ESTA disposable planer blades?

[Doug71]

I have a secondhand Sedgwick MB planer coming which I know needs new blades.

I saw someone singing the praises of the ESTA disposable blade system in another thread, anybody else use them? Once you have bought the holder they work out as cheap as getting blades resharpened (plus my saw doctor is very slow). Anyone know if they fit an old Sedgwick, only has a 2 knife block so cheaper to run.

https://www.scosarg.com/blade-holder-l-310mm-ea
https://www.scosarg.com/planer-blade-l-310-b-18-6-t-0-9-3-holes

 

[Trevanion]

I think they fit any block that can take a ~3mm knife, I haven't used them myself but I've only heard good things. The only reason I haven't really thought about it is that for the outlay of the ESTA system I could buy around 12 pairs of regular knives or four pairs of TCT. I suppose not having to set the knives would be a nice bonus but I kind of enjoy setting them ☺

 

[marcros]

The second bonus would be that you could have a super sharp fresh set of knives saved for the final pass and it would be seconds to swap them out. I assume that they are very similar to Tersa, and it was literally less than a couple of mins the last time I changed my 3 cutter Tersa block.

 

[Jonathan S]

I have the felder equivalent and there brilliant! Get a small nick in the blade....undo 4 screws move the blade along 5mm tighten 4 screws and your off again.

 

[Spectric]

Hi all

How can anyone enjoy setting planer knives! I tried many jigs and bits of wood etc but it was a fight against the springs and I always seemed to only get two out of three so it was like chasing your tail. Fitted the Esta system and changing blades is quick and easy with no setup needed and each blade is about £9.00 and reversable so a lot cheaper than the standard ones. The machine a PT107 also runs smoother and cuts cleaner so an added bonus.

I think they fit any block that can take a ~3mm knife, I haven't used them myself but I've only heard good things. The only reason I haven't really thought about it is that for the outlay of the ESTA system I could buy around 12 pairs of regular knives or four pairs of TCT. I suppose not having to set the knives would be a nice bonus but I kind of enjoy setting them ☺

 

[Trevanion]

How can anyone enjoy setting planer knives!

When they're a complete psychopath?

I liken it to setting a wooden plane, a little tap here, little tap there, try the bit of wood, tap again... therapeutic!

 

[Doug71]

Thanks for the feedback, as long as the planer is all okay I think I will go for it.

I know the initial outlay is a bit steep but I am terrible for not changing the knives as often as I should and if I can do it in a few minutes it is more likely to happen.

So two holders, 2 knives plus 2 spares and a Wixey digital thicknesser gauge have just added nearly £300 to the cost of my planer

 

[MikeG.]

........ I kind of enjoy setting them ☺

You're one sick puppy!! No-one in their right mind enjoys that job.

 

[deema]

I’ve fitted them, and in fact I’m fitting them to another machine, also a Sedgwick. They are IMO a really excellent solution for a traditional knifed block. You get almost as quick blade change as say a Tersa system, you can also easily slip the blades carriers / blades sideways if you get a nick. The biggest advantage I believe is that it no longer is a chore to change the blades when they are dull, which means you don't put it off and do it when you should. Big safety plus.
I’d get a set of Chrome blades too, they are usually about half the price of HSS. Use these for rough dimensioning / dirty stuff (or when a mate comes around wanting a favour on your machine ) and keep your HSS for final dimensioning, you can swap them in and out quickly enough to make this good practice.

 

[PAC1]

I have the Tersa system on my Felder, there is hardly a week when I am not pleased I have it. The time saving is great but the real advantage is running three sets of knives at a time. 1 for rough, 1 for fine finish and 1 for softwood. You can swap them in 5 minutes. Someone also recommended just changing 1 or two blades rather than all three at a time on the basis that you do not need all three to be sharp. I gave up as I could not keep track.

 

[deema]

Just as an aside, PAC, have you thought about loading all three (if you have a wide machine) blades at the same time? I.e say you have a 12” machine, buy three sets of 4” long blades and then just load up 3off 4” lengths. By simply moving the fence you can use any set of blades. I find 4” just about covers most things. its also very useful to elongate blade life by loading say 3 lengths of the same the blade. If you get a nick, or ruin a set due to a foreign body you just need to replace a short section.

 

[PAC1]

Yes I have considered it, but I do actually use the full width 410, especially thicknessing by working my way left to right and back again. Planing I agree the front 150mm gets all the work unless I consciously move the fence over.
There is no reason why I could not fit 4x 100mm blades per slot. There would need to be a slight offset to avoid there being a step every 100mm but that is achievable.

 

[cutting solutions]

Thanks for the feedback, as long as the planer is all okay I think I will go for it.

I know the initial outlay is a bit steep but I am terrible for not changing the knives as often as I should and if I can do it in a few minutes it is more likely to happen.

So two holders, 2 knives plus 2 spares and a Wixey digital thicknesser gauge have just added nearly £300 to the cost of my planer

Do you know what grade of knife they are selling? HSS M42 or High Chrome. as someone else mentioned chrome are about half the price of HSS and dont always last very long. Its easy to tell the difference. High Chrome are a shiny silver colour; HSS M42 are a matt grey.
do you know what they are actually charging for the knives and holders?
HSS M42 Knives should be no more than £14.00 each. High Chrome £6.00 each.

 

[Roy Arrowsmith]

I have a secondhand Sedgwick MB planer coming which I know needs new blades.

I saw someone singing the praises of the ESTA disposable blade system in another thread, anybody else use them? Once you have bought the holder they work out as cheap as getting blades resharpened (plus my saw doctor is very slow). Anyone know if they fit an old Sedgwick, only has a 2 knife block so cheaper to run.

https://www.scosarg.com/blade-holder-l-310mm-ea
https://www.scosarg.com/planer-blade-l-310-b-18-6-t-0-9-3-holes

 

[Roy Arrowsmith]

they don't sell high chrome as they are poor quality only HSS T1 high quality

 

[Peter Sefton]

I bought some blades from Woodford for my Felder planer but the dowel hole positioning was inaccurate, which meant the blades did not line up to give a clean cutting circle, contacted them but not help at all.