A planer sharpening question

[Quebecnewf]

As some of you know I recently rebuilt an old flat beit planer. I have been running it a bit and I am very impressed. Those old guys knew how to build tools.

My question is there some tool ( home made or bought ) that would let me touch up my blades with out removing them from the planer. 

This is a square head planer . Two blades.

Quebecnewf

[Wayniac]

I take a small piece of steel bar stock about 2 inches long wrap a piece of 320 wetordry sand paper around it and go cross ways on the blade at the angle of the cut got to be careful you don't cut your finger open but it works rather well

[Wayniac]

it is square bar stock about 1inch by 1 inch

[CCCLLC]

Same technique here,but I use a diamond hone stone. BE CAREFUL!

[bandmiller2]

I have a planer knife grinder but between grindings I touch up with a machinists hand stone. As stated draw the stone sideways trying to maintain the same knife angle. It helps if you have something under the back of the stone to maintain the angle. Frank C.

[curved-wood]

Try to lock the rotation of the shaft for having more stability. The angle has to be precise and avoid rounding the edge. A good light at the back helps also.

[Don P]

I use a diamond stone as well, one of the plastic "bricks" about 2"x6"x 1" thick... carefully . Are you running stock grind on those square heads or have you back beveled them, we're all describing a round head with about a 30 degree grind.
There were grinders for some of the old large planers that clamped on the machine and track over the cutterhead, grinding in place.

[Quebecnewf]

Thanks for the responses . Going to see what I can come up with along the lines of your suggestions.

Any of you have any pics of stones?

[Alligator]

Even old planers should have a mechanism to joint the knives. A Jointing Stone. The device holds the stone and you push it to and fro as the planer is running. It is how you fine tune the surface you get after changing knives.

Jointing Stones

[Alligator]

I'm just guessing, but it appears that a jointer would ride on the surface where I have the arrows pointing.]

 



Different planer, but the concept is the same.
Jointing Planer knives

[Quebecnewf]

I am thinking that these old flat belt planers were before they had the knife jointing system . I have never seen one on a planer of this type. Maybe you could fab up a homemade rig. Maybe someone already has....

Quebecnewf

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

Maybe this post at LumberJocks will help...

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/275449

[Alligator]

Is there any name/manufacturer on it. There is a lot of sophisticated casting on that for it to be a one of. I can't tell but the area I pointed out appears to have 2 holes on one side. A knife jointer really saves a lot of knife removal and sharpening, and is the only way to get really smooth consistent finish with a knife planer. Also if you hit a small nail or wire in a board you can joint out the nick in the knives. I'll admit I'm not familiar with planers that old, but flat belt planers were still being built thru the 1970s and 1980s.  

The reason is you can get a change in pully spin (CW/CCW) by running of the back of a flat belt

[Quebecnewf]

The holes you point to are something that someone did to this machine years ago . They are not there on another machine of the same type that I saw pics of. 

From what I can tell someone drilled a bunch of holes and then fastened a section of thin galvinise sheeting to the machine. This might have been an home made dust collection but most likely an home made dust deflection rig up . 
I am quite sure these machines never had the blade jointing system as an option . For sure not this one at least . 

Going to try the square metal bar wrapped with sandpaper method . I already use this method with sandpaper glued to a glass surface to hone some of my woodworking tools. 

This will be only for touch ups . I realize after a certain time I must remove the blades and sharpen them . I plane only clean green softwood do blade life is quite long . I am very fussy about the smoothness of my planed wood so I try and keep things very sharp .

Quebecnewf