Cuando queremos cambiar las cuchillas de un cepillo eléctrico de carpintero, primero tenemos que fijarnos en cómo es el sistema portacuchillas de nuestro cepillo. En una entrada anterior vimos cómo cambiar la correa y las cuchillas de otro cepillo eléctrico con un sistema portacuchillas distinto al cepillo que veremos en esta entrada, y en aquel caso no fui capaz de ajustar la posición de las cuchillas. Sin embargo este otro modelo de cepillo eléctrico tiene un sistema portacuchillas distinto y bastante sencillo de ajustar.
How to remove the blades of the electric planer
The first thing I have to do is to remove the blades from the blade holders, for which I have to loosen them.
With a wrench I turn the hexagonal screws in the direction of screwing them in. In this way, the head of the screws no longer presses against the walls of the blade holder drum and the blade holder gets loose. I still won’t be able to remove it from the drum, though. But now I can remove the blade.
I tilt one end of the blade holder up while I push the other end of the blade. And when I can, I pull the blade with my fingers to remove it completely.
Once I removed the two blades I could put the new ones in and adjust them, but I’m going to take the opportunity to clean the drum and the blade holders a bit. So, I need to finish fully screwing in the hex head screws, and I also need to unscrew the two allen screws I have, one at each end of the blade holders of this model of electric planer.
Like this now I can raise the blade holder at one end and take it out at an angle from that side of the drum. If we try to pull it straight upwards, it does not come out, since the drum opening is narrower in the upper part (that opening is narrower that the blade holder with its nuts).
Also, if I don’t unscrew the Allen screws enough, they bump into the electric planer plastic cover when I try to take blade holder out from the side. These screws will later help me to adjust the position of the electric planer blades.
Now I can clean the drum of the electric planer and the blade holders with a soft wire brush and the vacuum cleaner. And I also take the opportunity to spray some lubricant and protector on the blade holders and their screws.
How to put new blades in the electric planer
To insert the new blades I only have to make sure that the small channel along the blades coincides with a small protrusion on the blade holders.
I match the channel with the protrusion and I slide the blade all the way into the blade holder.
If in some cases the blade is a little reluctant to enter, I can carefully separate both parts of the blade holder with my fingers. If I use too much force both parts can separate, but it is easy to fit them back together.
Once I have the blades in the blade holders, I place them in the drum of the electric planer. And just as I did to take them out, I have to put them in slightly tilted from one side of the drum, again with the hex screws fully screwed in and the allen screws unscrewed so that nothing bumps into nothing.
First I put one blade holder in and tighten it lightly. And then I put the other blade holder in and tighten it lightly.
With the blade holder inside the drum, I make sure that both the blade holder and the blade are centered and turn the hex nuts in the unscrew direction. Like this these are pressed against the walls of the drum, locking the blade holder in place. But I only tighten it slightly, as I still have to adjust the position of the blades. First, though, with my fingers I turn the drum a couple of turns just to make sure that nothing bumps into nothing.
How to adjust the blades of the electric planer
It is normal that at this point I find that the cutting edge of the blades is very separated from the level that marks the fixed base of the electric planer.
But I can tighten the allen screws to raise the cutting edge of the blades until they are perfectly level with the fixed base of the electric planer. Once they are in the position I want, I turn the hex screws in the unscrew direction to tighten the blade holders against the drum.
I check that the blades are still in their position, level with the fixed base of the electric planer, and I take the opportunity to clean and polish both bases of the electric planer (the fixed base and the adjustable infeed base), with a very fine grit sandpaper, to make it slide better, …
and test how it works with the new and properly adjusted blades. Now I don’t get the marks I was getting int the wood surface with the chipped blades, and since they are level, I don’t get the typical snipe marks at the beginning and at the end of the planed board.
