New to me 6" Jointer

[Gary Garrett]

Bought a used 6" jointer and for the life of me can not figure this thing out. I have read and adjusted and stared and adjusted some more but every piece I put through comes out all catiwampus. It has a ridge on one side and it's more angled than when it went in.. any thoughts or reference that I can look up to see what I am doing wrong?

[Bill Dufour]

The ridge probably means there is a nick in the knives.

[Matt Day]

It'd help to know what make and model jointer you have.

[Adam Herman]

may have to reset the knives, they could be installed at an angle. have you checked the tables for coplaner?

[Gary Garrett]

It'd help to know what make and model jointer you have.

It's a Delta and I don't know the model off hand.

[Gary Garrett]

I didn't see any nicks in the knives but they could be there. The ridge is on the inside near the fence, no matter how far in I move the fence.

[Gary Garrett]

I have not, yet. I have been scouring the internet for how to's on setup and use before I started messing with the knives and angles.

[Evan Stewart]

I bought a used 6" delta a few years ago and when i first got it every piece i put through had a big stripe down the middle. At first glance it didnt appear that the blades where nicked but i removed all of them and made a miter cut in a block of scrap wood on the table saw with the depth of the cut matching the width of the jointer blades and the miter matching the jointer blades angle. This way the blade essentially sat flat against the block of wood. After doing this i was able to find a few small gouges that i couldn't see when they where in the machine. It was also super easy to resharpen them sitting in the block.

[Gary Garrett]

I bought a used 6" delta a few years ago and when i first got it every piece i put through had a big stripe down the middle. At first glance it didnt appear that the blades where nicked but i removed all of them and made a miter cut in a block of scrap wood on the table saw with the depth of the cut matching the width of the jointer blades and the miter matching the jointer blades angle. This way the blade essentially sat flat against the block of wood. After doing this i was able to find a few small gouges that i couldn't see when they where in the machine. It was also super easy to resharpen them sitting in the block.

great idea, i will try that this weekend and see if it works.

[Tony Leonard]

An old trick is to simply slide the knives a bit so that the gouge (assuming it is in all three) is no longer aligned. Most jointers have enough wiggle room for that. As for the angle, something is no setup correctly. Adjusting the knives is not easy, but it is doable. Consistency is the key. I bought a magnetic jig that helps a lot. Also, make sure your fence is aligned and that it does not move. There is also technique in using it once everything is setup correctly. Lots of good articles out there. Good luck. Be patient....these things can be very frustrating! Oh, one other thing is the condition of your stock when you start. You need a flat face to go against the fence, and the work surface needs to be slightly concave (or flat already!). If it is convex, you can end up cutting on side of the "peak" only.

The ruler technique for knife height to outfeed table works well for me. The idea is that a ruler resting on the outfeed will move ~1/8" when the knife hits it. That makes the cutting surface a hair above the outfeed surface.

Good luck!


Tony

[Gary Garrett]

An old trick is to simply slide the knives a bit so that the gouge (assuming it is in all three) is no longer aligned. Most jointers have enough wiggle room for that. As for the angle, something is no setup correctly. Adjusting the knives is not easy, but it is doable. Consistency is the key. I bought a magnetic jig that helps a lot. Also, make sure your fence is aligned and that it does not move. There is also technique in using it once everything is setup correctly. Lots of good articles out there. Good luck. Be patient....these things can be very frustrating! Oh, one other thing is the condition of your stock when you start. You need a flat face to go against the fence, and the work surface needs to be slightly concave (or flat already!). If it is convex, you can end up cutting on side of the "peak" only.

The ruler technique for knife height to outfeed table works well for me. The idea is that a ruler resting on the outfeed will move ~1/8" when the knife hits it. That makes the cutting surface a hair above the outfeed surface.

Good luck!


Tony

Tony, thanks! this is one tool that is just giving me fits and ruining stock that I am working with. I will check the outfeed to make sure the works.

[glenn bradley]

http://www.finewoodworking.com/2014/03/10/flattening-wood-with-a-jointer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ZZ0dhbJYY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-POSWZvjIQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqqa6W8m6Y8