Fussing with a Craftsman 113 Jointer - worth it?

[Jim Underwood]

This past weekend I finally decided to get my old Craftsman model 113 Jointer in shape and square up a few boards. It's been sitting next to the tablesaw long enough. I cleaned the rust off the tables and fence. Then I set the knives. I also checked the table alignment - off of course, but I think fairly easily adjusted. Then I set the fence to square. The fence is easily the most iffy thing about it. I ran a board through a couple passes and it looked pretty good. Square and nice clean cut. Then I tried to surface a 2" wide piece of Maple, and when it had gone through about five times...

Well, let's just say the fence seems to be a piece of crap. The board had a twist in it because the fence hadn't stayed put. And won't, no matter how tight I twist that big knob.
For those of you unfamiliar with this, the fence is "attached" to the table at one end with the angle adjusting mechanism and one bolt with a big knob on it. The other "attachment" point is another knob that passed through a piece of slotted sheet metal at the middle of the fence.

Here's the diagram:
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My question is, does anyone have experience with this model and is it worth fooling with?

[glenn bradley]

You don't mention which plane is getting lost by the fence; perpendicular to the table I assume(?). If the fence tries to tilt despite the big knob being tight, I would suspect that the big knob is not providing a firm grip on that mechanism. You could slip an extra washer over the shaft to assure you are not running out of thread. With the tilt controlled and the mid-fence stop in place I would expect to get decent results from anything not too big for the tool; I would think maybe 24" in length is starting to push it. On larger machines I use support stands and so forth to stabilize the travel path of longer material when I need the length in the end product. The more material that is off the table/supports during feed, the more unreliable the results can get. For the initial facing passes, the fence is less important.

I often guide pieces across the cutterhead without even touching the fence for the initial face jointing operation. The outfeed table is your reference surface during the initial face cut. If the fence in introducing the problem before you get to the second (perpendicular) face/edge, this could reduce the influence of the fence on your result. The second cut relies on the fence and the outfeed as the reference surfaces to true the cut. Your fence, if at fault, will make itself know during this operation.

As to the viability of restoring the little guy; you would have to determine how often you joint lumber. If it is not often, but important when done, you could watch for a lightly used 6" machine. They are often on the market being sold by folks like me who despite all warnings, bought a 6" anyway and then lost money on it when upgrading to an 8" or 12" machine . . . but, I am wandering :o. If jointing is a seldom performed task I would try to limp the current machine along. I am not sure what "repairs" could be done to resolve your symptoms unless the fence mechanism is just shot. I know . . . big help :rolleyes:.

[Jim Underwood]

To answer your question, the fence is not staying perpendicular to the table. And no it's not running out of threads. That would be an easy fix, yes? But it's not the problem. There are plenty of threads left.

My opinion is that the fence system is not very good. The model 351 seems to be a much better setup. It was sold as a Rigid for some years I think. May still be for all I know. I do know there's one available nearby. But before I run out and get another jointer, I'm wondering if this fence can be made to co-operate- or if it's just not worth it.

As for how often I joint lumber... well, never, to be exact. But that's because I haven't had this thing working yet. If I did, I'd use it...

If someone has one of these and has successfully gotten that fence to co-operate, I'd love to hear from them...

[Chris Rosenberger]

I owned one for a short time back in the mid 70s. I bought it new from Sears & ended up returning it. I was setting up my first shop at the time. I had used a 6" Delta jointer in high school. I could not afford to buy a Delta jointer & thought the Craftsman would do. The fence was the weakest point & I also think it had a warped table. I ended up buying a used Atlas jointer. The body of the Atlas was a similar design to the Craftsman, but it had a much nicer fence. I used the Atlas jointer until 1989.

[Jim Underwood]

You took it back brand new? Wow. :eek: That says a lot right there. So you'd probably vote to just dump this one and get another?

