Jointer question for the SMC pro's...

[John Harris]

I am restoring a very old DURO jointer. The knives just rest in a groove and are held in place by the gibs. They do not touch the bottom of the grooves. There are no leveling screws. At least that's the case with the knives that were in there when I got the machine.

My question is... couldn't I just by wider knives that would rest at the bottom of the groove. This seems that it would make adjustments/replacement significantly easier. Even if the bottom of the groove wasn't square to the table, raising one end of the knife would be easire then trying to balance the knife in the air before tightening.

Does this make sense?

[Bruce Page]

John, it sounds like you have a good excuse to buy a set of Jointer Pals and it would be a lot cheaper than a new set of custom blades.
Hartville sells them: http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11094

[John Harris]

I did see a similar product, but wasn't sure if this was "gimmicky" or if folks are really using it.

Fortunately, the blades I thinking of using are off the shelf items.


Thanks, Bruce.

[Per Swenson]

I made my own.
I took a piece of 1/4 plate glass 5 1/4 x 12"
and super glue 4 rare earth magnets to it.
2 to hold the glass to the outfeed table 2 to snatch
the knives.
Per

[Bruce Page]

I did see a similar product, but wasn't sure if this was "gimmicky" or if folks are really using it.

Fortunately, the blades I thinking of using are off the shelf items.


Thanks, Bruce.
John, I bought a pair of "Planner Pals" for my 15" planner after struggling trying to set the blades with the OEM jig. The Planner Pals worked great.
Be sure to post some pictures of your restored jointer!

[Bill Lewis]

I had to buy a set of planer pals to use on my old jointer. It didn't have leveling screws, or an adjustable outfeed. It worked pretty well. I haven't have the need to use it on my PM yet.

[larry merlau]

I made my own.
I took a piece of 1/4 plate glass 5 1/4 x 12"
and super glue 4 rare earth magnets to it.
2 to hold the glass to the outfeed table 2 to snatch
the knives.
Per

hey per. on your jointer glass jig, did you put the mags on top so that the glass is touching the table and the knives come up to the same plane.? as i understood it i could see a mag thickness causing troubles otherwize. just a differnt picture in my mind perhaps :confused:

[Per Swenson]

Sorry If I confuse Larry,
The internet can be confusing
and in my hubris I assume people know
what I am talking about.
The glass I had.
Magnets too.
Same with the glue.
Construction time, 1 minute.
100% effective.
The magnets go up.
It is so cool when the knives "pink" against the glass.
Time to adjust the knives, as fast as you can
quarter turn the gib bolt.
Hope this helps those who don't need another gadget.
Per

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Per,

That is a great idea thanks for sharing it!

[Michael McCoy]

per - If you haven't already done so, you ought to submit that idea to the WW magazines. That's about as simple and effective an idea as I've seen.

[John Harris]

Per - thanks for the new explanation. I had the idea backwards also. I am heading to the store in ten minutes for my magnets.


Ps...I also liked your thoughts on people hard selling their favorite ideas from another thread.

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

And to think for 30 years, I was borrowing two bar magnets from the science department. Now why didn't they have this "new fangled" stuff when I was teaching. E! gads! :D
Some people are just dumb and then there is me. In another world.
Daniel
Per, what a GREAT idea. Now remember to hold the magnets close to the front edge of the glass, that the knives are "plinking up to", so that you can get the wrench down in to tighten the nuts. Or is that just a given - huh?

[Dev Emch]

Hi John...
In a nutshell, NO! Cutting knives is not easy as they are hardened steel. Easy to make a mess of things, hard to do it neat and with accuracy.

Then you need to consider that each time you sharpen your knives, you loose a bit when they come back from the sharpener.

You also need to consider how much of a projection you wish to have. Not enough and you polish your cutter cylinder with your work. To much and the knives can break off and make a huge amount of noise. This is windage at work. On larger machines, this projection is about 3/32 inch. You need to consult your makers manual to find this. This projection works for my oliver and porter jointers and planers.

