Replacing Jointer Knives

[LeftyTom]

I went about replacing the knives on my Ridgid 6" jointer Friday. The guy I bought it from included a set of new knives. Problem was, these dandy new knives were razor sharp, and a coating of oil was tossed in at no additional charge. Well, I got the new ones in, adjusted using my magna-setter, and by golly, it works better. Of course, I nicked one of my fingers, but nothing photo-worthy. :embarrassed:

For future reference, will things go quicker if I simply nick a finger to begin with, rather than trying to be careful, only to nick my self anyhow?

 

[DaveO]

Yea, just cut yourself ahead of time and get it out of the way. I always start off every project with a mistake, so I won't have to stress about making the first one
How was changing the knives on the Ridgid, I will have to do that soon? Pretty quick and almost painless with a knife setting jig???

Dave

 

[woodArtz]

For future reference, will things go quicker if I simply nick a finger to begin with, rather than trying to be careful, only to nick my self anyhow?

I used to do a similar thing when I played a "water hole" in golf. I'd walk up to the pond and toss a ball in before teeing off, ...hoping to appease the golf gods. Never worked. I'd just walk away 10 strokes later with two or three less golf balls :rolf:.

 

[LeftyTom]

Dave, the Magna-setter works pretty good, just gotta keep the metal wedge from getting attached. Odd thing was, only the knife or the wedge stuck to the magnet, never both. I took the wild assumption (more dangerous than a guess) that TDC was where the edge which the knife is pressed against (pun intended) is at 90 degrees to the outfeed table.

Cain't be too difficult if I can figger it out. :yes:

 

[JimmyC]

Dave,

I've got the magna- setter and should be using it this week. I'll let you know how it works, and you can borrow it if it's easier than using the standard setting jig. It's good for 6-8" jointers.

Jimmy

 

[Travis Porter]

For future reference, will things go quicker if I simply nick a finger to begin with, rather than trying to be careful, only to nick my self anyhow?

I tried that, and it seems I then become the recipient of two for one.

 

[junquecol]

For a tutorial on setting jointer knives, I like John White's book "Care and Repair of Shop Machines." At less than twenty bucks it is a bargin. Plus the jigs he shows how to make, will save the cost several times over. Because I have them, I use a couple of magnetic bases for a dial indicator to set knives.