[Jim Laumann]

Jim

I've got one of those jointers, have owned it since the late 70's - haven't had issues - yet. My fence seems to stay put. I will admit that I don't use it alot, and when I do, it's mainly for shorter boards - lets call them 4-5' or less. Have cut both bevel and sqaure edges with it.

I have the owners manual for mine if that would be of help to you.

Jim

[Jim Underwood]

Oh I can get the owners manual. That's not a problem. But thanks for the offer.

Your's isn't the 351 is it? I just can't imagine the 113 fence staying in place....

Here's the 351:

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And here's the 113:



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[Thomas Hotchkin]

Jim
I had a Craftsman 113 back in the early 70's ran a lot of wood through it. No problems with that fence, but lots with in-feed table, had to have both tables surfaced. On my fourth jointer now. And no other Craftsman tools other then some wrenches, I got them in the 70's also. Tom

[Jim Underwood]

Really? I must be doing something wrong... I'll print out the owners manual and try it again.

[Gordon Eyre]

Jim, I bought a 113 too many years ago to remember when it was. Last year I went completely through it and cleaned it up, lubed it and sharpened the blades. While it works better and gives a smooth cut, the fence is definitely a problem. For every job I do I have to ensure that the fence is set right and even then it is often off; i.e., not at 90 degrees. I am currently looking for a replacement.

[Ron Kellison]

I had one of these for about 20 years and never really had a problem with it beyond setting the knives after I had them sharpened. However, I am a bit anal so each time I started a session I would check the fence with a good square and tweak it if necessary. Generally speaking, mine would hold the setting. I got rid of it about 5 years ago and just recently replaced it with an old Wheatley 8" with a 44" bed. I'm in the process of restoring that little beast as we speak. I missed the old Craftsman occasionally but not enough to go out and get another one.

[Richard Coers]

I vote it's a boat anchor. I also had one in the late 70's. There's a bunch of chinese jointers that are even better than that one, and that's not saying much. Put it on Craigslist.

[Jim Underwood]

Well it's a tie. 3 against it, 3 for it.


Would anyone buy the 351 instead of the 113?

I know where one is for about $250.

[Myk Rian]

I have an old C-man jointer in the back of my truck. I use it for weight.
That's about the only use I can figure for it.

[Paul Murphy]

Jim, as an inexpensive possible fix to the jointer you already own have you considered fabricating a rigid fixed fence bolted/epoxied to the skirt of the jointer base?
You would lose the 45 degree adjustment and the lateral shift adjustment, but for many folks that wouldn't matter as they seldom if ever use those functions.

You could saw/rasp vertical ribs of wood (or metal if you have the tools) to conform to the base, then shim and glue and or bolt the fence to those ribs. With a little work and craftsmanship I believe it will serve most of your needs without being an eyesore.

The longer I pursue this hobby the more I am convinced we become home-boy tool-and-die makers to build our jigs and overcome the limitations of our existing tools. :D

[Jim Underwood]

I have an old C-man jointer in the back of my truck. I use it for weight.
That's about the only use I can figure for it.

:p
HAH! Thanks for the laugh...

[Jim Underwood]

Paul,

One of the guys in the cabinet shop suggested welding the fence to the outfeed table... :rolleyes:

[Jim Laumann]

Maybe I got lucky and got a good one, but mine has survived a move in a commerical moving van and being moved out of my basement in to my current shop . Jointed some wood last week - it was dead on square - checked after I did the jointing.

Jim

[Gary Muto]

I had one like that but it was built in the 1990's. The knob/nut that clamps the sheet metal support has a spherical end on it. There should be a complimentary shaped (concave hemisphere) plastic washer that goes between the knob and the metal bracket with the slot. On the bottom side of the bracket there is a nut threaded on the shaft with a washer placed between that nut and the slotted bracket. Bottom line, if the washers that are on either side of the slotted bracket are missing you will not get any clamping. If all parts are intact the support is sufficient.

I'm sorry if this isn't clear but I no longer have the jointer or manual or I would provide an image.