Then you need to consider that the knives not only need the right projection but need to be parallel to the outfeed table. You can take up a tiny bit of cutter axis misalignment by keeping one side higher than the other. The important thing is that the knife TIPS are parallel to the outfeed table.

The problem with relying on jointer pals or Per's clever idea is that your outfeed table height has to be set just right to maintain the correct projection. One way to check this is to use a straight edge in the middle of the outfeed table spanning the cutter head cylinder. Raise the outfeed table or lower it until you can stick a 3/32 inch feeler gage under the staight edge and the cylinder. Now you can use your jointer pals or Per magnetic glass. But also try your best to evenly clamp the jig when you make it so that the glue layer under all four magnets is the same thickness otherwise your projection will vary by this amount.

Not all jointers have lifting screws. In fact, virutally all olivers do not have these. Instead, there is a hole where the lifting screw would go but no provisions for a lifting screw. One method I use to set blades on both my oliver planer and oliver jointer is to use the following gizzmo. This is home made mini slide hammer. You install the knife and finger tighten the gib bolts. Just tight enough to keep the kife from dropping down. Then using a indicator, carfefully and with finese pop the hammer until the knife comes into place. Do this along all three holes along each knife.

If your using jointer pals or planer pals, you should engrave or wright down or do something to maintain your projection settings. The big issue with these items is that they assume you have not pulled a knife and that the knife is at its correct projection. Not always a safe assumption. These are hard to set if your working from scratch.

I have also found the Oneway multi gage handy for working on jointers. This is esp. true when checking and adjusting alignment of the cutter head axis to the outfeed table lip and in setting knife projections. I also use jointer pals as needed as well. In addition, a good machinist's straight edge is a godsend when it comes to working on jointers! Jointers are simple machines but they can be a rightous pain if your not dialing them in accurately. This is why I do not reccommend the independent way jointers to newbies. Its hard enough to dial in a powermatic wedge bed or delta DJ parallelogram jointer. Independents like the oliver 166 and the general 12 and 16 inch jointers can be very frustrating for those who have never done this before.

Best of luck...

[Dev Emch]

I just read that Per is using super glue. This is good as its thin nature speads out annd minimizes the glue layer. When I saw this done the first time, the person had used silicone rubber. Needless to say, he had a variety of issues.

[Per Swenson]

Mr Emch wrote,
"But also try your best to evenly clamp the jig when you make it so that the glue layer under all four magnets is the same thickness otherwise your projection will vary by this amount."


Lets not make this complicated. The glass rests on the outfeed table,
the magnets on top of the glass. Glue thickness will not interfere
with the magnetic force, the glass is flat. Take another look at the picture.


Daniel,
the glass is not as wide as the knives.
this way with the fence off you can catch both outside nuts.
Its easier to hold the magnets back 3/8ths or so to
catch TDC.

Folks, thank you all for your kind words, but this is not a original idea
and my apologys for not stating that.
For the life of me I can not remember where it came from,
but I am sure its been around as long as the 1958 delta jointer
pictured. To submit it would be plagarism.

Thank you all.
Per

[Ray Bersch]

Now you can use your jointer pals or Per magnetic glass.

Make that Per Magnetic Glass and you've got a new product!! Cool.

Now, Per, your modesty is to be admired, but no one else has mentioned that they use the idea, in fact even a retired teacher lamented about not using the idea during his - how long? - teaching career....sooooo.....submit the idea to the magazine that gives the best prizes and when it is delivered to you I'll stop by and pick it up - wouldn't want you to feel guilty about getting something for nothing...........(and, this way, you let the magazine figure out if it is an original idea)

Sure beats arguing about Festool vs EZ Guide - anyone want to talk about high wing planes vs low wing planes (airplanes, that is) or Army vs Marine Corps - nope, can't got there, there is no comparison.;)

[Dev Emch]

In reviewing Mr. Swenson's work, I must correct myself. I have seen this method used the opposite way with the magnets down. Mr. Swenson has his upward. I would still use super glue. This trick will work. But make sure your magnets are centered over top dead center of the cylinder. Sorry about this oversight.

