Tool Tinkering - another one *w/pixs*

[Alan in Little Washington]

I never liked bending down to reach the power switch on my Delta DJ-20 jointer, so I decided to add a switch on a stalk that sticks up above the table like many of the current crop of jointers. I used some 1/2" galvanized pipe and fittings, and a standard exterior type junction box. For strength, I decided on galvanized pipe rather than conduit. Also visible at the end of the base cabinet is the newly installed Low Voltage Control (LVC) relay box I got off Ebay awhile back.

The new button switches are momentary contact type and are wired to the 24 volt control circuit.

Here is an end shot of jointer showing the switch stalk, pipe, and pipe fittings.

A close-up of the pipe and fittings- 2' of 1/2" galvanized pipe (I'll paint it gray later), a 1/2" street bend, and flange. I just screwed everything together. I drilled five holes in the cabinet panel- a 1/2" hole for the wiring and four smaller holes for the flange screws.

While working inside the cabinet installing the new wiring I discovered a potential problem- the motor pulley set screw had loosened and the pulley was working its way off the motor shaft. No wonder the jointer was making strange noises- sounds MUCH BETTER now!

 

[NZAPP1]

Great idea :eusa_clap and you found and fixed a small problem that could have damaged some equipment at the same time:icon_thum

 

[Travis Porter]

I've been thinking about doing something like that to mine.

Is your DJ-20 1.5 HP 120/220V single phase? If so, what made you change over to the low voltage/relay/stuff?

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

I've been thinking about doing something like that to mine.

Is your DJ-20 1.5 HP 120/220V single phase? If so, what made you change over to the low voltage/relay/stuff?

The motor is the standard 1 1/2 hp, 120/220v, single phase. I have it wired for 220v. I went with LVC since I had a Delta LVC relay box laying around. I got it on Ebay a few years ago, but don't remember why I bought it or for what. I like the easy push of the momentary LVC buttons vs the standard buttons and also the LVC makes it so you can connect more than one set of buttons- I still have buttons on the front of the cabinet. In addition to building the stalk and mounting (holes are already in most Delta cabinets) and wiring the LVC, I had to make the button switches with parts from Radio Shack- I didn't want to spend the money delta charges- I got the Delta buttons and cover plates off Ebay but have never seen the momentary switch part there.