Help on installing blades on 20" jointer

[Harley Reasons]

Buddy of mine purchased a used aircraft carrier that just happens to have a round cutter head in the middle of it. When the local aircraft isn't landing on it, we intend to use it to joint and plane major size of wooden slabs. Some where in the 1 - 4" thickness range and 6 to 12 ft. long.
He ordered a new set of blades from Global and now we have to install and align them. My idea is to use the old standby, magnetic base rotary dial indicator.
Also on table alignment, seems to me everything I've read tells me to align the outfeed table on coplanar to the blades. Is this SOP?

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.

[Barry Vabeach]

Great jointer, Normally, you set the blades a hair higher than the outfeed. The following is something I saw posted elsewhere, and I actually shoot for no gap in the middle
Start with the knives .004 above the outfeed.
Surface the edge of two boards about 3' long and place the cut edges together. Raise the outfeed table by 0.001" and repeat the check. Continue raising by 0.001" and re surfacing until the outfeed table is regarded as "set" when the two cut surfaces meet with the smallest of gaps at the center i.e. very slightly concave. A convex result is not acceptable. If this cannot be achieved with the outfeed table between -0.001" and +0.004" below the knives, the table alignment needs further adjustment.