I'm a beginner and I've hit a wall with my planer. I have a Metabo HC 260 C, which is a 10 inch jointer-planer combo. It originally came with some thin disposable blades intended for softwoods, but I quickly found them chipping when planing pine and spruce, especially around knots. I flipped the blades over to try the other edge, but it still happened. I thought it might've been due to old boards with gravel, but I've since realized it's the knots causing the issue. I then bought OEM HSS resharpenable blades that are supposed to handle all wood types, but they got chipped just like the disposables! Now I'm feeling lost. Should I invest in carbide TCT blades? Are they better? Should I avoid knotty wood altogether? I've heard about helical heads, but they're pretty pricey. Any advice would be appreciated!
2 Answers
Sounds like you might need to let that particular spruce board go, haha! Knots can be tough on planer knives since you're dealing with the dense end grain. Honestly, I’m not sure if carbide would be much better; while they keep their edge longer, they're also quite brittle. They might chip too when hitting a knot. It’s true that a helical head is expensive, but if you do chip a cutter, replacing just one is way easier and cheaper than swapping out straight knives. Personally, I don’t worry too much about chips in my blades since I usually sand or handplane for a nicer finish anyway. I’ve got a helical head on my thickness planer and still use HSS straight knives in my jointer, which I sharpen myself.
You know, I’ve never seen a 10" planer that only has blades for softwoods. It makes me wonder if you got some lower-quality gear or if maybe your passes are too aggressive for that little machine. Regarding those streaks you’re seeing, you could always clean them up with a scraper or just run the board through again at the same depth setting.
Actually, those were the blades that came with the machine, and they’re specifically labeled "For all softwoods". Plus, I did get the thicker, OEM blades which are supposed to be universal for all wood types. But yeah, neither has stood up to that spruce board with knots. Now I'm thinking I'll need to just avoid those knotty pieces and figure out my next steps.