In this blog entry I’m going to demonstrate how easy it is to change blades on the Ryobi AP1300 Planer.
A quick read of the manual will tell you that all you need to do is remove the cover, lock the cutterhead in place by rotating it and then remove the screws with the included hex key. Sounds simple right…
Well here I shall demonstrate the actual process.
Step One, strip the included hex key on any screw you choose, grind it down with a grinder, try again, strip it again.

Curse. Throw tool in trash.
Step Two.
Find a higher quality hex key (metric 4mm).
Repeat step one.
Curse.
Step Three
Grind a slot in the top of the hex screw.

Destroy the the biggest screwdriver you own trying to unseat the hex nut.
Ponder whether or not the hex nuts have been welded by a prankster..
Curse.
Step Four
Purchase a Bosch PS40 Impact Driver
Smile
Step Five
Shatter the flat head screw bit that comes with your brand new PS40.
Curse.
Step Six
Grind the bit down and try again…
Quick and Easy Blade Changing Ryobi AP1300 Planer from damian penney on Vimeo.
Smile a little at how awesome the PS40 actually is :-)
Curse for old times sake.
Step Seven
Grind and remove the other nine screws and you can be done in as little as two days depending on your Amazon shipping choices.
I hope this little guide has been informative, I’m in talks with Ryobi to update their manual.
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso























18 comments so far
teenagewoodworker
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1739 posts in 174 days
posted 64 days ago
now that is a really quick and effective blade change! lol! thanks for the post.
kem
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42 posts in 124 days
posted 64 days ago
That’s crazy, Damian! BTW, awesome picture of you grinding the slot in the hex screw. How’d you do both at the same time (taking the pic and grinding).
-- Kevin
Damian Penney
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593 posts in 397 days
posted 64 days ago
I know, absolutely ridiculous. I did the grinder pic with a ten second timer, and the camera propped up on a block of wood.
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
GaryK
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8274 posts in 394 days
posted 64 days ago
Nice little new tool you got there! Great little video.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Dorje
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1711 posts in 403 days
posted 64 days ago
Pretty funny…and painful. But, all is well that ends well.
Did you lube those buggers with anything?
Are the knives, at least “quick-set,” (i.e., did they have pins to align them?) or are you going to have to break out some of your mad knife setting skills...
What is it with you and Allen wrenches? Love/Hate, eh?
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
Napaman
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1400 posts in 483 days
posted 64 days ago
wow that sucks…and to think—-we go into the shop to RELAX…sometimes at least…may your next two days in the shop be spent enjoying every moment…actually two straight frustrating days should equal about 20 ugly ones…
-- Matt, Napa, CA...SING WITH ME: "Sum...sum...sum...summ...summ...summ...summertime..."
Sawdust2
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803 posts in 493 days
posted 64 days ago
In for a penny, in for a pounding.
Lee
-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.
Damian Penney
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593 posts in 397 days
posted 64 days ago
The knives are quick set Dorje, and they were reversible, I doused it with WD40 many a time before going this route. This is a common problem with these planers.
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
bbqking
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157 posts in 129 days
posted 63 days ago
I finally got mine loose with a with a high dollar machinists grade allen wrench and, believe it or not, an 18” cheater bar made from 3/8 inch pipe. By the way, I had to buy the allen wrench as a set. Go figure. bbqKing
-- bbqKing, Lawrenceville
Napaman
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1400 posts in 483 days
posted 63 days ago
THANKS DAMIAN…as I read and wrote my comments yesterday about your frsutrations I was literally itching to get home and into my garage to open up three huge boxes I had just received—-my new (used) shopsmith pro planer…well today I got home early enough to tear open the boxes and start putting my big purcahse together…
Each time I ran into trouble i thought: “ok…this aint nothin’.....damian struggled with one screw for two days and persevered…I can put table legs together!!!”
Well…the stand is complete…the planer is mounted…all ready to go…then I hear the one of the worst things a wood worker can hear—-”DINNER!” (well of course there are many worse things)...this is not a bad thing to hear…but just when I was ready to get to the next set of directions and maybe turn the thing on…I had to quit for the night…
Probably a very good thing since I still havent gotten this far in the manual…
Thanks for this story…you kept me going at times while i was laying on my back trying to turn a screw sneazing dust…
-- Matt, Napa, CA...SING WITH ME: "Sum...sum...sum...summ...summ...summ...summertime..."
fredf
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106 posts in 116 days
posted 62 days ago
I wonder how hex bits would work with the PS40. I managed to remove a water pump one time WITHOUT breaking any screws by using an impact wrench, the impact seems to loosen them without over torquing them
To prevent problems next time invest in a nice big jar of antiseize. That stuff goes on EVERYTHING, and worth every cent too
talk Ryobi into using torx; much less likely to strip than an allan, though much more expensive
-- Fred, Springfield, Ma
wouldi
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11 posts in 74 days
posted 62 days ago
yeah so about torx …. when i was putting together my bench …. pics are on my site….. anyway i decided that i should use torx head screws cuz there tuf righttttt. so just about 17 bits and screws later i decided to that all things made in china that are sold at a HARDWARE store should be hard….. well im thinking just based on my experience and your own that there must be some lead slipping into our driver bits …. good luck
-- unseen gaps
Jimboe
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60 posts in 156 days
posted 62 days ago
damian
You dont know how funny this is . I have the same planer and tried taking the blades out this past monday .I got all the screws out but one the allen screw rounded out so i plulled out the dremel and cut my slot thought i was going to strip the head again .Well i got it off and all is good . Just thought it was funny that i just went thru the same thing 3 days ago .
Damian Penney
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593 posts in 397 days
posted 61 days ago
Hey Fred, I’m sure a hex bit in the PS40 would have worked just fine but I couldn’t find one (4mm) that didn’t come in a kit with a gazillion pieces. I’d take Torx or Square over an allen head any day of the week.
That’s funny Matt :) I should put one of those inspiration posters together :)
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
FlWoodRat
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224 posts in 315 days
posted 60 days ago
Just wondering, did you send a copy of a link of your video to your friends at Ryobi? Their customer service department may send you a new unit, perhaps the dewal 735 for your troubles
-- Even the best of men relish a little spice every now and then... HG Somers, circa 1905
Damian Penney
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593 posts in 397 days
posted 60 days ago
That’s a great idea, I’ll do that.
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
Yettiman
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85 posts in 144 days
posted 59 days ago
Thanks for a good laugh at 5:00 am in the morn. Glad it worked out ok in the end,
Take care
-- Keep your tools sharp, your mind sharper and the coffee hot
matt garcia
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169 posts in 78 days
posted 51 days ago
You know I worked on cars for 12 years, and this is the kind of thing that I always feared. It seems things like this only happen when you have a few days to try and accomplish something, then chaos strikes!! This is the prime reason I don’t work on the car on Sundays anymore. I own a Delta 13” planer, and the blade change on mine went smoothly, much to my bad luck. I had a similar problem with my Delta hollow chisel mortiser. It seems the plunge arm is attached to the gear mechanism with a roll pin. Well the roll pin cracked in half, and I couldn’t find one at Home Depot(it is a metric roll pin). So I bought a bolt, and a nut, and put it in there, and finished mortising. The next day I called Delta to order a roll pin, and a new arbor (had to partially drill the old roll pin out. Well they were backordered for 5 months, and I just got it a few weeks ago. They brilliant guys at Delta redesigned the roll pin so that it isn’t hollow anymore, thus it won’t crush and collapse anymore, and I am now back in business. I wonder what tomorrow will bring???
-- Matt, Houston Texas