Trace Posted September 14, 2018 Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 Hi, I recently aquired a 1984 Delta RC-51 Planer at an auction and am trying to get it going. I am new to planers, especially large ones like this. The machine powers up and everything seems to work, however it appears to need some adjustment. For one thing, the knives are very dull and look out of alignment. It seems I need the knives to be correct before trying other adjustments. The planer did not come with the knife gauge and so I have no idea what hight to set the knives at. I have been unable to locate another gauge online. I am about to order some magnetic gauges to do the job, but need to know what hight above the cutter head the knives should be. Is there a general rule of thumb? Does anyone own one of these that could provide some help? Is there a better way to go about this? I have downloaded the owner's manual from vintagemachinery.org, but it simply says to use the guage that came with it, nothing else. Any and all suggestions are appreiated, Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted September 15, 2018 Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 Head over to http://owwm.org/ where they have all sorts of help for old woodworking machines. If you join, be sure to read the rules before posting cause I've heard they can get cranky if you break them. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damon777 Posted September 16, 2018 Report Share Posted September 16, 2018 Check the Vintage Machinery Wiki (The Articles and Resources tab). Lots of info on adjusting knives there. Here's a link to some videos: http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/Jointer And Planer Knife Setting Videos.ashx Owwm is a fine place, just don't ask for an appraisal, and don't ask about Asian machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted September 16, 2018 Report Share Posted September 16, 2018 12 minutes ago, Damon777 said: Check the Vintage Machinery Wiki (The Articles and Resources tab). Lots of info on adjusting knives there. Here's a link to some videos: http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/Jointer And Planer Knife Setting Videos.ashx Owwm is a fine place, just don't ask for an appraisal, and don't ask about Asian machines. Sounds like experience talking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damon777 Posted September 16, 2018 Report Share Posted September 16, 2018 Nah, I've been a member over there for years. I have learned vicariously from others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted September 16, 2018 Report Share Posted September 16, 2018 If you need to get sharp knives in before you get an answer over there, notice the projection from the gib to the heel of the bevel on a knife. Add 3 or 4 thousandths to take, and it should work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trace Posted September 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2018 Guys, Thanks for the great advise. I did a quick search at owwm and it turns out someone else asked the same question about the same machine a few years ago. There was some helpful info there. The vintage machinery link was also helpful. Tom, I was wondering if something like that would work, just to get by for now, but was a little hesitant, not knowing how much to add. Glad to know that it’s a sound idea after all, and thanks for giving me a number to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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