Jointer Practices

[David Ragan]

Hi,

What is the reason where I would want to adjust the outfeed table of my jointer, as long as the top of the blades are flush with it?

And, I notice that folks mark their boards when jointed, the first (the face) with a "V", then the edge with a squiggle (pointing out the grain direction?).

I do mark the boards as above just to be sure as I progress that I'm doing everything right.....is there something else going on here that I am missing?

Thanks, David

[Myk Rian]

1. If it is jointing flat, leave the table. There is no reason to move it.
2. No

[Mark Wooden]

You adjust the outfeed to keep the table even to the knives after honing or sometimes jointing;newly ground knives will sometimes "wear in" a few thousandths also. Some older, larger jointers also had adjustments on the outfeed to drop the table to cut 'spring joints' used in pattern making.

There are no standard markings when flattening or jointing stock, unless possibly you're working in a shop that uses a system that everyone there knows to avoid confusion,. So, use any markings you like- squiggly lines, V's, X's,O's, a slash etc. I personally mark the side last jointed or planed and will angle a slash mark on the edge to denote grain direction.I always try to plane off markings on the last pass.

[Lee Schierer]

Hi,

What is the reason where I would want to adjust the outfeed table of my jointer, as long as the top of the blades are flush with it?

Thanks, David

The reason rear tables on jointers are adjustable is that when replacing the knives, you need to get them all at the same height to get a good cut. Trying to get all the knives at the same height and at the same height as the rear table compounds the alignment problem exponentially. It is far easier to get the knives right then adjust the table to the knives.

[Matt Day]

The "V" might be used to indicate grain direction and feed direction. Just a guess.

I just sqiggle lines on all 4 sides so I can see my progress easier. I usually use a construction pencil, lumber crayon, or chalk, depending on wood color.

[ernest dubois]

In flattening a board initially it can be visually helpful to mark the entire surface beforehand, with stripes or whatever you like, so you can tell when the entire surface has been planed. Typically one of the off corners will be where the markings disappear last but it could be the middle of a cupped board etc….

The \/ mark is a standard indication that a face has been flattened and that squiggle, something like a sloppy 9, indicating that the adjoining edge has been flattened and made square to that face. These two surfaces will then be the references for doing layout and registering off of fences and the marks help keep track of that, very critical in fact to get this straight.

[Phil Thien]

"In the olden days," big jointers came with grinders that allowed knives to be sharpened in-place. You had to have some way of adjusting the outfeed table if you were going to remove material from the knives.

These days I don't think an adjustable outfeed table is so critical. I've only owned two jointers, and neither have had adjustable outfeeds. You simply set the knives in relation to the outfeed table and you're good to go.

For me (hobby shop), if several thousandths of an inch have worn off the apex of my knives, it is time to sharpen my knives, not lower the outfeed. In a production shop where jointers are used to flatten stock a ton and where time is money and where they'd rather work for a while on knives that are somewhat dull, lowering the outfeed table probably has real value.

[Matthew Hills]

marking:
- cross hatch (usually with chalk) prior to flattening the force face in order to check for progress. (don't need all of it off before going to planer, but want board to be stable and not flex in the planer)

- As I start jointing, I usually try to determine the dominant grain direction, and then mark this on the edge with diagonal lines. (this is used as quick visual with feed direction when going into the planer to minimize tearout)

- I don't usually mark grain direction for truing the edge -- usually that is easy to read from the planed faces

- I've seen the v and half-cursive-f (http://www.closegrain.com/2014/06/fine-stock-preparation.html) used to indicate reference surfaces for layout. I don't use them consistently. And I don't know that these are necessarily your first surfaces flattened. E.g., layout lines are often dictated by joinery, with boards oriented by appearance; while which surface I joint first depends on warping. May depend on hand vs. machine-based milling.

Matt

[ernest dubois]

These marks don't dictate or indicate placement or orientation or choice of joining but are only a way to help maintain consistency while doing the rest of that. If they happen to all come on the inside and the top, that's nice but rare.

[John Coloccia]

If I'm doing more than just a couple of boards, I put a check on each jointed or planed surface. :::shrug::: The whole cursive F/V/whatever thing always seemed like a complete waste of time to me. If a surface has a mark, that means I've worked it and it's flat. If there's an adjoining surface that has also mark, that obviously means that the surfaces are square to each other. I use a check mark. Sometimes I'm in a hurry, and I just use a single slash. If you're in exceptionally no rush, you could draw little smiley faces, or even that little house with a chimney and a bit of smoke coming out that we all learned to draw in 2nd grade. :)

[ernest dubois]

Yes, it is a waste of time no doubt. My records of the last 17 years indicate a combine total of 3 seconds extra it has taken me to use this system in place of the much older checks on face and edge system

[glenn bradley]

I have seen the "V" and "squiggle" here and there but, whatever works. I mark the face and edge I have NOT milled at the jointer. That is; I mill a face and then use that face against the fence to mill an edge. I then mark the opposite surfaces as NOT milled. these marks get removed through later milling operations so I don't have to fuss about what I mark them with.

I used to mill a face then plane the opposite face so I could watch my feed direction when edge jointing. I have run insert cutterheads for so long that I have pretty much fallen into the habit of ignoring grain direction during these tasks.

[Kent Cartwright]

I was taught to make an "x" on the jointed side and edge of each board in order to make sure you feed the planer correctly. Next I was taught to use a "v" where the pointy end pointed the feed direction for the piece through the planer. If there was too much tear out, you mark it so the piece is next fed the other way and hopefully reduce or eliminate the tear out. I have not found this to be too time consuming and it sure does eliminate a lot of guesswork when milling a lot of stock.

[Dave Cullen]

I use a V on the face and a squiggle on the edge to mark the 2 surfaces that have been jointed. Those are the reference surfaces from which all subsequent cutting and measuring is relative to. These marks have been used for centuries and they only take a couple seconds to make. If a board doesn't have those marks it means it hasn't been jointed yet.

[ernest dubois]

It's funny you bring up the history of these markings and I would be interested in knowing more. I was given this method during my schooling which must have contained some remnants of instilled woodworking practices but for the most part was modern and to that extent a product of the reach of industry into eduction but that is a different matter al together. So I have to differ with the claim up there from a link that the other mark, the non \/ shaped one, represents an f, presumably for "face". If it were the case that this mark was an f for face than I most likely would not have learned it. "Face" is not a reference to a wood surface where I got instructed and yet we used this symbol.

[Reinis Kanders]

faciem is face in latin

[ernest dubois]

This so-called f might also be construed as a symbol meaning, flat. I still don't think it is an f, either for flat or face, at all.

What's more, a check is a bad alternative being easily mistaken for the slash or slanted stripe indicating the prominent grain direction.

[Thomas Canfield]

I like to make a mark parallel to the surface that I join on the butt/tail end that is about 1/4" off the face. If there is a problem with tear out and I reverse the feed, hen I will change the mark. I end up with a "L" type mark on the board and that helps when going to the planer or table saw, but that is a system that I have developed from others and use. Adjusting the outfeed table after sharpening or changing blades is a must, but I am not a purist enough to adjust for wear - need to sharpen at that point.

[jack forsberg]

rear tables drop as much as front tables for start stop chambers or start stop under cuts in less than the length of the board like on stringer floor legs. All throw backs from the days when jointers were a universal wood working tool and more operation were use like cove cutting.