16
MAINTENANCE
CHANGING CUTTERHEAD KNIVES
Disconnect the machine from the
power source before making any
adjustments!
Jointer knives are dangerously sharp.
Use extreme caution when inspecting,
removing, sharpening, or replacing knives into the
cutterhead. Failure to comply may cause serious injury.
The DELTA
®
37-071 6” Bench Jointer uses two
individual knives. Should you notice a significant
decrease in the performance of your jointer, it may be
necessary to replace the knives. To do this, follow these
steps:
1. Place a scrap piece of wood between the spring-
loaded cutter guard and fence in order to fully
expose the cutterhead.
2. Carefully and slowly rotate the cutterhead by hand
until the clamp bar and four clamp screws (A) are
accessible. See Figure 19.
3. Unscrew the clamp screws and remove the clamp
bar.
Cutterhead knives are sharp. Use
caution when handling cutterhead
knives. Use gloves to reduce the risk of injury.
4. Carefully lift the knife from the cutterhead, taking
care to note its proper orientation to the cutterhead.
5. Repeat Steps 2-4 for the second cutterhead knife.
6. Clean the cutterhead thoroughly before installing
new knives or re-installing sharpened knives.
7. Install the new or re-sharpened knife and the clamp
bar in the cutterhead. Slightly tighten each of the
clamp screws, making sure to follow the sequence
shown in Figure 20.
NOTE:
Failure to follow the proper sequence for
tightening the clamp screws may result in the position
of the knife being altered which can affect the
performance of the tool.
8. Repeat Step 7 for the second cutterhead knife.
9. Check the alignment on the knives to the surface
of the outfeed table as described in the section
Align Cutterhead to Outfeed table, on page 10. If
necessary, rotate the two jack screws on either end
of the cutterhead knife in order to ensure the knife is
parallel to the outfeed table.
FIGURE 19
FIGURE 20
OTHER RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE
1. Periodically blow out all air passages with dry
compressed air. All plastic parts should be cleaned
with a soft damp cloth. NEVER use solvents to
clean plastic parts. They could possibly dissolve or
otherwise damage the material.
2. Periodically check tightness on all other hardware
and listen for any unusual vibrations as you work as
these may be a sign of loose hardware.
10. Perform final tightening on each of the four clamp
screws uses the proscribed sequence in Figure 19.
11. Remove the scrap wood block and return the
cutterhead guard to original operating position.
Re-align the fence as needed and test the jointer
on a piece of scrap stock.
