Unlike old hand-planer blades, you can't sharpen Ryobi blades, so replace them when they appear damaged or chipped. Ryobi manufactures hand planers and stationary thickness planers; the procedure for removing blades on them are different.
Hand Planers
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Unplug the planer—a basic safety rule for hand tools, particularly one with a blade.
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Turn the planer upside down and secure it as well as possible. If you have a wooden vise, put the tool in that and tighten the vise enough just enough to hold it. Don't put the tool in a metal vise -- you can crack the housing.
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Loosen the three screws that secure the blade. (Your planer should have come with a wrench to do this; check the box.) Just loosen the screws—don’t remove them.
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Look at the direction of cut and make a mental note. Then observe and replicate the tapering of the blades. Place the tapered edge of the new blade on the same side as the screw heads; the flat edge faces the cutter block.
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Push the blade out of the blade holder with a flat-head screwdriver—it should go to the right.
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Remove the old blade. If necessary, tap the blade with a block of wood to loosen it.
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Slide the new blade, then orient and center it using the screwdriver. Retighten the three screws.
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Repeat with the second blade.
Thickness Planers
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Unplug the planer. Remove the chip guard from the infeed side of the machine by unscrew the two wing nuts securing it.
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Loosen the lock bar holding the blade in place by turning the two lock bar screws on the side of the machine counterclockwise, using a screwdriver. The blade is spring-loaded and pops out when you do this. Pull it out of the planer, then pull out the lock bar.
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Set the lock bar back in place against the cutter head and position the blade against it.
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Tighten the lock screws on the side of the machine to hold the blade in place.
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Reinstall the chip guard and tighten the wings screw holding it.
The Drip Cap
- Ryobi power planer blades are reversible; you get two blades for the price of one.
- Loosen the three screws that secure the blade.
- ( Then observe and replicate the tapering of the blades.
- Remove the chip guard from the infeed side of the machine by unscrew the two wing nuts securing it.
- Reinstall the chip guard and tighten the wings screw holding it.