I also saw this trick published in fine woodworking magazine but I dont recall if the magnets were up or down.

As I said, I dont use this method because its difficult to maintain a precise projection while at the same time trying to maintain parallelism with the outfeed table.

My statements are based on working with a 24 inch oliver 166 and a 20 inch porter 300 jointer. Clearly more difficult to deal with than a 6 inch grizzly. These jointers are literally dialed in and shimmed out to within +/- 0.001 inch accuracy as read by dial indicator. If I am missing something here, please let me know about.

[Dan Oelke]

Per,

Don't be so modest - I haven't seen that, and I probably do more reading than building <sigh>.

Send it in, complete with the fact that you use a narrow enough piece of glass to get at the outside screws. Put in the description that you got the idea from someone long ago, but can't remember where/when you got it.

As someone who is on the front line against plagiarism (I teach one college course) I can say that I wouldn't consider it plagiarism if it is something you use and can describe that well - especially if it is something you learned long ago. That is retelling of knowledge. By telling them you learned the method from someplace else long ago you finish the job by being completely truthful. After all - plagiarism is really just lieing. Specifically lieing about if you came up with some words/idea on your own. By fulling disclosing the truth you aren't plagiarising.

[John Harris]

Lots of great thoughts. Thanks a bunch.


I am heading down the road of using Per's idea. I am going to add a quick jig to easily set the outfeed table 3/32" higher then the cutting cylinder as Dev suggested.

[John Hart]

Per's concerns are legit, in that he is honorable enough to say that he got the idea somewhere else. And I would agree if the idea had been lost to time, it's worth publishing. So in Per's behalf, I ran a search and came up with this. Found it at Fourtunecity.com. Edit: Now, as Greg Mann points out in a future post, this setup is somewhat incorrect as it does not address the issue as stated by Dev earlier. The height of the outfeed surface is crucial when making this adjustment. please refer to Dev's post regarding the height considerations.

<TABLE style="WIDTH: 309px; HEIGHT: 293px" cellSpacing=5 borderColorDark=#ffffff cellPadding=2 rules=none width=309 align=left borderColorLight=#00ff00 border=1 frame=box VSPACE="0" HSPACE="0"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=200 bgColor=#ff6600 height=213>This jig makes it easy to get your jointer knives "right"



A 3/8" piece of glass and 4 "Rare Earth" magnets and some Super Glue or epoxy are all that's needed. Glue the 4 magnets as shown, and set the jig on the outfeed table as shown. The magnets hold the jig to the table and hold the knives in the correct position for you to tighten the knive holding screws.


</TD><TD vAlign=top><NOBR>http://members.fortunecity.com/woodmangler/0aaa9c80.jpg


</NOBR>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Ray Bersch]

John Hart quote: "Per's concerns are legit, in that he is honorable enough to say that he got the idea somewhere else. And I would agree if the idea had been lost to time, it's worth publishing. So in Per's behalf, I ran a search and came up with this. Found it at Fourtunecity.com"

Darn, there goes my free tool. Oh, well, I'll settle for a good idea.
Ray

[Per Swenson]

Folks,
Please remember this method is older then
Al Gores internet.
This style jointer head is from 1939.
Now I am pretty sure the real old geezers
(like my father) had this figured out about a month after.
Although I did ask him where I found the info,
all he said was, " Per, I have no Idea where you come
up with half the stuff you do"
I think he was referring to something else.
Thanks for trying,
Per

[Greg Mann]

John,

That was a good find but the drawing is deceptive. As per knows and Dev pointed out, it is important to have the blade at Top Dead Center. The drawing does not make that clear and, in fact, shows the setup improperly. I know you are not responsible for this erroeous drawing but, since it is your post, you might want to edit it to point to oversight out. If I am being to presumptuous here please feel free to tell me so. ;)

