Power Feeder Types

[Rob Will]

Has anyone used one of the joint mate power feeders?
What do you think about the concept as compared to a typical 3-4 wheel power feeder? (on a jointer)
I suppose one disadvantage would be that the aluminum feed rollers would damage the finished side of a piece of wood --- so you could not use this feeder on other machines. (?)
http://sunhillmachinery.com/Power%20Feeder%20AF114.jpg
http://sunhillmachinery.com/Power%20Feeders%20AF114.htm

[Joe Grout]

From the Sunhill page

# Segmented aluminum spike rollers provide a “sure grip”.

It would be fine for rough work, even on a jointer before planing

I don't hink the spike holes would be all that good looking in finished sized stock

{shaper or router table for example}

Joe

[John Miliunas]

Rob, I have one of those on my DJ20. Does a great job for flattening the first side of rough boards before going to the planer. The assumption that it's not good for finish work is correct! I does leave marks in the drive side of the board, though for initial flattening, that's just fine. The advantage of this system is the individual spike rollers also "float" independently thus, if you have uneven boards, they adjust individually to the contour of the board, unlike the rubber drives, which press evenly across the entire width. Makes for a pretty quick way to do it. :) However, I would really encourage anyone really interested in acquiring one of these to consider getting it from Wilke Machinery! No, I'm NOT affiliated with Wilke but, the Customer Service end of it is exemplary as opposed to "other" places, which I won't mention here!:D :) :cool:

[Rob Will]

John,
I cant tell how large the contact area is by looking at the picture. How many rollers does the Joint-mate have and how large is the footprint?
Does it extend down the outfeed table to any degree?
Rob

[John Miliunas]

Rob, here's the link on my installation:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=17372

As you can see from the pics, it's just immediately after the cutterhead. It's about 9" wide (coming off the fence) and has about a 7" area on the outfeed table. Like I mentioned before, it does NOT have any rollers per se, but rather, a number of spiked "wheels", if you will. Guess I never counted each individual one but, I'd guess, there are probably about a couple dozen or so. Also, it swings out of the way quite easily when you need to do edge jointing. :) :cool:

[Rob Will]

John,
Is the joint mate better than poly wheel type?
Rob

[John Miliunas]

Rob, in this application, yes it is. Again, with rough boards being what they are, far too often, by the time you exert enough downward pressure with a poly wheel to pull it through, you'll be deforming the board and NOT be getting the twist or cup out of it. It would be much like running such a board through the planer. It would get it flat, but not take out the cup or twist, which is the purpose behind a jointer (when doing face surfaces, that is.) :) :cool:

[J.R. Rutter]

Agree that the finger system is best for power fed face jointing.

But it is definitely possible to use typical a poly wheel to remove twist, and to edge joint as well - which is handy for edging 8-10 ft heavy boards. For twist, make sure the wheel hits the low corner of the board, and angle the feed position so the trailing low corner goes under the wheel as well.