Finally up and running

[Patrick Kane]

It was a bear to get into my basement space, but I finally wired it up Friday night and got to use it over the weekend. Wanted to plug Jack's service providing VFDs for phase conversion. I didnt realize he did this, and it was actually Dave that suggested the idea. My original game plan was to replace the 3 phase motor with a single phase 5-7.5hp baldor with a new switch. After going the VFD route, it was considerably cheaper and easier to setup. Years ago i went through the hassle of swapping motors and controls on a unisaw, and i dont think i would do the same thing today. One, i gave up a 5hp for a 3hp on the unisaw, and secondly, it would have been faster to wire the VFD. In that case, after selling the rabbit ear 3 phase motor, i think swapping motors was the same or slightly less than a 10hp VFD. Hopefully this italian motor has a fair amount of life left in it before it needs to be serviced, and the VFD lasts for awhile. But, this is something i probably wouldnt have undertaken without knowing i had someone to hold my hand through the programming end of the VFD. Wiring is no problem for me, but I probably would have spent 2 annoying hours bumbling through the manual and unit to get it programmed correctly. Matt took me through it at 10pm on Friday in about 7 minutes.

Had a counter height bench and island top to make for a client, and it gave me an opportunity to run the machine a bit. The new Tersa knives planed the 8/4 walnut beautifully. Interested to see how long the edges will last, but so far so good. Surprisingly, my homemade bridge guard works well. I cobbled it together out of some 3/4" plywood scraps and two woodpecker jig knobs I took from my FF jig. I can see why people like bridge guards after using this one for a bit. Edge jointing is especially nice with it. Id love one of the automatically adjusting bridge guards, but ill take free over $1500+. I need to find a way to mount the VFD remote switch, and i think i will improve the DC connection. For the time being im reusing the 6" to 4" line i had for my old 12" grizzly. I ordered the hose to make this 6" all the way to the machine, but i want to go a step further and create an internal funnel for the DC hookup. As it is today, the port is about 24-36" from the cutterhead. I imagine something similar to the euro combo machines with the dust pan design right next to the cutterhead. Then again, im really really lazy with modifying machines and making things for the shop, so ill probably just run a 6" hose to the machine and call it good nuff.

Final question, does anyone have suggestions for nesting a planer and jointer more efficiently? As you can see, I work in a shoebox and every bit of space counts. I thought about cutting down the fence bar a bit, but didnt know if that would turn into one of the bigger regrets of my life. I dont see myself moving the fence back and forth very much. As much as i would like to move it forward for edge jointing sessions, the fence travel isnt parallel to the outfeed table, which means the fence would constantly need adjustment prior to jointing. It is annoying to reach over 20" of bed to edge joint, but atleast i know the fence is square without checking it constantly. Related to the fence, but should it ride on the tables or hover above the tables? Right now it drags across the tables.

[Bill Dufour]

What is it, the planer or the jointer I presume. Make, model.
Bill D.

[Jim Becker]

That's a "stout" looking jointer! 'Glad you have it up and running! Nice job on the bridge guard, too. I can't tell if you rounded over the top of the guard, but that can be helpful as you are bringing material back for subsequent passes although you'd want more support at the fence side for that. The commercial bridge guards are spring loaded so they head to the table as you bring material back over them.

[Patrick Kane]

Sorry, Bill, didnt clarify. It is the jointer, the PM is single phase and been around for a couple years. I wish i could tell you the make, but i cant! Haha it was one of the big mysteries for me buying the machine. Its model number is PF-500. The motor is Italian Electro Adda, which is in line with originally guessing the machine to be a Griggio, Paoloni etc. With it in person, im unfortunately no closer to knowing who made it. There are no identifying plates, stamps, etc that i can find. Oddly enough there is a Casolin PF-500 on woodweb that looks 99% identical. The one photo was in the process of removing the 12" grizzly. I wanted them to be put next to one another for a comparison shot, and this is the closest i got.

Running the board over the guard is a practice ive never done. I work with mostly 8/4+, and i just dont trust previous guards to hold up to 40lbs of weight on them. Never cared to heard what it sounds like when a few knives bite into an aluminum plate. Maybe that will change in 30 years, but for now i carry the board back for the return pass. This plywood guard would not stand up to that kind of abuse. I use push blocks 99.99% of the time when im facing lumber, which makes the guard more of a visual cue than an actual safety necessity. I do think its much safer than a pork chop for edging. Edge jointing is #1 in my eyes for personal risk. Ive had a few instances where my wide spread hand put my pinky within an inch or so of the cutterhead. Its poor practice to carry your hand through the cutterhead, but i do it occasionally. With a porkchop, you expose the blade more than the actual workpiece thickness. Not a lot, but enough for a finger. Furthermore, your hand can easly push the guard aside and expose more cutterhead. With this ply guard, i cant get my hand within 3" of the cutterhead in either direction.

[Matt Day]

I like my jointer against a wall personally.

[Jim Becker]

I like my jointer against a wall personally.
Patrick's arrangement with the two complimentary machining tools "back to back" is pretty common in shops...