Greg



Per's concerns are legit, in that he is honorable enough to say that he got the idea somewhere else. And I would agree if the idea had been lost to time, it's worth publishing. So in Per's behalf, I ran a search and came up with this. Found it at Fourtunecity.com

<TABLE style="WIDTH: 309px; HEIGHT: 293px" cellSpacing=5 borderColorDark=#ffffff cellPadding=2 rules=none width=309 align=left borderColorLight=#00ff00 border=1 frame=box VSPACE="0" HSPACE="0"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=200 bgColor=#ff6600 height=213>This jig makes it easy to get your jointer knives "right"



A 3/8" piece of glass and 4 "Rare Earth" magnets and some Super Glue or epoxy are all that's needed. Glue the 4 magnets as shown, and set the jig on the outfeed table as shown. The magnets hold the jig to the table and hold the knives in the correct position for you to tighten the knive holding screws.


</TD><TD vAlign=top><NOBR>http://members.fortunecity.com/woodmangler/0aaa9c80.jpg


</NOBR>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[John Hart]

Ok...I think I got it right. Thanks Greg. This is probably too important to get it wrong.

[Greg Mann]

Ok...I think I got it right. Thanks Greg. This is probably too important to get it wrong.

Boy, you sure did John! What is it we always hear? Make sure you read the fine print? :D

Greg

[Per Swenson]

Thanks Greg, Thanks John,
More hubris again,
I figure you own one , you know that.
That is what truly makes this forum one of a kind.
Per

[Mikey Aitchison]

and after 3 long years of frustration with my Jet 6" jointer, TODAY, I finally achieved a very nice even setting for my 3 blades. I was just about to purchase a setting jig, i'm glad I didn't. Thanks to Per for the great suggestion and picture. I found the glass at home depot for 1.72, the magnets at Fry's for 6.99 and I had the super glue. It took a few minutes to make the jig, then only 10 minutes to set the blades. AMAZING. I did set the blade side magnets fairly close to the edge of the glass ( about 3/8" off the lip). I cut the glass to about 5.5" wide. I found it very easy to loosen the holding bolts, and by placing my left hand on the glass, I was assured the blades did not move while I tightened the bolts. I am jumping with joy.:p

[Alan Turner]

[QUOTE=Dev Emch;182994]Hi John...
I

Not all jointers have lifting screws. In fact, virutally all olivers do not have these. Instead, there is a hole where the lifting screw would go but no provisions for a lifting screw. One method I use to set blades on both my oliver planer and oliver jointer is to use the following gizzmo. This is home made mini slide hammer. You install the knife and finger tighten the gib bolts. Just tight enough to keep the kife from dropping down. Then using a indicator, carfefully and with finese pop the hammer until the knife comes into place. Do this along all three holes along each knife.


Dev,
Dev,
We have a 20" Oliver #166. I believe the Oliver's holes you mention are for a knife puller, which is sort of like a crochet hook with a screw. Loosen, and pull the knives, and then tap them back down with a special knife setting block, which gets them both to the right height, and parallel to the cutter head. The knife setting block pushes on the bevel, not the sharp edge, and works well. Oliver still has these, or will make them for you. We use these when we need to grind the knives, which we do on the machine. Ours came with the original Oliver grinder. Takes about 30 - 45 min. to grind the knives and joint them. Sort of an interesting process.

[Chris Parks]

A thread from the dead! I recently had to do this job on my Wadkins Bursgreen jointer. I had put it off for three years, I knew they needed doing, but it had not been used so I ignored the job until I absolutely had to due to all the horror stories I had heard. WB have been really clever, they provide a setting gauge which sits on the rotating head and automatically sets the height. The reason it is so simple is that the knives sit on springs and push the knives up to the setting gauge and it takes two minutes to do two knives. I have never seen the head of another jointer but would it be possible to put a length of foam rubber under the knives, push them in, set the height using a gauge on the roller head and then pull the foam out from underneath? This would create a push the knives against the gauge and life becomes so simple after that. It might be heresy, but I suspect the foam could be left in there with no ill effect, as it is light and no matter what happened it couldn't really escape.

