Sedwick MB blade height

[fetteler]

Hi Folks,
Well the MB is sliding into a fair state of readiness now and I'm going to put a pair of blades in and run it up soon.
So, here's the question - What height do I set the blades at or, to put it another way, how much should the cutting edge of the blade protrude above the circumference of the (cylindrical of course...) cutting block?
My planer has an adjustable outfeed table so the blade height is not defined by the outfeed as is the case with many others. I'm curious to know the optimum position for the blade in the block. I guess too low and there's not enough clearance for chip breaking and too high can get silly. Interested to know your thoughts, at the moment I've got the sharp edge of the blades 2mm above the block.

I know how to go about setting the blades parallel with the outfeed table/block/thicknesser table so please don't misunderstand my question - there's enough written on here about that :wink:

Cheers,
Steve.

 

[longinthetooth]

Clamp the knives lightly in a position that gets the whole knife bevels to clear the circumference of the block. Then set the outfeed to the knives. Then reset the knives to the outfeed, which'll be the ongoing method.

 

[fetteler]

Excellent - just what I wanted to know. Thanks very much

Cheers,
Steve.

 

[longinthetooth]

Eventually, with successive regrindings, the knives become too narrow to clamp securely, so judgement has to be exercised about this ...

 

[custard]

Steve, Sedgwick recommend 19mm as the minimum knife width before replacement.

The manual for the MB is here, I used to have one many years ago but for the life of me can't recall the setting procedure.

http://www.daltonsmachines.com/uploads/ ... 20List.pdf

Incidentally, 2mm above the block sounds a bit high to me, but that's with reference to the equipment I'm more familiar with. My current machine also has an adjustable outfeed table, basically I set the cutter block about 30 thou below the outfeed table, and then set the knives 1-2 thou above the outfeed table. So closer to 1mm than 2mm.

 

[fetteler]

Thanks everyone for the very useful info.

Custard, thank you also for the comments and manual link, my machine is 1974 vintage and differs from the current production in several ways. It's a real shame but I cant find the book for my machine anywhere.

Can I repeat my appeal for a manual relevant to the mid 70's series... it would be a great help

Cheers,
Steve.

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi

I have just bought a late 70s MB. I love it! It was set up by Daltons so I would say 'properly' although I still had to tweek certain things. If you need any pictures of blade projections etc then I could email them if it helps.

What's your serial number? I spoke to the guys at Sedgwick and they told me mine was late 70s but no specific date. Can't remember my number but will post if its of interest.

Cheers

Richard

 

[fetteler]

Hi Richard,
Thanks for your kind offer of some pics, I'll PM you my email address.
My serial no. is MBK12 according to Sedgwicks that is 1974.
I was carefully measuring things this afternoon and both the top tables are in line and plane with each other, also they seem to be co-planar with the thicknesser table. This is good news The puzzling thing at the moment is that the cutter block appears to be 0.4mm lower on the front side of the machine than the back, this 0.4mm is consistent when measured from either the top tables or the thicknesser table. It doesn't look like the cutter bearings are adjustable at all and I can't detect any play in them. I'm scratching my head at the moment and risking getting splinters!

Cheers,
Steve.