Expectations from 6" Jointer

[Scott Cardais]

I recently purchased a used Delta 6" jointer from a reputable dealer of used woodworking machinery. The jointer has new blades and a 110v, 1.5 hp motor.

I purchased the jointer to flatten and true the edges of boards for board glue ups and to flatten the faces of boards prior to running through a planer.

So far, I'm not very pleased with the results from this jointer but perhaps it's my expectations. I expect the jointer to produce a very smooth edge, perpendicular to the face, on surfaces up to at least 4 inches (edges or face) but that's not what I'm getting.

Instead, on cherry or maple, I'm getting a very "wavy" surface with lots of chip out regardless of grain direction; even when removing 1/16" on 3/4" wide edges. Even on pine, I don't get the results I expect.

My question is, "What results should I expect from a jointer? What type of edge or face should a jointer produce on cherry, sepele, maple and other hardwoods?

To correct the problem, so far, I've installed new blades, tightened the belt (it was loose) and confirmed that the table and fence are flat and perpendicular. I'm not sure if the motor is actually producing 1 1/2 hp or if the belt is actually tight enough.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Scott C.

[Lance Norris]

Scott...first off, welcome. Now... if you are taking 1/16" on a pass, you are taking way too much. You need to take 1/64 or maybe just a little more in my opinion. When you get scallops, that generally indicates too fast a feed rate. Your jointer should produce an edge that is almost perfect, with minimal tear/chip out and be perfectly square to the face, ready to glue up with no more work involved. Thats what the machine is made to do. HTH

[Scott Cardais]

Thanks, Lance.

I'll try your suggestions (reduce the amount I'm cutting and slowing the feed rate) and see if that eliminates the "scalloping" problem.

Thanks for your reply and help.

Scott C.

[Brett Robson]

Another suggestion is double-check your knife settings. If one is even slightly higher than the rest, you'll get a scalloped cut even at the slowest of feed rates.

[Bob Haskett]

The waves I have read is the speed at which your feeding. I am getting ridges the length of the board, which Scott Spencer told me was probably a nick in the blades. So I would check your cut depth, speed of feed, and for any nicks or burs in your blade. I know they are new, but it happens sometimes. I have also been told you can move your blades so nicks dont line up with eachother.

[Dave Gaul]

Don't new knives still have to be lapped or honed?

I have new knives in my old 6" jointer, and have had some of the same problems, and I know my blades are tuned, tables are parallel and cut depth is good, but even with correct feed rate, still get some issues... thinking my blades need to be lapped and/or honed...

[Matt Day]

Regarding the tearout, make sure you're feeding the board with the grain oriented correctly. I always thing about petting a cat or dog, you always move with the direction of the hair. So the knives need to be cutting with the direction of the grain. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious.

And no matter how little I take off per pass, whether it's 1/16" or 1/64", I know it's not going to be a smooth, finish ready cut. I always plan on putting it through the table saw then sanding.

[Myk Rian]

Another suggestion is double-check your knife settings. If one is even slightly higher than the rest, you'll get a scalloped cut even at the slowest of feed rates.
+1 on the knife settings. One high knife can do it.

[Bob Haskett]

And no matter how little I take off per pass, whether it's 1/16" or 1/64", I know it's not going to be a smooth, finish ready cut. I always plan on putting it through the table saw then sanding.

Really? I thought the whole point of the jointer was to have it perfectly flat? (I am not knocking you, I am a newbie and asking because I do not know).

[Matt Day]

Bob,

The jointer makes your board square, and it does that well. With standard knives (not a fancy Byrd or some time of shelix head) like we have, it generally won't make a the quality of cut like the table saw does.

And remember, flat doesn't mean square, which is why you need a jointer and not just a planer.

My SOP with milling stock is to joint a face, then an edge, then plane the opposing face. Last I go to the table saw and put the jointed edge against the fence and cut the other size parallel. The final step is to flip the board over and make a very light cut on the jointed edge to clean it up and take off the ridges from the jointer blades.

I may have one knive that is slightly too high, but it works for me and I would rather be making sawdust that pulling my hair out trying to get them set perfectly.

[Bob Haskett]

Bob,

The jointer makes your board square, and it does that well. With standard knives (not a fancy Byrd or some time of shelix head) like we have, it generally won't make a the quality of cut like the table saw does.

And remember, flat doesn't mean square, which is why you need a jointer and not just a planer.

My SOP with milling stock is to joint a face, then an edge, then plane the opposing face. Last I go to the table saw and put the jointed edge against the fence and cut the other size parallel. The final step is to flip the board over and make a very light cut on the jointed edge to clean it up and take off the ridges from the jointer blades.

I may have one knive that is slightly too high, but it works for me and I would rather be making sawdust that pulling my hair out trying to get them set perfectly.

Ok, so in my case, the jointer is jointing edges pretty good but is leaving a ridge the length of the board. So if I face joint a board, then an edge, when I put it in the planer, wouldnt it make a copy of that ridge on the other side? How would you get rid of that?

