Bought my first jointer and have some questions.

[Eli Endres]

I just bought a Grizzly G0855. I borrowed a Veritas straight edge and was able to get a .005" feeler under the straight edge when measuring corner to corner on the outfeed table. Do you guys think this is acceptable? .005" over 36" is pretty damn flat but the instructions call out a max of .003. That said the straight edge is only rated to .003 over its length, maybe I need to get my hand on a better straight edge?

Also I've been having a hell of a time trying to get the infeed/outfeed tables aligned. Most instructions I look at just say something generic like "use shims". Can you guys recommend a more detailed walk through of getting the beds aligned?

[Robert Mayer]

If you plane two long boards and lay them on top of each other is there any gaps anywhere?

[Mike Burke]

looks like Grizzly has instructional videos
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=grizzly+jointer+adjustments&docid=608048008087339588&mid=707E849CEF3E665F07F9707E849CEF3E665F07F9&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

[glenn bradley]

First off I agree to make a couple of test cuts and see if the result is good. If it is, stop now ;-)

Jointers are very basic machines but, surprisingly easy to mess up when it comes to alignment. Trying to test outside the range of your measuring tool is one good way to start down a road you will wish you never thought about. Dovetail way machines can be frustrating to align so let's start with the most basic question:

1 - In what way are the beds out of alignment?

Once we know what you see as wrong we can start to address the situation. This is not a reflection on you; I am concerned that you will get yourself into a long, tedious job due to a questionable straight edge. Once we get passed basic alignment we can address the .002" ;-)

[Mike Kees]

the resource that I learned from and use on jointers is John Whites book ,"care and repair of shop machines". There are very well written instructions on how to test and set up a jointer including shimming if necessary. I cant recommend this book highly enough it is an excellent resource. That said ,listen to Glenn's advice and take a very deep breath or two and figure out exactly what is out before trying to fix anything.

[Eli Endres]

First off I agree to make a couple of test cuts and see if the result is good. If it is, stop now ;-)

Jointers are very basic machines but, surprisingly easy to mess up when it comes to alignment. Trying to test outside the range of your measuring tool is one good way to start down a road you will wish you never thought about. Dovetail way machines can be frustrating to align so let's start with the most basic question:

1 - In what way are the beds out of alignment?

Once we know what you see as wrong we can start to address the situation. This is not a reflection on you; I am concerned that you will get yourself into a long, tedious job due to a questionable straight edge. Once we get passed basic alignment we can address the .002" ;-)

I actually have made a table top with the jointer. It worked well but I was having issues with tapering the boards, which lead me to check if the tables were coplaner. They were not, the outfeed was tilted up. In my adjusting I'm having a hard time getting the tables coplaner. My primary issue is actually getting it aligned coplaner across the width.

I just ordered a ground steel straight edge and will recheck everything.


the resource that I learned from and use on jointers is John Whites book ,"care and repair of shop machines". There are very well written instructions on how to test and set up a jointer including shimming if necessary. I cant recommend this book highly enough it is an excellent resource. That said ,listen to Glenn's advice and take a very deep breath or two and figure out exactly what is out before trying to fix anything.

I actually just ordered that book as well. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Mike Kees]

Eli ,the one jointer I had to shim was actually an "old iron" Delta 37-315. It was actually out of coplaner across the width as well. A couple of brass shims fixed it easily. I have and use a steel straight edge from Lee Valley mine is 36'' long. The book will help with all your jointer problems. If you have more questions post here or PM me and I will be glad to help with what I can.

[Myles Moran]

My grizzly is also about .005 low on one corner of the outfeed. As far as I can tell it hasn't affected performance at all. My technique matters far more than the section of table I'm using when I run wood through it. I was putting too much pressure on the boards and getting curved cuts. Once I backed off to minimal pressure (and waxing it anytime wood starts to drag) everything on it comes out beautifully flat. Panel glue ups and laminations come out with an invisible glue line.

[Rod Sheridan]

Edge joint two pices three or four feet in length.

Put the two pieces against each other, if there’s a tiny gap in the middle, your setup is great....Rod.