The Care and Grinding of Knives and Cutters

The quality finish of any wood surface depends on eight basic factors: 1) spindle speed, 2) feed speed, 3) number of cutters in any given cutterhead, 4) knife grinding and jointing, 5) cutting angle, 6) moisture content of the material, 7) the machine qualifications and limitations and, 8) the type of operation. Since quality usually is described and judged by the number of knife marks per inch, proper knife grinding and jointing is of utmost importance to insure quality. A machine equipped with tapered spindles operating on 3,6000 rpm, which is basically in operation with the jointed knives in the head, is considered in the discussion. When a head has become dull, it is best to joint that particular head on the machine prior to removing it to the grinding room. After this it would be taken to the cutterhead grinder and ground to the joint. The rough grind should be made on each of the eight points of the eight-point head with each grind not exceeding a 0.006 removal at one time. Biggest errors seem to result from trying to rough and finish grind on one predetermined setting and in removing too much material at one time. A very fine finish grind should not exceed a 0.001 to 0.002 removal for best results.

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