[Steve Jenkins]

Nice looking jointer. As for space what about spinning the planer 180 so you can put them closer together and still be able to access the planer adjustment

[Andrew Hughes]

Patrick you need to clean your shop.:o
Impressive jointer

[John TenEyck]

I don't see how you could position them much more efficiently than offset side-by-side, just like you have. But you could move a bunch of that wood out of your shop and you'd have all kinds of free space. My shop was so full of wood I could hardly move, so I finally bit the bullet and built a shed to store most of it in. What a change. Space; imagine that. There is no perfect solution with regards to storing wood, but I've finally learned that storing it in your shop is just about the worst option.

John

[Warren Lake]

having it in the way is no good nor is storing it in less than good temp and humidity wise

[Gary Ragatz]

I dont see myself moving the fence back and forth very much. As much as i would like to move it forward for edge jointing sessions, the fence travel isnt parallel to the outfeed table, which means the fence would constantly need adjustment prior to jointing. It is annoying to reach over 20" of bed to edge joint, but atleast i know the fence is square without checking it constantly. Related to the fence, but should it ride on the tables or hover above the tables? Right now it drags across the tables.

I'm a novice, so this may be a stupid question, but if the fence remains perpendicular to the table, does it matter that it isn't exactly parallel? You'll still be cutting an edge that's 90-degrees to the face - but the cutting blades will engage the stock at a slight angle.

If you do a lot of edge jointing and don't move the fence, won't you get excessive wear on one part of the blades? Seems like that could cause irregularities when you're jointing a face.

[Warren Lake]

pull the fence close to you and work there then work your way accross there is not reason to be reaching far accross if that is how you are using it.

[Julie Moriarty]

It was a bear to get into my basement space...
That jointer? In a basement? Please don't tell me there were any stairs involved. Cuz if there were you need to call Ripley's.

[Kevin Jenness]

Patrick, my planer and jointer are as tightly mated as can be.392435 Material goes from the jointer onto the stroke sander table in the background and returns through the planer same side up without turning the board around. I would not recommend reversing the planer direction.

As regards the fence, its angle to the table should remain the same regardless of position unless the mounting bar is curved or sags.

I like the guard for its simplicity. It's like the first jointer I learned on with added height adjustment.

I recently put a vfd on my lathe. I mounted the remote keypad in a wood block with magnets. When that proved prone to slippage I added a bead of silicone to the back of the block.392438

[Patrick Kane]

First off, yes, I work in deplorable conditions of my own making. My problem is I’m not a well organized person and I consider cleaning to be a complete waste of productive time : ). I do dream of having a clean and orderly shop one day. Unfortunately, I’m too busy to do much. In the last 3-4 weeks I was at the beach for a week, moved the 12” machine out and 20” machine in, did the wiring for the new machine, hours calibrating it, king size bed frame, set of floating shelves, two island tops, and a set of kitchen countertops. Pretty much if I’m in the shop im making money or making furniture for myself. I have a full time office job too.

Kevin, I love the magnet and caulk idea. For whatever dumb reason I didn’t want to drill and tap the cabinet of the machine to mount the switch.

As for the fence, if it doesn’t travel parallel with the tables then it can be square at one point and only one point. I need to look at it some more to see if I can simply shim the fence mounting bracket to adjust the angle. It’s not the end of the world, but there is more back strain when the fence is that far away compared to an 8 or 12” machine.

[Warren Lake]

how is it not square the the table you mean it changes irs right angle as you bring it accross? not following.

[Kevin Jenness]

Patrick, you can (and should) shim the fence mount bracket so that the fence travels in and out level with the table, but I think you will find that as long as the fence is clear of the table it will remain at the same bevel angle to the table regardless of its location.

[Patrick Kane]

Here are photos of the fence about 15” apart. Notice no gap and then gap. The fence mounts to the chassis, and not one of the tables. That’s why it isn’t guaranteed to travel parallel. The fence does drag across the table, which I wanted to fix. I’ll make some shims to elevate the whole thing off the tables and see how it goes then.

[Andrew Hughes]

Are you sure it’s not the table that’s out.
Even if it’s not we square the fence to the outfeed past the cutter head.
This is where it matters most
My jointers fence is also very heavy I wasn’t thrilled about dragging it across the beds so I have it resting on some wood blocks glued to the back.
If your interested I can take a pic tomorrow

[John TenEyck]

The tables look planed, just like my friends Zefam. The fence on his machine rides on the table on at least one bearing on the back of the fence. Can't remember if there is more than one bearing. What I do remember is it's a bit finiky to get it adjusted so that the fence stays parallel with the table as it slides across it's full range. Perhaps yours is missing that bearing or bearings for some reason?

John

[Warren Lake]

I dont get that stuff blocking mine now but moved the fence the bit I could and it was exactly the same, never seen that before how it could change. The fences rub on the table on mine and all ive seen maybe when you get to the fancy stuff then a bearing or bearings. Easy enough to add that I suppose then does the bearing sit on the bottom or top of a scallop if so. Its easy enough to deal with fast for instant use, move the stop out of the way and just square it each time whereever you are, I have to always square the primitive one on my combo machines, they made it light so it was easy to remove, I get it still its damn poor, not sure what they do now adays on the same type of machine if they even have one in the Invincible line.

is that measure the same at the front and back of the fence that is it stays the same on infeed and outfeed when you measure them with it in the same place?