Snibley Posted May 3, 2016 Report Share Posted May 3, 2016 Hi All I have recently bought a vintage Beaver 3800 jointer. I have tried to calibrate this machine using the traditonal way (much like Marc's video) but I cannot seem to get it to joint squarely..obviously, I am doing something wrong but with out a manual, or a site to help me in my ediucation on this machine I am pretty much dead in the water...does anyone know how to calibrate or know where I could read up on how to calibrate this jointer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted May 3, 2016 Report Share Posted May 3, 2016 Have you looked to see if there is any information on http://vintagemachinery.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtnwoodworker Posted May 3, 2016 Report Share Posted May 3, 2016 I just found this with a google search. First result in the search. http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/83/2469.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted May 3, 2016 Report Share Posted May 3, 2016 I briefly had that same machine. After building a base & mounting the motor, I tried to get it all calibrated, but was never happy. I was able to get the tables coplanar, but after raising or lowering the infeed table, it would go out of whack again. Ended up giving it back to my BIL, who had given it to me. Sorry, I'm no help here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted May 3, 2016 Report Share Posted May 3, 2016 Several things, 1) the forum you want is owwm.org (acronym for Old Wood Working Machine), go there and post with as much detail as you can on what is happening and what you have tried. 2) It is possible (even likely) that your machine will require metal shims to make the beds co-planar. And finally, is this your first jointer and jointer calibration or have you done it succesfully before? What types of tools are you using to verify calibration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snibley Posted May 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2016 To be honest I did go to the vintage machinery and DLL that manual I didn't find it too helpful, but I will be going back to the blackboard on it. I will check this other site out as well. I have used jointers but in a controlled setting (paid wood shops where I did not need to worry about calibration and of course very new compared to this 1950,s jointer). What i did basically was this, if anyone sees something I'm doing wrong please let me know. I basically set a 4ft square along the beds so they align and raised the knives so they just surpassed the outfeed... but I was not aware of the three knives alignment and will try that ( once I figure out how to move them...lol...sigh) so I am hoping this will solve my issue...which is...one end of the stock becoming thicker then the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Ok a couple of things. The most likely scenario right now is that you are just not setting it up correctly. The next most likely is that the jointer needs metal shims in the dovetailed ways. But the former is about 100 times more likely then the latter. There are dozens of videos online if you search "jointer setup" or "jointer knife calibration" etc. Here is marc's video. The first thing to consider is that your blades are not perfectly installed. Even if inserted at exactly the right height they can move when you are tightening the screws down on them. You will need some kind of dial indicator to make sure they are being kept in place. It can be done without a dial indicator but boy is it annoying to calibrate. This whole process will likely take you a few hours the first time you do it. Watch some videos, get the proper tools (like a dial indicator on some kind of rig) and give it another go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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