Delta DJ-20 Jointer Fence Doesn't Stay Square

[Bob Coleman]

Hello All,

I'm hoping someone can help me with a problem I've been having keeping my jointer fence square.

The problem is that at the end of the first pass when squaring an edge, the guard swings back over the cutterhead and hits the fence, knocking it out of square. I haven't been able to figure out a way to adjust the spring tension to lessen the impact. I have the 90 degree stop on the fence set I think in the right place and the handle is locked very tightly.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[David Eisenhauer]

Without being able to look at the machine, I will ask this - Is/are the bolt(s) that lock the fence in the 90 deg position accessible to being completely removed? What I am getting at, is that lots of times machinery bolts that are supposed to bear against a flat surface for the purposes of adjustment lockdown in fact bear against a slightly irregular surface (rather than a completely flat surface) or the end of the bolt is not completely flat (very common) and you are trying to get an "offset spear point" to find a spot that it will not turn off of and move again when tightening. I find this true when attempting to fine tune an alignment on various machines in my shop and have had better luck after either flattening the end of the bolt or the bearing surface with emery cloth, file, etc.

[Kevin Jenness]

You can adjust the spring tension on the guard by loosening the cap screw that secures it and adjusting with pliers the bushing it sits in that engages with the spring. At lest that is how it works on our Invicta DJ20 of which I believe the Delta is a copy. Unlesss the spring is seriously overtensioned, the fence should not move, so follow David's advice and investigate why the fence angle is not secured.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Bob
I placed some self adhesive rubber strip on my DJ20 just to keep guard from hitting fence to hard, has worked well for me. Its been there for more then 5 years, have yet to replace it.

[Cary Falk]

You can adjust the guard as Kevin says, but something is terribly wrong with the fence if you can knock it out of square by tapping it with the quard. I have the Shop Fox W1741 which is a clone of the DJ20 and I haven't adjusted the fence for 90 degree for over a year. Without looking at it I don't know what it is but something in the fence must be loose. I would lock it down and try to tweek it by hand to see where the movement is coming from.

[Nelson Howe]

I would ease off the spring tension. I think it just takes the right sized Allen wrench--no pliers on the Delta. I have yet to figure out how to make fence stay square, though. I check mine often, and find it easiest to give the handle on the fence a bump to adjust it back to square.

Nelson