Jointer safety question

[scott vroom]

I'm looking for safety tips in face jointing hardwood stock. I'm building cabinet doors and am doing a lot of face jointing of stock that is <3" wide. I've been using rubber faced paddles am still not comfortable with my hands so close to the cutters. How do you guys handle this cut safely?

Thanks.

[Myk Rian]

Paddles. I wouldn't put too much down pressure on stock that thin. It will bend easily and you'll just wind up planing it thinner.

[Kevin Womer]

Use paddles and take very light cuts. If you can try jointing wider boards then ripping them to 3".

[Steve Jenkins]

I have no problem jointing 3"or narrower boards. Keep the tables well waxed so the wood slides easily and once you get the front end of the board acroos the cutterhead keep both hands on the outfeed side. I can't stand the paddles or push blocks. this time of year when hands are dry and the wood feels "slippery" I wear a pair of nitrile (like latex) gloves. They give good traction but are skin tight. The problem I have with jointing wider then ripping is that quite often the the wood will move when ripped so it's no longer straight.

[glenn bradley]

All good advice here. I just got done with a batch of 2-3/4" wide white oak. The blanks are about 3/8" thick and, after jointing, get planed to 5/16" for the piece. I use pads BUT, if you feel unsafe, there is a reason. Listen to the voice in your head.

You could plane and thickness the stock in wider pieces and then rip to width. I generally try to prep my material oversized and cut the actuals from it. This would solve your small part milling problems. The boards I just spoke of happened to come from some matched wood and I couldn't do as I usually do.

[Chuck Isaacson]

I think that Glen is on it. I would work with larger pieces and then cut them to the size that you need. I have done it this way before as well. Less manhandling of materials. Not so many pieces floating around.

[Steve Griffin]

I never have liked the rubber faced paddles, though I keep one around in case an employee prefers them.

I like using a simple thin push block. It also works great on the Table saw for thin rips, so make two. Remember on the jointer, it's only job is to "push" forward , and your left hand on the outfeed tables job is to push down.

-Steve

[Frank Drew]

Face jointing is reasonably safe but be sure to move the fence so that only the necessary amount of blade is exposed. I think this is a cut that feels scarier than it actually is -- there should be wood between the blades and you, or your push stick, all the time.

[Jeff Nolan]

I don't like the rubber faced hold downs either... you have to put a lot of downward pressure for them to hold, which then works against you in the jointing operation.

A couple of push sticks and intense focus on where my hands are in relation to the cutter head is my solution. A jointer is pretty predictable in the sense that you won't get kickback or anything dramatic like that.

[scott vroom]

Thanks to all for the useful tips.