little extra grind in that location.  It wound up being twice the bevel width.  More info, the dewalt says to grind to 42 degrees.  So I set the angle master to that.  After having this problem I check it with my digital angle gauge and it seems thier angle was 37 degrees.  So I now have a "micro" bevel on the blades that looks like it's at 42 degrees and 1/8" wide.  So the area we are talking about is about 1/4" wide for about the last inch of the blade.  Thanks for monitoring Sawmill creek.  There's a lot of experiance there.  That's why I posted to both.  When we solve this we should post the results there for those guys.

[Jeff Farris]

When checking your depth of cut, force the support beam against the angle adjuster and examine the gap between blade carrier and the support beam.  I try to work with a maximum depth of cut about equal to the thickness of your fingernail.  If you need to take more than that, I get better results by doing it in stages.

Your comments about the width of the bevel lead me to think that you're judging straight by the bevel, rather than by the edge.  While in a perfect world, they'll all be straight, what is important is that the cutting edge be straight.  Minor variations in the tool's shape and the condition of the previous grind could cause the bevel to show a variation that is not in the edge.  I'm not sure that is the case here, but it is always best to reference the cutting edge when you're evaluating a grind.

[jsbowman]

Thanks for your response.  The bevel and the edge on the last 1 inch is affected.  A friend of mine and I had a brain storming.  I wonder if me being in front of the jig effects the cut.  This is why I say this, the jig has a little slop in the track between the jig and the blade holder rail.  I wonder if when I start moving the blades end toward the middle, if the blade holder is moving down due to the reduction in the wheels natural force to push the blade up.  Should I use this jig from behind the tormek (switch side) or do you think I'm on the wrong path?

[Jeff Farris]

Yes, I think you're on the wrong path.  It isn't about pressure.  It is about getting the support beam set to a height that it limits the downward movement of the blade carrier. You should be able to operate the jig from whichever side is more comfortable for you.  I do it from behind, but I became comfortable with that position because I am usually demonstrating to someone how the system works.