Slow day project

[Lee Schierer]

I've had the jointer in my shop ever since my father passed away. It is an old Delta Rockwell, but it works well. My Father made a mobile stand for it out of some 2 x 4's. The stand even has a dust chute. He had some chocks that he used to keep it from rolling, but I found that the tended to slide on the floor. So, I added some toggle clamps at one end so the swivel casters are held up off the floor and the stand no longer moves around. Ever since I brought it to my shop, I've considered the exposed drive belt a hazard but never took the time to do anything about it. Today, there was nothing on the agenda and I felt like doing something in the shop.

I was going to flatten some pieces of walnut so they can eventually be turned into something other than rough boards. I noticed the exposed belt and decided to do something about it. Using some scrap pieces of 1/2" poplar and some 1/4" plywood I designed and made a belt guard for the portion of the belt that is close to where my hands are likely to go. It's nothing fancy, but fully functional. Here is the before:
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Here is the after:
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As an added benefit, I can store my push block for the jointer where it is easily found without worry about it rubbing on the belt.
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[Bryan Hall]

Useful upgrade for sure. How much does that machine weigh?

[Lee Schierer]

Useful upgrade for sure. How much does that machine weigh?

Hmmm, I had never weighed it. I took the bathroom scale out to the shop and used the toggle clamps to lift the one end and set it down on the scale. The scale registered 110.5 pounds. I used a block of wood and a pry bar to lift the other end up on the scale. The scale registered 125.6 pounds, so that would make the total weight about 236 pounds.

I misstated in my original post that the jointer was a Delta Rockwell. It is actually a Delta Milwaukee.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Looks like a good, low cost functional safety upgrade Lee. Well done!

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have open belts too. But no grand kids. If I put belt covers on will grand kids show up? I hope so.

[Douglas Mosman]

:D:D:D

My kids told me for years they weren't having kids and then one day ... one showed up! Hmm, you know, it was about the time that I sold my old belt-driven table saw ...

[Lee Schierer]

While I do have grand kids that sometimes work in the shop, I was more concerned with my fingers or the push block getting caught up since the push block has been stored in that spot since my Dad first acquired the jointer and built the stand.

[Ron Citerone]

While I do have grand kids that sometimes work in the shop, I was more concerned with my fingers or the push block getting caught up since the push block has been stored in that spot since my Dad first acquired the jointer and built the stand.

Consider the part of the cutterhead that is behind the fence when the fence is not at the widest opening.

[Lee Schierer]

Consider the part of the cutterhead that is behind the fence when the fence is not at the widest opening.

Roger that, I have an idea for attaching a guard to the back side of the fence to cover that area when the fence is moved. More on that later.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Open belts are so dangerous. Thanks for the reminder! I know two farm hands who smoke with their pinky and thumb because of drive belt accidents.

[Lee Schierer]

Here's an update:

Ron brought up a good point that the cutter head could be exposed if the fence is repositioned. I came up with a simple guard that would move with the fence. As you can see in the photos below. The guard adequately covers the cutter head without requiring any additional adjustment if the fence is moved.
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The wood pieces are attached to the back of the fence with some really strong double sided tape.

[Frank Pratt]

I can just imagine reaching behind the fence for the push block & grabbing the belt instead :eek: That's a good mod.