Jointer woes

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Monty

New User
Monty
Well, I just figured out that my inability to joint a perfectly straight edge is NOT just due to lack of talent alone. Thanks to the 48" precision straightedge that Woodguy1975 so graciously let me borrow, I have finally figured out what I've suspected for a while now:

IMG_0496.jpg




8-O Don't need no feeler gauge to detect THAT problem!


Here are some closeups. Click on the thumbnails...



Doh! :eusa_doh: Oh, well... enough for tonight. Guess I'll be digging up that owner's manual to try to figure out how to fix this... :eusa_booh
 

Phillip

New User
Phillip Fuentes
insomniac, now is the time to be thankful you don't have a huge battleship of a jointer. you'll hopefully just have to remove the infeed table and clean the dovetail ways. sometimes a a small chip can work its way in and jam up the works. i had to do the same thing to my 8" powermatic, a previous owner attempted to fix a problem that wasn't there by inserting a thick shim in the ways, once i removed it and cleaned up the dovetails it was back in shape. good luck.

phillip
 
R

rickc

OK - educate me, please. Dovetails in a jointer? I am also not sure if what I see is actually the problem. It appears as if the infeed table is not level, particularly near the blades, correct?

Teach me, teach me!:-?
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
I am not one to educate you about anything. All I know is that the infeed/outfeed tables ride in sliding dovetails to allow adjustment. I believe there are things called gib screws the allow some up and down adjustment in those dovetails. What Insomniac's problem is that the end of his infeed table is higher than where it meets the knives. That will result in a board that is thinner at the ends than in the middle. I really need to get a good straight edge to find out if it is really my equipment that is making me such a crappy ww'er:lol: :lol:

Dave:)
 

Phillip

New User
Phillip Fuentes
yup, daveo's pretty much got it. the gib screws press against a bar (the gib i'm sure) to take out slop and allow you to adjust the sliding action of the table. you want them snug enough to keep the table from moving side to side but not so snug the table won't slide smoothly, you shouldn't have to adjust them often at all unless you make a living doing this and your equipment runs all day every day. have a look underneath the infeed/outfeed tables of your jointer and you should be able to see the dovetail profile of the ways clearly.

phillip
 

Monty

New User
Monty
Yeah, guys... the infeed table is not level. There is a tapering gap under the straightedge on the infeed side that gets wider towards the blades. This results in a slight taper in the leading edge of the boards I'm trying to flatten. Beyond about the first 6" or so, my boards are generally straight, so I've just been assuming it was my technique. I had never put a 4' long straightedge on there before. My 3' long aluminum ruler is about the straightest thing I have, but it doesn't show the problem like this precision straightedge does.

I'll have to get down there to see how to adjust it later. Hopefully just a cleanup will do the trick. Should be interesting.... and I'll learn a lot more about my jointer in the process!
 

Monty

New User
Monty
OK, I think I've got it fixed. The test boards I run across it now all end up flat - I guess that's what matters!

All I can say is the infeed table straightened itself out somehow. I blew out some stray woodchips, loosened it and raised/lowered it a couple of times, just to study how it works. Then I put the straightedge back on it and it looked just fine! Must have been a little piece of a woodchip or something...

For those that asked questions about the jointer, here are some more detail pics showing how the infeed table is attached/adjusted:

This shows the dovetail ways referred to in an earlier post:

IMG_0502.jpg



This shows the back of the infeed table, with the "gib lock screws". At least that's what the manual calls them. Thankfully I didn't have to mess with these at all:

IMG_0503.jpg



So, I think all is cool for now. I can resume woodworking as soon as the relative humidity in my shop drops down below about 75%! :-?
 
R

rickc

Thanks! I really had no idea about the working of the jointer adjustment, and the ensuing pictures made it all clear! Glad to hear the problem seems to have been fixed, that has to be good news.

Thanks agin for the explanation, I appreciate it.
 

woodguy1975

New User
John
That is great news dude. Problems like that can really aggrevate a woodworker. You have to have machinery you can depend on and know wha t you are going to get out.

No, I have ordered the lathe yet. :)

See ya,

John
 
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