Jointer Gloat

[Dan Gill]

Here's a pic of the 6 1/8 inch Craftsman jointer I got from my father-in-law just before Christmas. It's not exactly a high-dolllar machine, but it was free. He got in in the mid-70's and just has never really liked using it since he fed it a fingertip. I had to clean it up a lot and move the motor mounting to tighten the belt. Of course, the knives were in terrible shape.

I'm still learning how to use this thing, so expect a question about snipe in the near future.

By the way, the mobile base is from one of Wood Magazine's shop specials. I modified it to use wooden runners under the legs instead of angle iron. That raised the jointer a bit and was less expensive, since I already had the wood.

[Clint deal]

How did you get into my shop to take a picture of my Jointer? The funny thing is my father gave me mine also after he lost the tip of his finger on it. No Kidding!
It's a Craftsman but of an old enough vintage to be a very nice tool. Mine is great with no snipe at all. Just keep the blades sharp and the tables in plane with each other for no trouble jointing.
Clint

[Jim Fancher]

Congrats on the jointer! I'm jealous. :D

[Brad Olson]

Is your mobile base maple of pine construction lumber? Just curious because I am debating between buying universal mobile bases or making the Wood design.

For knives, both Freud and Amana sell knives in a vairety of sizes, and their steel lasts more than most OEM knives I have tried. They are worth the small investment of $35, because you knick them less and they don't need to be sharpened as much.

BTW, that looks like a nice Oldie but Goodie!

[Wm Bauserman]

My father gave me the exact same jointer years ago, but luckily, he still has all his finger tips. I like the machine a lot, but mine has a tendency for the tables to go out of parallel. I just picked a nice multi-purpose depth of cut, dialed it in, and pretty much try to never adjust it. It some times requires more passes to get what I want, but I can't complain because it cost me nothing. And I have never had a bit of snipe on this at all.

Enjoy it and remember to not feed it any fingers :)

[Tyler Howell]

I've got one of those with a lot of miles on it. Afraid it only gets used for a lapping plate these days.

[Dan Gill]

Is your mobile base maple of pine construction lumber? Just curious because I am debating between buying universal mobile bases or making the Wood design.

It's hard maple. I had it left over from some other work. I think pine would be a little soft for this application, especially with the wooden rails. So far I really like the base, but I haven't moved it around a lot.

Since I took the picture I have added a dust collection chute to the bottom. It's basically attached to a piece of 1/2 inch ply which is held against the bottom of the jointer by tabs screwed to the base. There is a big gap at the back, but virtually all the shavings go down the chute.

[Dan Gill]

My father gave me the exact same jointer years ago, but luckily, he still has all his finger tips. I like the machine a lot, but mine has a tendency for the tables to go out of parallel. And I have never had a bit of snipe on this at all.

Enjoy it and remember to not feed it any fingers :)

I think the snipe is coming either from tables out of parallel, or the knives being too high. The infeed table is lower than the outfeed, but perhaps it slopes to the infeed side. I adjusted the knives as the manual said, so that they are just slightly higher than the outfeed table. Is that the way your knives are adjusted?

[Steve Clardy]

I think the snipe is coming either from tables out of parallel, or the knives being too high. The infeed table is lower than the outfeed, but perhaps it slopes to the infeed side. I adjusted the knives as the manual said, so that they are just slightly higher than the outfeed table. Is that the way your knives are adjusted?
Looks just like mine. Has lots of miles on it too.
I adjust the knives .001 higher than the outfeed table, as per the manual.

[Jerry Clark]

I have an import and fed it also -- They are hungry and don't care where they come from!:(

[John Shaffner]

I must admit, I also have the same jointer. Mine was given to me by my father in law though. I have never had a lick of problems with it. It does a fine job. As for the blades and snipe, I adjust mine to be about .005" above the outfeed table. But then, I always cut my boards a little longet than needed and trim off the ends.

My father in law also gave me a Craftsman drill press, 6x48 sander, 12" bandsaw, 9" table saw, 1x42" sander a couple of routers, a lathe and some other stuff. That was about 10 yrs ago and he has since become my ex father in law. I am pretty lucky to still have all the tools he gave me as my ex wife wanted me to buy them off her!

John
Madison Woodsmith

[Wm Bauserman]

I think the snipe is coming either from tables out of parallel, or the knives being too high. The infeed table is lower than the outfeed, but perhaps it slopes to the infeed side. I adjusted the knives as the manual said, so that they are just slightly higher than the outfeed table. Is that the way your knives are adjusted?
Yes, my problem is when I get to adjusting the infeed table back and forth, it wants to sag a bit so that it is no longer parallel to the outfeed table. I could adjust it so that it was very close, but I wanted it more exact, so I picked a spot and set it as accurately as I could. Works great, like I said, never had any snipe at all on it when it is setup correctly. Wish I could say the same about my planer.:(

[scott spencer]

Congrats Dan.....hopefully the jointer is "full" and will leave you alone!