[Myk Rian]

If you're getting a ridge, you have a nicked knife, or more. Take a small piece of wood and run it across the knives. The nick will be very easy to find that way. Don't use your finger.
The planer will not duplicate the ridge. You can use a cabinet scraper to get that off the wood.

[Josiah Bartlett]

If you're getting a ridge, you have a nicked knife, or more. Take a small piece of wood and run it across the knives. The nick will be very easy to find that way. Don't use your finger.
The planer will not duplicate the ridge. You can use a cabinet scraper to get that off the wood.

If your knives are knicked but otherwise sharp, just offset one of them to the left or right a small amount and the knick won't show up on the wood.

[Tri Hoang]

A properly tuned jointer will yield flat/square and smoother surfaces than a table saw could.

A 6/8" jointer has limited capacity. Personally, I think one could get better (flat/smooth/square) surfaces with just one or two hand planes. With some experience, it could be done faster than a power jointer, too. The freed up space, less noise/dust would be bonuses.

[Matthew Hills]

On the blade nicks -- easy to get in new blades if you've got a piece of gravel or even a really hard knot on the wood you are jointing.

If edge jointing, you can usually just move the fence so that the wood isn't passing over the nick any more.

You will always get some ripple when using rotary cutters (powered jointer/planer). Lighter cuts will really help this and get it down to where a very light sanding will leave you in good shape.

Tearout -- sounds like too heavy of a cut, or very difficult wood. Is there any grain reversal?

Matt

[Tony Shea]

Last I go to the table saw and put the jointed edge against the fence and cut the other size parallel. The final step is to flip the board over and make a very light cut on the jointed edge to clean it up and take off the ridges from the jointer blades.



I don't own a jointer myself but use a very nice 8 incher at my uncle's shop quite a bit. In my experience I get a great surface that would probably just get worse if I ran it through my table saw. Not only would the surface get worse but I would also run the risk of the board becoming slightly out of square if I was to run it through the TS. This is after I've spent numerous hours keeping up with my TS alignment. I just trust the jointer much more than the TS as far as milling lumber and producing glue ready joints. But then again, I am fairly new at this woodworking hobby and can't preach my technique as it is mostly self taught. My point is that if your jointer is not producing glue ready joints, then something is not right.

[Buck Williams]

Just my opinion, but I expect that a jointer should give you a smooth square cut, I use it to clean up rip cuts on the table saw, instead of using the table saw to clean up jointed edges. I usually use a good Amana or Freud combination blade as opposed to a Glue Line Rip blade for ripping and expect that the jointer will clean up the occasional blade swirl, and leave an edge very close to finish quality. Besides squaring up a rough edge, IMHO another function of a jointer is to give you a good clean square edge for panel glue ups. I guess I've been lucky with the 2 jointers I have owned in that the knives were set well, out of the box, and needed no adjustment, and I could expect a good clean edge.

[Rod Sheridan]

A jointer should give you a very good surface, far better than a saw cut.

I frequently remove 2mm (about 1/12") in a single pass when edge or face jointing.

Here are some things to check

- knives sharp?

- knives set to proper height in cutterhead

- outfeed table set to correct height

Once the above are checked an/or corrected you should have a good starting point.

Regards, Rod.

[Bob Haskett]

I ordered replacement knives from Grizzly, so we shall see. I can get the waves out by slowing down my feed, but the ridges that run the length of the board I cannot get rid of. I tried readjusting my knives but I am still getting a visible very thin line that runs the entire length of the board.

[Chip Lindley]

Bob, quick and dirty, concerning nicked knives. When edge jointing stock, the fence can be slid in to use a different section of the blade. That's TOO easy! If your jointer has jack screws for knife adjustment, it is totally easy to loosen the gib bolts to allow sliding one knife left or right, just enough to offset that ridge you are getting. Shift a second knife just barely in the opposite direction and retighten. This will give a new edge across the full width of the knives. (until you nick them again)

As mentioned, learn how to check and adjust your jointer knife settings. A well-tuned jointer IS capable of giving a very smooth finish to hard- or soft wood. Feed rate is a deciding factor. There is no hurry. As you gain time on your jointer, you will gain more insight and intuitive feel for the machine.

I LOVE using the jointer. It is the first step in discovering what beautiful grain rough-sawed wood has inside. Especially well-weathered stuff! It is also the machine for taking cup and twist out to flatten a board face perfectly. Then straight-edging, before running through the thickness planer.

[Scott Cardais]

All:

The question about my jointer was my first posting to this forum. The response was terrific. Thanks to everyone who shared their experience and suggestions. This is a great resource.

Based on the answers I received to my question, I now know that I should expect a smooth clean surface ready for glue up with no additional steps even on hardwood assuming my knives are sharp and level, I remove 1 /64th - 1/32nd of an inch per pass, I reduce my feed rate and I pay attention to the grain of the wood.

Sincerely,

Scott C.

[Lance Norris]

Based on the answers I received to my question, I now know that I should expect a smooth clean surface ready for glue up with no additional steps even on hardwood assuming my knives are sharp and level, I remove 1 /64th - 1/32nd of an inch per pass, I reduce my feed rate and I pay attention to the grain of the wood.



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