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A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

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A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Steve Maskery » 30 Nov 2021, 00:57

I've made a couple of rather nice jigs for honing my planer knives. Nothing terribly original, I guess, but I'm pleased with the end result, nevertheless.

Enjoy!
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Trevanion » 30 Nov 2021, 01:08

I'll have to make one of those, might save a re-grind or two.

Now you need to make a jig that's a combination of the two jigs for making back-bevels on knives for very hard, interlocking grained timbers :lol:
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby TrimTheKing » 30 Nov 2021, 14:44

“With any luck…in goes me knob…excellent!”

A sentence I’ve uttered many times!
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Malc2098 » 30 Nov 2021, 15:04

TrimTheKing wrote:“With any luck…in goes me knob…excellent!”

A sentence I’ve uttered many times!



Filth!

Utter, utter, utter filth!






:lol:
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Stuart » 30 Nov 2021, 15:40

Useful video Steve, thanks for posting.

Would I be right in thinking that you could do away with the locking knobs by using ‘stopped’ grooves the same length as the blades (i.e. main block same length as blades and then a couple of small blocks screwed on the ends)?
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Steve Maskery » 30 Nov 2021, 16:38

Stuart wrote:Useful video Steve, thanks for posting.

Would I be right in thinking that you could do away with the locking knobs by using ‘stopped’ grooves the same length as the blades (i.e. main block same length as blades and then a couple of small blocks screwed on the ends)?


Maybe, but I think you'd run the risk of the knives falling out when you turn the thing over to look at the edge. I don't want my (now very sharp) knives falling out and getting damaged (or damaging me).

I've made a few of these over the years, even trying to make the grooves magnetic, but this is the simplest, most reliable way I have found.

And you lot can keep your knob jokes to yourselves! :)

S
Last edited by Steve Maskery on 30 Nov 2021, 18:51, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby TomTrees » 30 Nov 2021, 18:40

Very much enjoying your videos Steve.
Not being knowledgable about the practical maintenance of such a machine,
but I gotta ask a few questions.
Why not hone all three knives at the same time?,
and why wouldn't you go a step further with a finer abrasive since you made the nice jig for easily holding the knives?
And lastly about the use of such a jig,
Have you found the detritus a problem when giving them a lick,
and might it be necessary to demagnetize the knives afterwards.

Seen some cheap (sub 5 quid) little gizmos in liddle for screwdrivers and such, seems like it could do the job if it were the case.
Although maybe better to look for something which might suit for a cabinet scraper, as that would likely be another excellent application of the jig.

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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Steve Maskery » 30 Nov 2021, 19:01

TomTrees wrote:Very much enjoying your videos Steve.
Not being knowledgable about the practical maintenance of such a machine,
but I gotta ask a few questions.
Why not hone all three knives at the same time?,
Tom


How would you hold them? They would all have to be exactly in line and I don't see how you could keep three in place. I've never seen a version that does that, and this is not an original idea.

TomTrees wrote:and why wouldn't you go a step further with a finer abrasive since you made the nice jig for easily holding the knives?

Tom

You certainly could if you wanted to. But when you sharpen a chisel or a plane iron, you push it perpendicular to the edge, so it make sense to make the scratches as fine as it is possible to do.

But with planer knives, all the scratches are parallel to the edge, so they don't really matter. Just as long as the very edge is clean, that is all that matters. So in practice, P120 produces excellent results, quickly.
TomTrees wrote:And lastly about the use of such a jig,
Have you found the detritus a problem when giving them a lick,
and might it be necessary to demagnetize the knives afterwards.
Tom


Detritus is a bit of a problem, yes, but more on the jig rather than the knives. I've given these jigs a couple of coats of poly, so they are a bit easier to clean than plain wood, but it is still a bit of a messy operation.

I keep them in a metal cabinet, so the magnetic one sticks to the side, so the cabinet acts as a keeper. At least that way it is not attracting general magnetic dirt.
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Trevanion » 30 Nov 2021, 19:59

Steve Maskery wrote:
TomTrees wrote:and why wouldn't you go a step further with a finer abrasive since you made the nice jig for easily holding the knives?

Tom

You certainly could if you wanted to. But when you sharpen a chisel or a plane iron, you push it perpendicular to the edge, so it make sense to make the scratches as fine as it is possible to do.

But with planer knives, all the scratches are parallel to the edge, so they don't really matter. Just as long as the very edge is clean, that is all that matters. So in practice, P120 produces excellent results, quickly.


Plus the fact that you'd almost always sand a machine planed surface anyway to remove any machining marks prior to finishing so how finely polished the knives edges are is a bit of a moot point.
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby TomTrees » 01 Dec 2021, 18:23

I had longevity of the edge in mind rather than finish quality, and have no reason to doubt
the norm, as any hand tool guy would have found out for themselves through the past hundred years of expertise.

Seems from what you guys are saying, that there is some sort of rule of thumb one should expect
from a planer knife,
Guessing the machine won't tell you any different if the knives are polished a bit or not so much, as as I'm not getting any hint to seek out going above some sort'a level of scratch pattern?

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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Steve Maskery » 01 Dec 2021, 18:29

I'm not at my machine at the moment, busi I can't give you minute markers, but have a look at the micro photos of the edge, you can see how good they are.
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby TomTrees » 01 Dec 2021, 18:43

Hi Steve, I didn't pause the video to see how good of a polish it was,
It just seemed a bit brisk to me, and no mention that I can recall of going any further, although I must watch again, rather than state any inaccuracies.


Steve Maskery wrote:
TomTrees wrote:
How would you hold them? They would all have to be exactly in line and I don't see how you could keep three in place. I've never seen a version that does that, and this is not an original idea.



Are you're saying that three knives in a block rocks about or something?
Could one have a block that runs on a track like a thicknessing jig for thin parts?
(Fine woodworking article by Matthew Kenney)
Kumiko thicknessing jig.jpg
(138.88 KiB)
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Steve Maskery » 01 Dec 2021, 18:48

I've no doubt that something could be devised to hold 3 knives at the same time, but doing them in pairs is quick and easy, so why not use it?
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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby TomTrees » 02 Dec 2021, 15:47

Just askin as I've got the impression that many who own a TS might have tried this before.
More curious to know why a two knife jig is preferred,

I haven't got the impression that quick and easy is the reason, and figured that there is a "because"
reason which might be worth noting, which might be of interest even for someone who's got no horse in this race.

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Re: A couple of Planer / Thicknesser jigs

Postby Trevanion » 05 Dec 2021, 02:20

TomTrees wrote:I had longevity of the edge in mind rather than finish quality, and have no reason to doubt
the norm, as any hand tool guy would have found out for themselves through the past hundred years of expertise.


Is there any proof of the longevity of an edge when it comes to polishing the edge rotary planer knives specifically? I've personally have never come across any studies that have suggested that a polished edge will last longer in a planer over one that is simply ground, I have a few books on the subject and I've never read anything about polishing the edge of knives to a high finish. Generally, a knife will be ground with a wheel that is 60-80 grit, which would be sacrilegious for a hand tool, but produces a perfectly serviceable surface finish when used on knives in machinery, I use a friable 60 grit aluminium oxide wheels when grinding bespoke spindle cutters and the surface finish on the timber is buttery smooth when it is moulded.
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