10 replies to this topic

[msi84]

Making a table top out of 4/4 Cherry 60"X20" yesterday and could NOT get a consistent glue edge. The more passes I made, the worse it got. I'm not talking smooth, but gaps. Finally, I passed the pieces thru my panel saw to square up then tried again. Gaps were worse in the middle. I tried supporting the fence, and moving the fence all with less than desirable results. I marked opposite sides to alternate to comp for fence angle but can't get a consistent gap. What am I doing wrong? I have a great deal of machining experience and have been a woodworking hobbyist for over 20 years, but I just can't figure out if it's me or the machine.

[dcustoms]

How long is the table on your jointer? That might be a factor if it has really short tables like the bench top jointers. Beyond that checking that your fence is square and your tables are parallel to each other. It seems like you know what you are doing.

[Mike M]

The first thing to check is the setup of the machine. The back table needs to be even with the blades at the top of their arc. The front table then needs to be parallel to the back table.

Assuming the setup is OK, when you pass the board over the cutters, you need to keep pressure on the back table end of the board. This should give you a straight edge end to end. It may take a few passes if the board is longer than the front table and is concave in the center.

As far as the fence is concerned, I make it a practice to joint the pair of edges in the same direction and with opposite faces against the fence. This will compensate in case the fence is off a degree or so.

It does take a bit of practice.

Mike

[msi84]

I have been wondering if it might not be a combination of Cup and Bow within the board. It's difficult to determine Flat in a board that long. A big surface plate would be helpful but if it is, it would cause the work to wobble past the blades. I suppose this is part of it. Table is about 36" total (18 front and 18 back). The fence is an extruded aluminum deal with a slide adjustment for wider work. It's hard to figure a way to hold the work without influencing it like the rollers of the planer does. Putting downward pressure on the out-feed table makes sense but with 8" wide boards, it doesn't take much to wobble the piece as it passes over the blade. Having a consistent feed rate is also difficult with long boards. Would you recommend setting the fence forward to minimize the blade exposure or all the way back?

[dwacker]

If you havent face jointed your board you cant edge joint it. Get yourself a piece of mdf and make a straight line jig for the table saw.

Don

[MikeM]

MSI, I have this problem frequently on my bench top jointer. Two things I have done that have made a difference when working with longer boards is put a roller stand as near the outfeed table and get it as close to the same height as the table as possible. It may take several run throughs to get it fined tune. The other thing is take small cuts. Until I am able to replace the jointer, this has worked well. The other option is use a Stanley #7 to do your edge jointing.

[Boatworks Today]

I have a 6" delta X jointer; like what was mentioned above, check for square on the fence and tables, make sure the out table is flush with the peak of the blades, both the in and out tables are flat (un-evenness from the 4 corners when the in table is raised all the way up), and that you're jointing the board arch side down (which I am sure you are :-). on longer boards I'll eye-sight it and make short passes on the ends until things look close, then make the full length passes.. If you could post some pics looking down the edge that would help to get a better idea of what's happening..

But, first off make sure that the face is jointed first; otherwise you'll never be able to get a good pass on the edges... On a wide board, you may need to break out some hand planes, or try and fudge a flat face with a planer...

Hope this helps!

[msi84]

Bottom line is the 8" X 60" boards. The machine is too small. The extruded fence is a piece of &@#* which only makes matters worse. I need to work on 6" or less wide or get another Jointer. An even better idea is to find a friend (who likes beer) in the G.H. 49417 area with a better Jointer.

[wdwerker]

I found that as well as checking the squareness and blade set-up if you clean , polish and wax the fence and table surfaces you get a much better cut because you are not fighting friction. Make sure the jointer is firmly mounted at a good height to handle the long boards. If it is too high your not getting the right body position to handle the long board.

[TimWood]

Lots of good advice above...if all else fails, try one more thing, "HONEY....I NEED ONE MORE TOOLTO COMPLETE THE PROOOJECT."

[dcustoms]

I think I have dreampt about that jointer!