Chatter marks with the jointer -- hmm....

[Jason White]

Just had the steel knives for my 6" RIDGID jointer sharpened and installed. I put them in a adjusted yesterday. I use the old-fashioned method of using a straightedge on the outfeed table and adjusting the 3 knives to TDC until they just "kiss" the straightedge.

This method usually works fine, however I'm now getting chatter marks on my stock. Doesn't matter how deep of a cut I take. Tried loosening the gibs and readjusting the knives a second time. Problem continues.

The knives are sharp. They seem to be adjusted properly. I've done all this before without problems.

Hmm...

Any ideas?

Jason

[Andy Sowers]

Jason, I had the same exact problem on my Ridgid jointer when I exchanged the knives. I suspect what was happening in my case is that one or more of the knives was not set properly. What fixed it for me was meticulously going back and setting the knives up again. What I found was that I could get everything aligned well until I started tightening them up when the knives would have a tendency to ride up an unacceptable amount.

I had the best luck taking a straight edge and rotating each knife until it just kissed the edge and moved it forward a hair. You have to make sure that all three knives move the edge exactly the same amount to ensure they are all at the same height.

andy

[Jason White]

Thanks, Andy.

Actually, I figured it out this morning. It's basically as you described.

I must have left a little too much "slop" in the gib screws while setting the height of the knives (I have jack screws, not springs). Then, when I fully tightened the jib screws, one of the knives probably shifted upward slightly.

Nice smooth cuts now, so problem solved.

For what it's worth, I also used to have a little snipe problem at the end of a cut and discovered this morning that raising the outfeed table just a whisker solved that problem.

Just goes to show that all the fancy jigs and dial indicators in the world can't solve a problem if you lack a good understanding of how your machine operates.

Jason




Jason, I had the same exact problem on my Ridgid jointer when I exchanged the knives. I suspect what was happening in my case is that one or more of the knives was not set properly. What fixed it for me was meticulously going back and setting the knives up again. What I found was that I could get everything aligned well until I started tightening them up when the knives would have a tendency to ride up an unacceptable amount.

I had the best luck taking a straight edge and rotating each knife until it just kissed the edge and moved it forward a hair. You have to make sure that all three knives move the edge exactly the same amount to ensure they are all at the same height.

andy

[Howard Acheson]

>> I'm now getting chatter marks on my stock. Doesn't matter how deep of a cut I take.

That's the classic indication that the knives are not set at the exact same height. Go back and do you setting again.