[Darius Ferlas]

Folks, thank you all for your kind words, but this is not a original idea
and my apologys for not stating that.
For the life of me I can not remember where it came from,
but I am sure its been around as long as the 1958 delta jointer
pictured. To submit it would be plagarism.

Thank you all.
Per
To me this is still a Swenson Jig, and the thread very much worth refreshing.

I made a version of the jig (added extra magnets) and it worked like a charm. Before that the torturous attempts to set the knives with a dial indicator took me over 3 hours and the result was iffy at best. With the Swenson Jig I was done in 10 minutes and the jointed faces are perfect.

Thank you.

[glenn bradley]

I did as Per describes when I set the knives in my dad's jointer recently. Generally, most of us will have the stuff required (or something close enough) on hand. I just blue-taped the magnets in place on an old piece of 1/4" glass shelf and the jig worked fine. I set all three knives very quickly and I hadn't touched a knifed jointer in quite some time. Having the right wrench handy (a thin version worked best for me in not bumping things while I was working . . . not that I'm a klutz or anything) will speed you along.

[Bill White]

Per has it dead on. I am getting more and more befuddled with all the "trinket" stuff a WWer can buy to accomplish work that should fall under the header of craftsmanship. Let's see....A digital, left handed, overhead projecting, flat tape measuring device that will adjust your TS, DP, Jointer, planer, and all hand planes. All this, and cooking supper at the same time...available in NEW TITANIUM SILVER (is that an oxymoron?).
Now I feel better. I think I'll go adjust my jointer knives.:rolleyes:
Bill

[Chip Lindley]

Setting knives in old jointers without jack screws has been a sore point for many years. I suffered with an old Milwaukee/Delta 6" jointer for for too long. A little finess had to be used to find the sweet spot where the gibs just barely held the knive in place, so it could be pryed up or pushed down at the perfect height.

Jack screws for knife levelling was a great addition! Next best is the simple glass & magnet fixture in this thread. Too bad it won't work for a planer like my old Rockwell RC33.

[Dennis Lopeman]

Dang... This does seem like a better way to do something I found yesterday.

A block of wood on end with 3 "domino" magnets under it. Glue it up on your flat jointer bed. And the use it just like the Swenson Jig. You need two...

I'm made them last night and will try them out... in some Purty crotch black walnut scraps I had! But wood moves, so ...

I proly end up with a Swenson Jig down the road...

OH - so one question I'm not clear on... How HIGH should the blades stick out?? Was it 3/32" ?

[Dennis Lopeman]

ok - so I am now home and I tried using this other jig which operates under the same principal as the Swenson Jig.

My problem is, I think, what is TDC, Top Dead Center. I'll hunt around on google in my usual fashion...

I do get the knives to "clink" up to the magnets, but as I rotate the cutter head, they change their distance OUT of the recess.

I'm guessing if I rotate the cutter head to the same point at every knife, then that would work. But there still must be some measure of error...

[Chris Parks]

TDC is where the knives are highest when the drum is turned. When the knives are fixed in the drum and the drum is turned so the knives reach their highest point above the table that is TDC. To plot that point lay a piece of wood on the out feed table, turn the drum until the knives appear visually to be at their highest point and lower the table until the wood touches the blade. By adjusting both the table and the drum you will reach a point where the knives just slightly drag on the wood. It is far simpler than what it sounds and if you can mark the drum against a mark on the side of it then you will always have a reference and save a bit of stuffing around. This is done before the blunt knives are pulled out otherwise there is no reference and the stuffing around becomes even longer and all that depends on the blunt knives being set properly anyway. Life was not meant to be easy.;)

[Dennis Lopeman]

I found TDC...

Allow me to redirect to this thread:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1406239&posted=1#post1406239

[Dennis Lopeman]

oh - and incase you don't go to the other thread... this GLASS SWENSON JIG works Great!!!! Find your TDC, Top Dead Center, and align the blade tip to TDC while setting. I got a VERY smooth surface that required VERY little sanding to complete.

