Planner blades

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isaac3d

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I have a set of 3 HSS planner plades (SD31/A) for a 310mm wide planner thicknesser. The manufacturer is "Ilma". Can anyone comment on the likely quality of these blades?
I don't see anyone selling blades under the name Ilma. Startrite, yes, but not Ilma.
 
HSS isn’t really a fancy thing it’s a commodity, so long and they’re sharpened well any make will do from what I’ve seen.

If they are old, check for any cracks as that could spoil your day. Having a spare set is useful and costs about £25
 
HSS isn’t really a fancy thing it’s a commodity, so long and they’re sharpened well any make will do from what I’ve seen.

If they are old, check for any cracks as that could spoil your day. Having a spare set is useful and costs about £25
Ok, I see. I was just wondering why some sets of 3 HSS blades (of the same size) cost around 30 pounds and others around 60 pounds. I assumed that there was a quality difference.
 
You’re not mixing up HSS and TC blades are you? Though I’d be surprised if you could get TC for just double the price

Either way, I’d put my money into more regular sharpening over more expensive HSS. Whenever I start to get problems with my planer, changing to new sharp blades seems to make the problem go
 
You’re not mixing up HSS and TC blades are you? Though I’d be surprised if you could get TC for just double the price

Either way, I’d put my money into more regular sharpening over more expensive HSS. Whenever I start to get problems with my planer, changing to new sharp blades seems to make the problem go
No, both products say HSS steel. The physical dimensions are the same. The price is different. Usually, that implies a difference in quality.
 
No, both products say HSS steel. The physical dimensions are the same. The price is different. Usually, that implies a difference in quality.
Or just a marketing ploy, viz: if we sell it for lot more, it implies its better without it necessarily being so. It's a common ploy for sales, let the buyers perception do the buying.
 
Or just a marketing ploy, viz: if we sell it for lot more, it implies its better without it necessarily being so. It's a common ploy for sales, let the buyers perception do the buying.
Right, which is the reason for my enquiry. For some unfathomable reason I have an aversion to paying vastly more than is necessary for an item! :dunno:

PS: I like the Einstein quote :)
 
The only way to know is to look for or ask supplied what grade of hss they use, M1 M2 M50 etc.


Molybdenum High Speed Steels (HSS)Edit
Combining molybdenum, tungsten and chromium steel creates several alloys commonly called "HSS", measuring 63–65 Rockwell "C" hardness.

M1
M1 lacks some of the red-hardness properties of M2, but is less susceptible to shock and will flex more.
M2
M2 is the "standard" and most widely used industrial HSS. It has small and evenly distributed carbides giving high wear resistance, though its decarburization sensitivity is a little bit high. After heat treatment, its hardness is the same as T1, but its bending strength can reach 4700 MPa, and its toughness and thermo-plasticity are higher than T1 by 50%. It is usually used to manufacture a variety of tools, such as drill bits, taps and reamers. 1.3343 is the equivalent numeric designation for M2 material identified in ISO 4957.M7M7 is used for making heavier construction drills where flexibility and extended drill life are equally important.
M50
M50 does not have the red-hardness of other grades of tungsten HSS, but is very good for drills where breakage is a problem due to flexing the drill. Generally favored for hardware stores and contractor use. It is also used in high-temperature ball bearings. These steels are obtained by alloying tungsten, chromium, vanadium, cobalt and molybdenum with steel.

Cobalt High Speed Steels (HSS)
The addition of cobalt increases heat resistance, and can give a Rockwell hardness up to 70 Min.[12]

M35
M35 is similar to M2, but with 5% cobalt added. M35 is also known as Cobalt Steel, HSSE or HSS-E. It will cut faster and last longer than M2.[13]
M42
M42 is a molybdenum-series high-speed steel alloy with an additional 8% cobalt.[12] It is widely used in metal manufacturing industries because of its superior red-hardness as compared to more conventional high-speed steels, allowing for shorter cycle times in production environments due to higher cutting speeds or from the increase in time between tool changes.[13]
 
Sachakins, it seems that you really know your steel!
Alas, there is no indication of which HSS is used.
As Mark says, I will (eventually) report back on how they perform. However, I will first see how the prefitted ones perform, so that I have something to compare them to. I suspect that they are the same as the prefitted ones, but I don't actually know how much either set actually cost.
 
Issac,
these blade steels can be ordered by the inch......
the last set I bought was from somewhere in Yorkshire grtd UK made.....
u need to know if they are specials tho, some have little slots in to take the head of the adjustment screw....
it was around £1 per inch...my blades were plain, 20" long and bought 6 sets of 2.....
they cost almost as much to sharpen them....hahaha
 
I have seen jigs made to sharpen the blades but I am hesitant to do it myself as unbalancing the blades won't do the machine any good. The blades I use are plain unslotted.
 
I've enjoyed reading through this erudite thread, mulling things over and making decisions about what to do - all in a topic called "Planner" :)
 
I've enjoyed reading through this erudite thread, mulling things over and making decisions about what to do - all in a topic called "Planner" :)
Ha ha, you make a good point. It should be Planer not Planner. Alas, I suffer from a certain amount of dyslexia with regards to certain words (or spellings); no matter which way around I write them, they always appear wrong to me. However, I'm long enough in the tooth to adopt the attitude, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" and write whatever looks least wrong at that particular moment.;)
 
Ha ha, you make a good point ... Alas, I suffer from a certain amount of dyslexia
And that was exactly why I wrote what I did! I would not for the world want to write something like, "Stupid - can't even spell!" I wrote exactly what I meant... I enjoyed the unintentional pun - it added something to my day. Thank you!
 
And that was exactly why I wrote what I did! I would not for the world want to write something like, "Stupid - can't even spell!" I wrote exactly what I meant... I enjoyed the unintentional pun - it added something to my day. Thank you!
You have to be sharp to get these planer jokes, or am I just going round in circles?
 
for those interested Kitty made a proper planer blade sharpening machine.....
will do up to 10" from memory....
I found one in a car boot in bits....
the guy cleared out an old workshop....didn't know what he had.....
just needs a new motor for the grind wheel.....
it was less than 10euro's.....
when it next see's daylight I'll post a photo....it would easy to copy....
 

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