Removing Planer Knives
Once you understand it, pulling the knives out of a planer is easy. January 14, 2009
Question
I decided to change blades on my 24"Crescent planer. The blades are secured with a gib and eight set screws. I have been pounding on these for a while and no luck with them. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?
Forum Responses
(Solid Wood Machining Forum)
From contributor R:
Are you turning them in the right direction? That is a common mistake.
From the original questioner:
I turned the screws to the left and removed them. The gib and blade do not move.
From contributor D:
The way that planer knives are held in is when you tighten the set screw it raises the gib block up and in turn puts pressure on the gib and blade. So if you have removed the set screws already tap the gib blocks down. That should release the pressure on the gib and free the blade. If any moisture has gotten into the head, it will make it more difficult to release the gib blocks and gib. Trying to tap down the gib without first tapping down the blocks will do nothing but make it harder to get out. So make sure the blocks go down and bottom out before hammering away at the gib.
From the original questioner:
Mission accomplished!
