PJ882HH Jointer fence twisted?

[Glen Butler]

As I learned how to get my jointer true I am finding that my fence may be twisted. Mechanics square stay ture on the left edge of the fence and on both sides of the cutterhead but at the right the top twists out ~.012-0.15.

I am on with customer service right now. The tech said I am completely allowed to try and straighten it and it will not void the warranty. I don't know where the warpage occured, but this was a floor model and the store.
He seemed pretty helpful and gave me a local warranty repair place. Any thought as to how I should proceed?

[Lewis Cobb]

As I learned how to get my jointer true I am finding that my fence may be twisted. Mechanics square stay ture on the left edge of the fence and on both sides of the cutterhead but at the right the top twists out ~.012-0.15.

I am on with customer service right now. The tech said I am completely allowed to try and straighten it and it will not void the warranty. I don't know where the warpage occured, but this was a floor model and the store.
He seemed pretty helpful and gave me a local warranty repair place. Any thought as to how I should proceed?

Glen -
I am not sure you can straighten such a slab of iron like the fence without having a grinding shop precision grind the surface. I checked my fence with a machinist square after I saw your posting and mine's out of square by about .008 on the top edge of the fence on the outfeed side. I am not so sure this is very much as translated back to say a 3/4" edge on a board this is less than .002 (given that the fence is about 4 inches high). You would be less than .003 (0.012 / 4 ). Perhaps others can chime in on this one but it seems to me at these levels of precision the board itself will move more with overnight temp and humidity changes.

Let us know what you come up with if anything.

Good luck,
Lewis

[Glen Butler]

Not to mention the fact that at the cutterhead it is square so 18" away probably isn't going to effect it anything noticable if at all. I don't know if I even want to go through the trouble of having it looked at. The tech said he has taken minor bows out of a fence by placing it on two boards and standing on it. I tend not to believe that because cast iron is not flexible. I wouldn't be afraid of breaking it, I just don't think I would change the shape at all.

[joe milana]

Do you find it nearly impossible to set the fence square in the first place? Set the fence square with machinist square, tighten, fence moves. Loosen fence, adjust slightly, tighten, fence almost square. Loosen fence, adjust slightly...get the picture? Oh yeah, it's got a slight twist too.:(

Do you get a "bang" when you start the jointer? I do. Everything is tight, I think it is due to a weak motor mounting system. It looks kinda flimsy.

[Lewis Cobb]

I'm surprised at advice like that from the tech service department to be honest - that's just a recipe for disaster, but I guess if you snap it they would send out a replacement. I tend to agree with you - could be a bunch of hassle for nothing. Use 'er for a while - see how the boards come out and projects go together. I have a feeling you'll forget you ever measured that .012 twist once you are a couple of projects down the road with the jointer. That's my plan with mine -I still have 3 years left on the warranty too.

As for the bang on startup -I notice a bang only when I happen to turn the machine on at the right spot in the 60 Hz AC. Sometimes it's as smooth as silk starting up. Have you checked the tightness of the belt with the NASA precision measurement technique outlined in the manual ? (squeeze the belt and look for 1/2" deflection by eye )

Seems we all have a little twist in our fences - it would be interesting to hear from other 882 owners out there to see if there is an actual spec that PM might have told them. I sort of suspect we're all within spec though.

As for the fiddly setting to 90 degrees - it's real touchy on mine as well - just a slight movement of the wheel and the 90 degrees is lost.

[Glen Butler]

I messed with it a little more today. I am getting great joints so I think I will just forget the fence until I see it is a problem. What bugs me more about the machine is the nasty noise somewhere in a bearing or something. It is so loud or it encompasses the whole machine such that I cannot pinpoint it using a mechanics stethoscope.

[Lewis Cobb]

I messed with it a little more today. I am getting great joints so I think I will just forget the fence until I see it is a problem. What bugs me more about the machine is the nasty noise somewhere in a bearing or something. It is so loud or it encompasses the whole machine such that I cannot pinpoint it using a mechanics stethoscope.


I seem to be getting stellar joints as well despite the less than 90.000000000000 degree fence - hehe. I can't see light on the 90 degree on the wood when I hold a machinist squre to it so there's no need to obsess over this any more.

I have an idea on how you might quiet down the jointer so you can investigate that possible bearing issue though. Go to the Walmart or some Kmart to the camping section (if they still have the stuff out somewhere) and pick up one of those sleeping rolls you see the hikers use under the sleeping bag. They are a fairly dense foam about 1/2" thick. I'm thinking if you lower the jointer onto one of them and fire it up it might cut down any of the resonance due to the large sheet steel base on the hard floor. Just a thought. I have not made myself a mobile base yet for mine but I made up a sheet of mdf with hockey pucks on it and placed that under the jointer - they provide a little bit of isolation and more importantly keep the base off the concrete and possibly rusting if any water gets on the floor near the machine.

I did the same thing with my bandsaw - here's a pic - I sort of got carried away, rounded the corners and painted it as well. Ended up looking factory !

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn286/LHC_02/Bandsaw/BandsawBase11.jpg

Keep us posted on your investigations and good luck.

Lewis

[jim gossage]

I am on with customer service right now. The tech said I am completely allowed to try and straighten it and it will not void the warranty.

I was told the same thing about my twisted fence from Yorkcraft. Put it on two pieces of wood, hold a piece of wood against it, and smack it with a 5 pound hammer. I was extremely skeptical, but it actually worked a little and improved the twist somewhat.