[Joe Jensen]

I had a magnetic jointer knife setting jig but found that the knife would creep up when I tightened the gib screw the last little bit. With a dial indicator on the planer I would tighten and loosen each gib to see how much it moved the knife, and then move the knife so that the creep would move the knife into the right position.

When you use the magnetic jigs, are you checking after to see if the knife creep happened? I experienced this with an old 6" Craftsman jointer, a PM60 jointer, and a PM100 planer.

[Dennis Lopeman]

With the understanding that this "creep" does occur, I made the jig so that the magnets were at the very edge of the glass. That way, I could keep the jig in place WHILE tightening the screws. Also, I just lightly tighten the middle screw first, then the other two, then I tighten them all the way.

OH yeah... and don't do them TOO tight, cuz you will strip the threads off the screws!

Does anyone have any extra screws for a Delta 6" DJ15 ???? :cool: I need 2...

[Dennis Lopeman]

My bad - I totally did NOT answer your question...

I did NOT use a dial indicator after.

Which kinda leads me to another question - is there a way to kinda LOCK the head in place?? When I used the dial indicator, I could not keep the dang thing still enough to get an accurate reading. And memory in the belt (there's a link belt in this thing's future!) caused problems with stillness, too.

[Joe Jensen]

Dennis, I was using the dial indicator on the planer and not the jointer. I would use a wooden hand clamp on the pulley of the cutterhead to hold it in position.

On the jointer, the very best method I've found is the wooden stick method. When a knife will pull a piece of wood 1/4" toward the infeed table when the cutterhead is rotated by hand, it's perfect.

[Dennis Lopeman]

OK - I just got an email this morning with a supposed new post from Brian Penning... I don't see the post! It was pretty funny. I'll quote it below, incase anyone else is having the same problem:

"
About that 1 minute construction time.....
OK...after prying the magnets apart with great difficulty I'm ready to go...
Apply a little crazy glue to the glass and stick on magnet...time: 5 secs...Noo problem.
Apply a little glue a few inches over and as I go to set the 2nd magnet the 1st magnet (full of glue btw) suddenly leaps from the glass and attaches itself to the 2nd magnet I have in my fingers! :eek:
OMG! I go to pry the 2 magnets apart and my fingers are now stuck to the magnets!
OMG! Grab the pliers and now the pliers are stuck to the magnets!!
OMG! Get my fingers apart OK and now trying to get the magnets apart with pieces of wood. No go...sigh....
Left everything there, turned off the lights and left cursing some guy named Per.
Oh yeah total time about 20-25 mins and no magnets attached yet.
Sigh......:o
"
-Brian Penning



I searched for it too, incase it was cross referenced or something.
-Dennis Lopeman

[Dennis Lopeman]

OH yeah - and good thing Brian wasn't using cyanoacrylate glue!!

but... actually... would be a good choice! I had a problem when I used the crazy glue - the cure time was way too long and I had to clamp the magnets in place.

I'm still using this "Swenson Jig" with high accuracy and very satisfying results!

I took a picture of mine - you see that it's bigger than my 6" jointer... just incase I upgrade in the future!! The EyeBrow magnets came out of old crashed hard drives. Wicked strong!

[Brian Penning]

Sorry, I went out and tried again....got it right this time...
All this being said I find the 1/4" a bit too thick for the magnets to have a strong pull.
Worked great the 1st time using it.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_eDYZqM9-MJw/THPSGalwNyI/AAAAAAAAd0E/yfdyBoqoWpQ/s640/IMG_4268.JPG

About that 1 minute construction time.....
OK...after prying the magnets apart with great difficulty I'm ready to go...
Apply a little crazy glue to the glass and stick on magnet...time: 5 secs...Noo problem.
Apply a little glue a few inches over and as I go to set the 2nd magnet the 1st magnet (full of glue btw) suddenly leaps from the glass and attaches itself to the 2nd magnet I have in my fingers! :eek:
OMG! I go to pry the 2 magnets apart and my fingers are now stuck to the magnets!
OMG! Grab the pliers and now the pliers are stuck to the magnets!!
OMG! Get my fingers apart OK and now trying to get the magnets apart with pieces of wood. No go...sigh....
Left everything there, turned off the lights and left cursing some guy named Per.
Oh yeah total time about 20-25 mins and no magnets attached yet.
Sigh......:o

[Darius Ferlas]

Sorry, I went out and tried again....got it right this time...
All this being said I find the 1/4" a bit too thick for the magnets to have a strong pull.

