Final jointer upgrade

[John Miliunas]

Some of you may remember the Shelix upgrade I did on the DJ20 recently. Today, the power feeder went on. :) After numerous problems with the vendor and more problems getting a special mount made, I finally have it all together. The unit is a Co-Matic AF100, primarily designed for 6 & 8" jointers. (They also have an upscale model for larger jointers.) It looks much like the "Baby Feeder", although it mounts differently, has a different overarm and, for obvious reasons, no "reverse". Also, unlike typical power feeders, it does not have rubber rollers, but instead, gear-like "teeth" to feed the rough stock through and anti-kickback fingers. The motor is a 1/8th HP, variable speed, running on 220VAC.

After I finally received a missing part, as well as a replacement for another broken piece, I thought I was all set. Wrong answer. The unit is primarily designed to mount on your "typical" Taiwan/China jointer, which would have a large portion of the bed's apron going all the way back in toward the middle of the machine. On the DJ20, with the parallelogram design, the apron actually extends into the inside of the cast body of the machine. The closest point, which one may have been able to mount the feeder, would've netted a total of 22" away from the cutterhead. Even though the manufacturer was willing to send me out a longer overarm to do this, I felt the fulcrum point was out way too far and could possibly damage the bed on my jointer. Needless to say, I was not willing to take that chance. I ended up designing a mount, which attaches to the base of the jointer, as well as incorporating an additional mounting point on the body of the jointer to help stabilize the whole thing. Mind you, to the best of my knowledge, such a mod would only be necessary on the DJ20 and possibly other machines with a parallelogram design bed. Most other jointers should accept the stock mount on a beefy part of the bed apron.

Once mounted, adjustment is pretty straightforward and simple. Height adjustment is made by putting your stock on the outfeed side and measuring up 1/8th" to the bottom of the feeder housing. Thus far, I've only run a few pieces through it, just to test it out, but one of them was a fairly gnarly piece of Maple, with a cup and twist to it. She done good! :) In use, it's not much unlike feeding a planer. You don't want to put nearly finished stock through it, though, due to the tiny tooth "pricks", which are on the feed-side surface from the gear-head.

Bottom line: I think I'll like it! Of all the necessary processes in prepping lumber, running rough stock through the jointer had been one of the more painful things for me to do, on account of my advanced arthritis in the thumbs. I also feel it will help in getting more consistent results and is safer, to boot. For those interested, I note that Wilke Machinery carries this particular model. I wish I had found that out *before* I ordered from the vendor I got mine through, as Wilke's service is superior and they even have a better price! Thanks for taking a peek and I'm open for questions, though it may be a bit before I answer, as I have a "date" to watch a movie with my daughter right now! :D :cool:

[Karl Laustrup]

Spring, I'm glad you finally have that puppy up and running. :) I trust it will serve you well and help with the joints.:) :D

Great pics BTW! ;) :D

[Charlie Plesums]

John, Could you expand a bit (pictures, etc.) on how you mounted the power feeder at the side... and how it stores if you are not using it? I have a power feeder that I am struggling to use with the jointer and the shaper on my combo machine, but can't find a good mounting point, since the tables move or are used for multiple functions.

Thanks,
Charlie

[John Weber]

John,

Very nice setup! Enjoy your date night!

John

[Tom LaRussa]

Hey John,

Does that thing have an option for a rosewood knob and tote? :p

[David Eisan]

Hello there,

You have done the two upgrades I have been thinking of, congrats!

What do you think of the new cutterhead? How is tear out?

Anything else you can add about the cutterhead?

Thanks,

David.

[John Renzetti]

Hi John, That's a nice up you have there. You might find that at first getting the pressure of the wheels just right on the outfeed can be just a little tricky. Once you get it set up it will save you time if you have a bunch of stuff to face joint.
For Charlie Plessums.
Charlie, Before Art Liebeskind traded in his CU300 for the Felder, I had a chance to try out both the Hammer and Felder tilt brackets on his machine. There wasn't enough room on the 300, but I think there might be enough room on your 410, especially with the smaller Hammer tilt bracket. Send me some pictures of your outfeed area of the machine with some dimensions of the cast table from the slider side to where the jointer infeed table starts.
If this works there is also a strut assisted lift that lets you lift and lower the power feeder with very little trouble.
take care,
John

[John Miliunas]

Hello there,

You have done the two upgrades I have been thinking of, congrats!

What do you think of the new cutterhead? How is tear out?

Anything else you can add about the cutterhead?

Thanks,

David.
David,

Both upgrades are pretty sweet, but if I were to choose only one, it would be the cutterhead!:) Cherry, Hard Maple, Curly Maple and yes, even BE Maple comes through with zero tearout!:D Having given it some fair use already, I have a hunch I may have hit some real rough knots or some embedded dirt, so I do notice some very slight machine marks, but I don't believe there's a system out there which won't do that to some degree. It's extremely minimal, easily taken care of by a quick swipe of sanding, scraping or hand planing. I sincerely believe the single most positive improvement I've made to the electron burning side of the shop in a long time!:) Just MHO, of course, but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!:D :cool:

[John Miliunas]

John, Could you expand a bit (pictures, etc.) on how you mounted the power feeder at the side... and how it stores if you are not using it? I have a power feeder that I am struggling to use with the jointer and the shaper on my combo machine, but can't find a good mounting point, since the tables move or are used for multiple functions.

