Jointer technique

[Jerry Balzell]

Every time I joint the face of a board, I get a distinct taper. The taper starts at the front of the board. I start with my left hand at the front of the board & the right at the rear. As I push the board over the knives I have light pressure on the front. When I get about 6" onto the outfeed table I shift all of the pressure onto the outfeed table. I know that I am putting pressure in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have set the knives and set the outfeed table to the same height as the knives. I am inclined to believe that it is a technique problem. Any advice for jointing 101?

Thanks,
Jerry:rolleyes:

[Ian Gillis]

Hi

The thing to keep in mind is to remove the high spots first. Just like with handplaning, but the plane and board are upside down. That means that you don't automatically begin by planing the lead end. If the board has a hump in the middle, just balance it on that hump and let the knives touch only that part of the board. So, your first cuts will be very short -- plane the hump, keep pushing forward and not down.

As the humps gets flatter, each pass will cut more of the board until your final passes will be full length, just dressing the rough surface of the low spots (the ends in this case).

So, to limit the amount of material you take off, and to eliminate the taper -- start in the middle!

Cheers

Ian

[Jerry Balzell]

Start in the middle, would have never thought of that, makes sense. I will give it a try. Balance may be the key ingredient that I have been missing.

Thanks,:)

[Barry Vabeach]

Jerry, I agree with Ian on technique, but you may also have a knife height problem because usually the knives should be set .002 to .003 above the outfeed. The best check for me is to start with 2 reasonably straight boards ( check them against the jointer table ) and try to edge joint them. If they turn out fine, you knife height is fine. If when you hold the jointed edges together you find they touch in the middle, but not at both ends, you need to adjust the outfeed table. As with Ian suggestion, joint just the middle of each board so when you hold them together there is a gap in the middle, then adjust the table down, and joint them again and check the fit. If the fit is straight, you are at the right height, if you get a gap at the ends you know the height is still off, so joint just the middle again, adjust the outfeed and try again. You know the outfeed is too low when you see you are getting snipe at the end of the board. Good luck.