Depending on how you glue the magnets to the glass you can simply use the jig with magnets down. To make sure they are all on the same plane, place the magnets on the surface of the jointer's bed. Plop your adhesive on each magnet and place the glass on top of the magnets. That way even with 1" thick glass your jig will have all the pull the magnets have to offer.

I did try using super glue but somehow it was not so super and during use the strong magnets would be pulled away from the glass. I ended up using epoxy. No instant gratification (longer cure time) but works great.

[Matt Armstrong]

How do you guys make absolutely sure your knife is at TDC? That's what I have trouble with. I am thinking of making some sort of mark with a sharpie at some reference point so that I can see...

[Dennis Lopeman]

YOu know? That's what I wrestle with, too. And I've kinda developed a "feel" for it. I don't think I use TDC cuz if I do, then the knives come out too far and hit the feeds. So I roll the head towards the left slightly and then set the knife. This is hard to decribe in words! As long as you are consistant and roll the head to the same relative location at each knife - and then set - you should be OK.

Even after my research of finding TDC, I may still be doing it wrong. I have never been "taught" any of this stuff and have generally just been learning by trial and error.

I never even thought of this til now - but if you have a local woodworking store (i.e. WoodCraft) nearby - ask the folks there. They are usually all woodworkers themselves.

[Myk Rian]

per - If you haven't already done so, you ought to submit that idea to the WW magazines. That's about as simple and effective an idea as I've seen.
I've been using that method for years. Not really a new idea.
You can use glass, plastic, anything that is flat.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Funny that Per has his magnets on top. On of the WW magazines did post a similar jig using 6 magnets on the bottom. The idea/design was this:
1. Place the magnets on the jointer bed in two rows of three. Two magnets next to each other and the third spaced out about 2" (this one will overhang the bed and "grab the blades). The rows should be about 2" narrower that the jointer is wide (4" apart for a 6" jointer)
2. Apply glue to each of the magnets and lay a piece of plywood on top. Allow to dry.

The plywood does not need to be flat it is there to just hold the magnets. The fact that the magnets were stuck to the bed when the glue dried will keep them all in the same plane.

[Ray Archibald]

I made my own.
I took a piece of 1/4 plate glass 5 1/4 x 12"
and super glue 4 rare earth magnets to it.
2 to hold the glass to the outfeed table 2 to snatch
the knives.
Per
Per, I made one of your jigs, but the problem I'm having with my Duro Jointer is that it dosen't use jib gib screws and a chipper to hold the knives in. It has allen head set screws that go thru the knife slot into the drum and clamps the the slot sides together on the blade They go into the drum on an angle from the outfeed table side. If I set the knives so the edge of the knife is flush with the outfeed table, the set screws are under the table where you can't get to them. If I rotate the drum so the bevel of the knives are level and adjust the outfeed table flush with them using your jig, and slide the glass to one side I can tighten one outside set screw then slide it the other way and do the same with the other screw it seems to look ok. But when I raise the outfeed table back flush with the knive tip, I find that the inside edge is about .003 lower than the outside edge of the knives on all 3 of them. Any Ideas on how to solve this problem? The screws do not touch the knives so they wouldn't be moving it any, and when the bevel is level the blades are sucked up tight to the glass by the magnets with no gap. other than the blade being slightly tapered on the edge I can't think of why this is happening. If I could figure out someway to set them level using the tip of the knife it would work also, but I can't get to the screws that way.
I know this is long but I hope I explained it enough that someone can help me out here.
Ray