Thanks,
Charlie
Charlie, sent you an email...:) :cool:

[Dick Parr]

Congratulations there John, looks like a great set-up. It should save on those hands. ;) Nice job. :)

[Joe Mioux]

Looks really good John, Congrats on the new feeder.

Joe

[Jerry Olexa]

Looks good John. Now your projects will be even more professional!!

[Boyd Gathwright]

Hi John,

.... I too, along with Charlie, would be interested in seeing just how you have it mounted (pics); and if possible get a look at the underside of it just to remove all reservations. Looks very good from the top down. Am as interested as Charlie when you get an opportunity ;).

Thanks

Boyd

.

Some of you may remember the Shelix upgrade I did on the DJ20 recently. Today, the power feeder went on. :) After numerous problems with the vendor and more problems getting a special mount made, I finally have it all together. The unit is a Co-Matic AF100, primarily designed for 6 & 8" jointers. (They also have an upscale model for larger jointers.) It looks much like the "Baby Feeder", although it mounts differently, has a different overarm and, for obvious reasons, no "reverse". Also, unlike typical power feeders, it does not have rubber rollers, but instead, gear-like "teeth" to feed the rough stock through and anti-kickback fingers. The motor is a 1/8th HP, variable speed, running on 220VAC.

After I finally received a missing part, as well as a replacement for another broken piece, I thought I was all set. Wrong answer. The unit is primarily designed to mount on your "typical" Taiwan/China jointer, which would have a large portion of the bed's apron going all the way back in toward the middle of the machine. On the DJ20, with the parallelogram design, the apron actually extends into the inside of the cast body of the machine. The closest point, which one may have been able to mount the feeder, would've netted a total of 22" away from the cutterhead. Even though the manufacturer was willing to send me out a longer overarm to do this, I felt the fulcrum point was out way too far and could possibly damage the bed on my jointer. Needless to say, I was not willing to take that chance. I ended up designing a mount, which attaches to the base of the jointer, as well as incorporating an additional mounting point on the body of the jointer to help stabilize the whole thing. Mind you, to the best of my knowledge, such a mod would only be necessary on the DJ20 and possibly other machines with a parallelogram design bed. Most other jointers should accept the stock mount on a beefy part of the bed apron.

Once mounted, adjustment is pretty straightforward and simple. Height adjustment is made by putting your stock on the outfeed side and measuring up 1/8th" to the bottom of the feeder housing. Thus far, I've only run a few pieces through it, just to test it out, but one of them was a fairly gnarly piece of Maple, with a cup and twist to it. She done good! :) In use, it's not much unlike feeding a planer. You don't want to put nearly finished stock through it, though, due to the tiny tooth "pricks", which are on the feed-side surface from the gear-head.

Bottom line: I think I'll like it! Of all the necessary processes in prepping lumber, running rough stock through the jointer had been one of the more painful things for me to do, on account of my advanced arthritis in the thumbs. I also feel it will help in getting more consistent results and is safer, to boot. For those interested, I note that Wilke Machinery carries this particular model. I wish I had found that out *before* I ordered from the vendor I got mine through, as Wilke's service is superior and they even have a better price! Thanks for taking a peek and I'm open for questions, though it may be a bit before I answer, as I have a "date" to watch a movie with my daughter right now! :D :cool:

[Bruce Page]

Sheesh, between the Shelix head, the nice feeder and the DJ-20 itself, my keyboard has gotten this slimy drool all over it! That is one sweet setup!
Where’s the pic of the mount?

[John Miliunas]

Boyd, Bruce, I sent you guys a PM.:) If any of you other folks are interested in the mount, drop me a PM with your email address and I'll get the info off to you. At this point, I can't vouch for long-term usability and safety of it and would rather not publicize it. Besides, the vendor I purchased it from might like to get a free design and boost their sales a bit more. After the poor, poor customer service I received from them, I'd rather not give them more opportunity to make $$ at my expense.:) :cool:

[Chris Padilla]

LOL...now who's dropping some serious coin on their hobby!! :D

Congrats, John...looks like a winner!

[Christopher Stahl]

Congrats John, looks like an excellent setup. Your making me jealous. ;)

chris

[Alan Turner]

John,
You have had this for awhile now. Do you find that the down pressure of the feeder causes the jointer to be a bit ineffective for badly bowed or twisted stock? IN other words, does it push the bow or twist out of the stock over the cutterhead so that when it exits, you have a smooth sided bow or twist.

I am pushing through a ton of wood for a 10 bench project right now, and a power feeder is looking pretty nice, although I am pretty sure I won't be doing it, and this is really just a quesition of curiosity.

[John Miliunas]

Alan, it does quite nicely with the warped/twisted boards. The caveat with that being, of course, if the board has a "healthy" twist to it, you lose a LOT of material by the time you get a flat surface.:( By the time you then feed it through the planer and take the "mirror" of the twist off, there's not a lot left! :( Typically, when I come across boards with a bad twist, I'll do like most guys do and chop it up into shorter, but still useable lengths before processing. Saves a lot of material and time.:) Hope that answers what you were looking for. If not, drop me another line!:) :cool:

[Jay Knoll]

OK John, you get the prize for a G without using the G word. :D

Seriously I am happy that this lets you keep on making stuff while dealing with your arthritis.

Jay

[Tyler Howell]

How did I miss this the first time??
Congrats.

[John Miliunas]

How did I miss this the first time??
Congrats.

Who knows? You were probably out rompin' around on some tropical isle with scantily clad babes serving you drinks with umbrella's in them!:D (Thanks anyhow!!!):) :cool: