Jointer Gloat with smaller Sibling

[Jeff Sudmeier]

On Friday I "worked" from home so that I could receive my jointer. It came in two peices. One box for the base and one crate for the head and tables.

I got the motor mounted on my lunch and then John Miliunas stopped by after work to help me mount the table. The assembly was very easy. The instructions were easy to follow and intuitive.

I am very happy with this jointer! I put three coats of wax on the fence and tables. Man is it easy to face joint with it now!

The first picture is of the dust collection and the blast gate I made for the new connection. I made it out of the crate the table came in :)

The second picture is a front view of the jointer.

The last picture is the DJ20 with the craftsman it is replacing, slight difference huh!!?!?

[Matt Meiser]

That's a little bit of an upgrade!

I'm doing the same today--expecting the truck any time in the next 6 hours.

[Jim Becker]

A mighty fine upgrade, Jeff!!

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Now I am just wondering if I am going to have to change my signature!!

I do still have a craftsman table saw, planer and drill press. So I suppose I can leave it for now. Ohh and behind the jointer you can see my HF DC. Gasp! :)

[Joe Mioux]

Jeff
Congrtulations on the new jointer. That is quite an upgrade from your previous jointer. I hope you have many satisfying woodworking years with it.


Joe

[John Miliunas]

Hey, that looks familiar!:) Now all you need is the power feeder and Shelix and you're set for bear!:D Congrats. I'm sure you'll enjoy the heck out of it and probably find it to be just a tad more useful than the little pocket version you had before!:D :rolleyes: :cool:

[Mark Singer]

Jeff,

That is a great jointer! I have the DJ 20 and really like it! It is a great stable, dependable machine.

[Kent Parker]

Nice looking runway Jeff. What influenced your decision with Delta??


KP

[Karl Laustrup]

Very nice, Jeff. :) Next is the Shelix cutter head. :)

I don't see the LT24 in the picture anywhere? ;) :D :D Are you hiding it? ;)

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Very nice, Jeff. :) Next is the Shelix cutter head. :)

I don't see the LT24 in the picture anywhere? ;) :D :D Are you hiding it? ;)

SHH!!! That one is coming!! If you look really closely at the last picture you can spot it.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Nice looking runway Jeff. What influenced your decision with Delta??


KP
Kent,

Belive it or not, price! :) I was looking at the Powermatic Parallelogram as well, but it's price was about $1600, about the same as the X5 DJ20.

The Non-x5 dj20 cost me just over $1250 delivered to my door. Also, I have seen many dj20's in action, but never a new powermatic. I decided that I would go with what I know works, not something new(which is probably just fine).

I had looked at the Grizzly jointers and I probably would have bought one, had Amazon not gotten the Non - X5 back in stock.

I am at a point in tool buying, where I want to buy tools that will last, becuase I have the tools to get by.

[JayStPeter]

Nice machine!

Jay

[David Fried]

Nice. I'm drooling. You were the last person with jointer small than my ancient Sears. Now I've got you to the west and Lou to the east ... I can feel the pressure!

You did nice work with the old jointer, I can't wait to see what you do with the new one.

[JOSEPH GOVEA]

Jeff congrats on your new jointer, I just received mine last week and set it up this past weekend. Still need to run 220 to the shop. I have one question did your knives come already set level to the out feed table or did you have to adjust them:confused: Any how have fun.

[Dan Racette]

The baby brother must be very very jealous!

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hi Jeff, Nice upgrade; have fun with the new toy. But I don't see another jointer in the picture. Where's it at? I don't see anything. :)

But seriously how did you get the jointer on its base? That thing must weigh a ton. My neighbor has one and every time I see it I think: aircraft carrier. It just looks like the deck of one. Alan

[Michael Gabbay]

Jeff - That's one nice table for the little jointer! Looks rock solid. :D

Beautiful upgrade. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Mike

[Jeff Sudmeier]

David, thank you for the compliment! Also, sorry that I upgraded. The old craftsman did the job, you just had to pay attention to what you were doing. There was a certain nack to where you put pressure, to get the results you wanted.

Joseph, mine are not level. I am going to be buying a knive setting gauge by this weekend, to get them perfect. They are close, but not good enough.

Dan, The baby brother is very jealous. Especially after I put him back in the box he came in, in prep for selling it.

[John Hart]

I got the motor mounted on my lunch and then John Miliunas stopped by after work to help me mount the table....

...So how did your lunch taste after you got it out from under the motor?

Seriously though...Congratulations Jeff!!...I fear that I can use your signature if you're all done with it.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Hi Jeff, Nice upgrade; have fun with the new toy. But I don't see another jointer in the picture. Where's it at? I don't see anything. :)

But seriously how did you get the jointer on its base? That thing must weigh a ton. My neighbor has one and every time I see it I think: aircraft carrier. It just looks like the deck of one. Alan
Alan,

John Miliunas was gracious enough to stop by after work and help out. We just did the old armstrong method... heave ho! The table weighs over 300 lbs, the base another 100.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Jeff - That's one nice table for the little jointer! Looks rock solid. :D

Beautiful upgrade. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Mike
Mike,

That table sure was expensive, but man is it worth it! The craftsman just moved around too much till I got that delta anchor for it! Taping the cast iron to mount the craftsman took some time, but all in all it has been a great upgrade! That little 6 inch really works great with a better base!

LOL, I wouldn't dream of it! :)

[Dan Forman]

Jeff---Glad you finally got it, I remember there were a bunch of us looking at jointers at around the same time. So there is a big honkin bandsaw yet to come?

Dan

[John Renzetti]

Hi Jeff, Congrats on the DJ-20 purchase. That's a nice solid machine that will last you a long time.
Took me a little bit to find it, but is the kipp lever that is just visible on the right side of the picture by any chance have a big Laguna LT24 attached to it.
take care,
John

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Ya'll will just have to hold your horses for the next big gloat! No one has guessed it right, but you are darn close!

[John Miliunas]

Ya'll will just have to hold your horses for the next big gloat! No one has guessed it right, but you are darn close!

Oh,oh, oh, I know...I know!!! :D :D :D (Yeah, I'll keep my big yap shut!:rolleyes: ):) :cool:

[Alan See]

Jeff, Congrats on the new jointer! Was it born last night? How long are they dependant on mamma? I guess when the time comes for solid food you'll start it out on balsa?:D

[Per Swenson]

Great Machine!
It is Christmas in the spring around here.
A conversation with my son earlier in the
week went something like this.....
Hunter, what do they have in the high school shop?
DJ-20?
No Dad, that hip hop rap stuff is so last year.
I swear, I will never learn.
Good luck Jeff!

Per

[Bernie Weishapl]

Hey Jeff, now what are we going to do with you?:rolleyes: With the new saw and new jointer we won't be able to get you down off the clouds now. Congrats.


Bernie

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Hey Jeff, now what are we going to do with you?:rolleyes: With the new saw and new jointer we won't be able to get you down off the clouds now. Congrats.


Bernie
:) Don't you worry Bernie, I still have a craftsman Planer, Table saw, drill press, SCMS and a few other odd's and ends. My DC is from Harbor Freight. I won't be up in the clouds for some time :)

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Jeff, Congrats on the new jointer! Was it born last night? How long are they dependant on mamma? I guess when the time comes for solid food you'll start it out on balsa?:D
Started her out on cherry. She did a mighty fine job, minus the knives needing to be zeroed in. :)

I think I already have the craftsman sold. A guy at work makes a bunch of small crafts and it interested in it.

[Gary Sutherland]

Wow! Can you really make a small jointer better by running it through a big jointer??

Congrats!

Gary

[JOSEPH GOVEA]

Hi Jeff, let me know which knife set you get as I will need one to set my jointer. I noticed that they are a bit out of alignment. Thanks.

[Dev Emch]

Hi Jeff...

We are talking about forcing you to change your name. How about

Jeff "The Normite" Sudmeier......

Seriously, that is a nice stick jointer. I never really could figure out what that X5 jazz was about and I think your version looks cleaner. Also, for several years now, all delta jointers and planers have been manufactured in a dedicated, ISO 9001 plant in taiwan. They have gotten pretty good at making these. I also like the parallogram system. The nice thing about these is that 1). with no dedicated ways, the bushings and bearings tend to move smoother over time and esp between uses when its sat for a while. and 2). no matter how deep a cut you take, the infeed lip remains a constant distance from the knives. Many of the euro jointers are also using this system now and I think its set the standard to beat for the future.

One thing you should do is examine how the both tables are attached to the jointer. Think about how to adjust these with shims if needed. Also, take a straight edge and check both tables for flatness and warp. If there is an issue, now is the time to fix it. Lastly, check the outfeed table to infeed table for parallel. Get the two tables set even to each other so the lips are on the EXACT level to one another. Then use a straight edge to check how parallel they are.

Now onto the cutter head, knives and what not. I use two tools on jointers regardless of size. The first tool is the Oneway Multi-Gauge. Its a good tool that can be used for all sorts of woodworking related stuff so you can get some milage out of it. Rotate the cutter head until you have a flat section with no gibs showing. Then place a strip of tape about 6 or so inches back on the outfeed table and another one about the same distance back up the fence. Using a square, mark a fine pencil line up the fence and exactly square to the fence out onto the table. Drawing on the tape. This is a reference datum. Now keep the back edge of the multi guage on this line and with the indicator plunger set on the cylinder, set the indicator to zero. At this point, the fence is all the way back and the multi is backed up next to the fence. Move the multi to the middle of the outfeed table and set it up on the reference datum. Take a reading off your indicator and write this down. Repeat with the multi on the front of the table. Now, look at your readings. They should all be pretty close to zero. This will tell you if your cutter axis is parallel to the outfeed table. It should be, if not, you should fix this. If your happy with this stage, move on to the next stage.

Install your knives according to the manf. instrux. Now with the tape off the table, use the second tool I like. Setting knives on a jointer with a cylinder in parallel to the outfeed table is best done using a Woodstock Jointer Pal. For an 8 inch jointer, you only need one and it should get you within 0.001 inches which is close enough for government work.... no seriously, that is more than close enough. I got mine from woodcraft and mine are for steel knives. If you use carbide or carbide tip knives, you will need a special model. Follow the instructions in the box.

You are now ready to terrorize some trees! Your knives are set within ONE Thousandths of an inch relative to your outfeed table lip and the axis of your cutter head is parallel to the outfeed lip and your infeed lip is parallel to your outfeed lip. That means no infeed draft. Your outfeed and infeed tables are parallel to each other so that means no convex or concave cuts.

Have you turned on your machine yet? Dont you love that quiet precise humm you get from a nicely tuned and balanced jointer?

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Gary, You have to buy special knives to run it through, but man does it make a difference! :)

Joseph, I will be trying out the Jointer Pal that Dev mentions, I will let you know how it turns out.

Dev, Thanks for the detailed instructions. I will be doing more adjustments tonight.