# foley belsaw moulding knives



## Chapstick (Mar 12, 2013)

hey guys, I picked up an old craftsman belsaw made planer moulder. I checked and it is a model 910 with a 5 h.p. motor. it is in excellent condition. I removed one of the planer blades and checked it with my micrometer and it is .125 or "1/8 inch". the cutter head has 3 blade slots.

I bought this for making crown, casings, and chair rail primarily. I plan on using 3/4 MDF as material. I have another 13" planer so unless I have some pretty heavy duty planning I will not be using the belsaw for that. I am new to making mouldings and I have a few questions. 

first, I have read that 1/8 knives might bend on me when making moulding. is this accurate ? 

second, when I pulled the blade out and got a good look at the gib key I saw it is a simple piece of aluminum. I could easily have a machine shop mill some modified keys that would allow me to use .250 or even .312 thick knives. from looking at it, it doesn't seem that would be a crazy idea. have any of you guys heard of doing such a thing ? like I said I am new to this so im not sure if perhaps the thicker blades are designed to go into a deeper slot. it seems to me that if one of those knives went flying it would be really bad. :blink: (lack of mangled smiley face) 

third, if that is the case and I can go with thicker knives I am finding it difficult to find out the thicknesses of the different machine manufacturers. I have found 3 different standards but no info on the thickness. 

fourth, I have seen corrugated knives. I am assuming that these are designed to go with a corrugated head but I figured I would throw it out there. 

I am finally putting a legit shop together and am quite excited about it. I am far from a newb and am wicked good at installing trim. I have made due with built up trim on my current Victorian and im tearing into my second Victorian in a couple weeks so I am looking to replace the cheesy non-original trim with some really nice stuff. im talking 5 inch casings, 6 inch crown, and raised panel wainscoting throughout. then custom cabinets. I will need a cabinet saw but im hot on the trail of a nice unisaw. 

any input would be great. have a nice day.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Several machines can use the same knife. F/B, Woodmaster, and the Craftsman share many of the same. The planer knives may be ⅛", but the moulding knives are ¼". You can do mouldings with a single knife, and have provided 2 gibs/counterweights.









 







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## pidaster (Feb 22, 2013)

I picked up an old Belsaw planer last weekend. It's a 9103 model. I haven't had time to look into it a great deal but it did come with a few moulding knives. Glad to know other knives will fit.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*check this out*

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f23/molding-knives-woodmaster-style-machine-14934/

I have a Craftsman 9103, I believe... also, but I've never used the molding knives. It wouldn't surprise me if the table saw molding cutters will fit in the planer/molder. They are available on E Bay and other sources.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...nkw=craftsman+molding+head&_sacat=0&_from=R40

http://corobcutters.com/

http://moldingknivesdirect.com/


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## Chapstick (Mar 12, 2013)

I'm probably going to do the feed per minute upgrade from 12 to 22 fpm. If i did this would it be wise to go with more than one knife ? I would definately get more cuts per inch. But man those big knives sure are expensive. Maybe I'd be better off leaving it alone.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Chapstick said:


> I'm probably going to do the feed per minute upgrade from 12 to 22 fpm. If i did this would it be wise to go with more than one knife ? I would definately get more cuts per inch. But man those big knives sure are expensive. Maybe I'd be better off leaving it alone.


I would think it would depend on the wood itself, whether the cuts were clean. The guys who use the single cutter heads on the table saw report clean cuts, so maybe, but we don't know their feed rate. Probably slower, for a single cutter in the head. I will say it's a real decent planer and will give great results!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Powermatic-...152?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6d2b09e8

your tag line can also read ... but you can't wipe your friends off on your saddle.... John Wayne :laughing: You could pick your friend's nose.... it just would be prudent...George H W Bush


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Chapstick said:


> I'm probably going to do the feed per minute upgrade from 12 to 22 fpm. If i did this would it be wise to go with more than one knife ? I would definately get more cuts per inch. But man those big knives sure are expensive. Maybe I'd be better off leaving it alone.


One knife does a nice job if you don't run it fast. A sharp knife on Red Oak needs very little sanding.









 







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## Chapstick (Mar 12, 2013)

nice. im looking forward to getting it set up. any experience running mdf through it ? I have to admit though, I have been giving it some thought doing everything in hardwood. man that's a whole lot of lumber though. im afraid that unless I cannot find a great deal on wood its going to have to be mdf.


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## Rob Schramm (Jul 12, 2010)

I own 2 Woodmasters and love them. Changing from one thing to the next is a breeze! I have one set up with a planer most of the time but when doing large runs of crown I do the back relief on one and then the front on the other. I also use them for gang ripping on larger jobs. I bought the 1st one from Woodmaster and the 2nd one I got new from a guy on craigslist with a bunch of attachments and many profile knives for $2K and it is like new. I make reproduction moldings mostly or custom moldings for my mirrors.
I just went to Mark Adams School of Woodworking for the day with Gary Striegler and 1/2 the days was spent with Gary going over tricks using the Woodmaster. 

Rob


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

turned it around


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## Rob Schramm (Jul 12, 2010)

woodnthings said:


> turned it around


Thanks, I tried a number of times to do that but couldnt get it to work.

Rob


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