Electric Planer Question

[Wayne Jeffers]

Last night, I bought a handheld electric planer, a DeWalt DW680K, that I think is defective and needs to be returned. I have no previous experience with electric planers so I'll ask what may be a dumb question before I return it.

Problem: When the depth is set at "0" (zero) it still cuts a lot of material. I checked it over and found the following: the knives are properly adjusted on the cutter head; the front shoe at the "0" depth setting is in the same plane as the rear; but when the business end of the head rolls around, the knives stand about 3/64" proud of the plane of the rear shoe. I don't see any adjustment for setting the depth of the cutter head in relationship to the rear shoe of the plane.

Shouldn't this be set up like a jointer, i.e., the knives should come only to the same plane as the rear shoe, just like a jointer should have the knives set to the same plane as the outfeed table, rather than standing proud?

It seems to be a really nice tool except for this adjustment problem.

Any experience here?

:confused:

Wayne

[NormMessinger]

That isn't right. I have a DeWalt model ???, which when set on 0" will not cut. The depth markings on the dial are reasonably accurate.

--Norm

[Larry Exum]

I agree. It was not set up at the factory properly.

A word of warning on all electic planers. DO NOT PICK IT UP or change hands while it is plugged in. I took out a 1/2 chunk of finger when I bent over to pick it up by the base and somehow bumped the trigger. Lots of blood and no work on the Dinghy for a whole week. Not Fun.

[imported_Ola Sylwan]

The DeWalt looks like a good planer, the knives are adjustable.

Most planers need to be zeroed after purchase.

Set the depth adjustment to "0", lay a straight-edge along the bottom of the plane and set the knives to barely touch it.

[Tom Lathrop]

Wayne, You said that the blades are properly adjusted on the cutter head. That cannot be, since the blades, as was already explained, should be exactly level with the rear shoe at ALL times. It does not matter what the setting of the front shoe is. It's just an upside down jointer. I attemped to buy one just like yours yesterday but they only had the display model without the book and case so I skipped it. My old cheap Sears has worn out the oilite bushings and makes unhealthy noises.

[ 05-02-2002, 08:46 PM: Message edited by: Tom Lathrop ]

[Mike Field]

There's definitely something wrong somewhere, Wayne.

The only planers I've seen use replaceable, double-edged knives -- when one edge is dull you take the blade out, turn it round, and put it in again the other way. Depending on the design of the blade housing, the blade might possibly have two grooves running along the back, a different one to be used for each edge, and it might be worth seeing if someone didn't slide it in along the wrong groove by accident when inserting it.

[Wayne Jeffers]

Well, I swapped the DeWalt for a Makita 1900B after work today. The Makita seems to be in good adjustment out of the box, but I'll check it out closely this weekend.

When I said the blades on the DeWalt were in adjustment, what I mean is: The planer came with a gauge for setting the blades. I removed the blades and checked them with the gauge and they were okay. There's an adjustment plate with tabs on the carrier that clamps the little tungsten-carbide blade on the drum. These plates were correctly set according to the gauge. The tabs fit in a slot on the drum and determine the final position of the blade on the drum. The owners' manual gave no further instructions on adjustment of the blades or adjusting the drum. I partly took the planer apart to see if another means of adjustment was apparent, but I couldn't see any. I thought of trying to shim out the rear sole, but decided not to mess with it.

So far, I like the Makita. There were a couple of features I liked better about the DeWalt, but the Makita is nice, too. The Makita has a much better user's manual and there appear to be more accessories available for it, if I take the notion I want any of them later. The manual for the Makita explains clearly how the blades are supposed to be in the same plane with the rear sole, and the problems that will occur if they are not. smile.gif

FWIW, I did some internet research on planers today, and I found a "review" forum where there were a number of comments referring to this same problem with the DeWalt DW680K. The discussion seemed to say that there were quality control problems with the manufacture of this model in Germany, and that other DeWalt models were better. The drum holding the blades (?) appeared to be so far out of adjustment, I doubt the blades themselves could have been adjusted shorter by a big enough margin to correct it. With what I paid for the DeWalt, it should not require a lot of adjustment out of the box anyway, IMHO. The Makita was actually a little cheaper.

