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Dave Polaschek
1827 posts
and
44 followers
in about 2 years
in about 2 years
Use for old planer blades?
So, I’ve used up a set of blades in my DeWalt 735 already, and they’re not sharpen-able (because they wouldn’t reach to the wood if you take off more than the tiniest bit of metal). Does anyone know if the stock DeWalt blades are just tool steel all the way through? They’re not the fancy carbide ones, so I don’t have to worry about that, but I’m wondering if they might make ok knife or other tool blades.
Hate to just throw them away…
Hate to just throw them away…
May you have the day you deserve!
10 Replies
I think they’re HSS Dave. So it’ll be hard to work and won’t take a super-sharp edge. But I’ve made marking tools from HSS that work fine.
I agree with HokieKen. Standard blades are from HSS, mostly with Wolfram 12 or 18 %. They are not usable for most hand tools. too brittle. There are exceptions, see above.
Hmm. So maybe parting tools for the lathe would be a good goal. Not really thick enough for a skew or scraper, but I’ve been hankering for a thinner parting tool for a while…
May you have the day you deserve!
Dewalt website says that they are laminated M2 steel.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
BTW, I've see some videos of making a parting tool from a carbide circular saw blade. If you used a 7 or 8" blade those are pretty thin.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Would you be able to heat them to take the brittleness out of them, and then re-temper them if needed ? I have also made card scrapers out of table saw blades. Mike
I seem to recall that M2 steels requires a fairly strict heat treating regimen. One of the laminated M2 blades for one of their other planers says something about being treated in a vacuum chamber. If I had not already added a Shelix blade to my 735, I would definitely consider getting an aftermarket set of blades for it. I think that Infinity makes one and I have seen others as well.
I know that the OEM blades are not supposed to be sharpenable but here is a video that seems to indicate that you can get a couple of sharpenings. I'd probably give it a try, if they aren't too beat up anyway.
I know that the OEM blades are not supposed to be sharpenable but here is a video that seems to indicate that you can get a couple of sharpenings. I'd probably give it a try, if they aren't too beat up anyway.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Yeah, I’ve got infinity knives that will go on once I finish off the second side of the second factory set that came with the planer. But the ones I’ve taken off are generally too beat to even attempt to sharpen. I found some nails in a piece of pallet wood with one set, had something else nick another…
I won’t fiddle with trying to heat treat the M2 steel, but I probably will stick a handle on one and attempt to make a thin parting tool from it.
I won’t fiddle with trying to heat treat the M2 steel, but I probably will stick a handle on one and attempt to make a thin parting tool from it.
May you have the day you deserve!
Good dialog. I’ve got a couple of those old blades still. It would be nice to do something with them. Following.
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
Scraps of any old cutting tool can be used for something, and for the scant room they take up to store in an old wooden box on the floor under a bench, hardly worth the effort to pitch. My $0.02 anyhow.
It's pretty neat to make an edge tool of your own design, and scratch an edge onto something.
It's pretty neat to make an edge tool of your own design, and scratch an edge onto something.