Thanks for the input everyone.

Wayne

[Rich VanValkenburg]

I bought a Makita about 20 years ago and it's still like new though it's got some miles on it. Good planer. The knives are set on a jig and you need to be careful to get the edge resting on the bed of the jig evenly all the way across. I set 'em in there, get on the screws just enough to hold the knives firm and then tap the jig, edge side down, to make sure they're even, then tighten it solid. Never had a problem. Get yourself a couple extra sets of knives. The ones I have are bi-metal and take hours to hone.

Rich

[Wayne Jeffers]

Rich,

My Makita has the little tungsten carbide knives, double-edged, about a quarter of an inch wide, with a groove in the middle where it is held to the drum by the set plate. I think the only practical thing to do with them is to use both sides of each blade until dull and replace them. New ones are only about $12 a pair.

I see you can also get the HSS knives for the Makita.

Wayne

[wolfietuk]

Wayne,
The disposable knives on my dewalt are adjustable. There is a set screw that sets the whole thing up. once set changing the blades is a cinch. no fiddeling with gagues ect.

Rich,
There are aftermarket set ups for using the disposable carbide blades on different planers. after set up the blades can be changed in a couple of minutes. The carbide tips are razor sharp and last a long time. (5 years on old houses and I am on my second set). I am pretty sure there is one for the makitas.

[Brett]

Wayne I've got a DW677 and it's fantastic. The main shaft/axle is non-adjustable in its bearing housing. In fact it says it says "life-time seal" on the side. The setting for the blades is also non-adjustable. The screws are merely for removing blades for sharpening. The blades are always pushed in as far as they will go anyway...some adjusting could be done by pulling the blades out some but not in reverse - and then I think you would only do that if you hit a hard bolt or something and had to take a lot of the edge off when sharpening. In fact I can't see how you could be getting your problem without a fundamental fault in the tool.

Brett

[Tom Lathrop]

Wayne, Now you've given me some food for thought. I stood looking at both Makita and DeWalt and liked the DW for the higher amperage motor and the registration of cutting depth. Now I will look at them both more critically. There is a Bosch that allows the chips to exit on either side of the machine. That has been a nuisance on my current planer when it blows the chips in an awkward area, especially my face.

[Wayne Jeffers]

Tom,

I chose the DeWalt initially in large part because of the things you mention. I find with the Makita it is possible to dial-in cutting depth greater than the 1/32 inch at which it is rated, although this may not be wise. Perhaps the 4.0 amps is sufficient. At least I know to listen carefully and make smaller cuts if it is bogging down. ;)

Something you may be interested in: One of the accessories available for the Makita is a chip deflector. From the photo in the user's manual, it appears to be a 90-degree elbow that you can rotate to point in any direction you want.

I wonder what it would take to hook the shop vac up to the planer? They sure do throw a lot of wood chips! smile.gif

Wayne

[Noah]

I have good luck attaching my shop vac up to my bosch power planer. Once in a while you get a clog, but for the most part it works well, and cuts down on dust and chips on the floor.

BTW, I just got the Bosch, and really like it. It is a factory rebuilt unit and only cost me $70, plus it comes will a full warentee.

Noah

[Rich VanValkenburg]

I'm surprised the blades have gotten so small. The Makita I have has knives 1" x 3 1/4" x 1/8" thick, with the edge material (I don't think it's carbide) welded right into the top edge of the blade. It's pretty thin, but for durability it acts just like a carbide blade. Surprising thing is, they're readily available, even in Sears, even after 20 years. You'd think basic tool-tech would render it obsolete.

About a vacuum attachment for chips, I have one for my surface planer, but I've always had trouble with a big static discharge after a few minutes of sucking chips. I gave up on it after I got poked good a few times. :eek:

Rich