Track Feeder, Wheel Feeder, or Jointer Mate ????

[Rob Will]

Anybody have an opinion about track feeders vs wheel feeders?

Grizzly sells a track feeder equipped with a Smart Stand that looks like it would fit nicely on my 24" jointer. Do you think the track feeder would be better or worse than a 4-wheel feeder?

Thanks,
Rob

[Joe Jensen]

I'd think they would work better as long as the track is stable and doesn't come off. Continuos contact with the wood, and more traction. can't see a downside...joe

[J.R. Rutter]

The only advantage I see is possible avoidance of the slight bump caused by the leading end of the board hitting the second wheel. This tends to happen on short crown-down pieces if the height isn't set just right as the board is levered down onto the outfeed table.

But where the track feeder excels is moving short parts, like coped rails, through a shaper to do the final sticking cut. For a jointer, you don't need this kind of control. In fact, more wheels on a jointer feeder would be a drawback to me - takes longer to finish feeding and moves the board further towards the point where it will fall off the end of the outfeed table.

Got a shaper with 1 HP feeder that you can swap for the track feed? That would be ideal!

[Rob Will]

What I am most worried about is whether or not the feeder has suffecient traction to drag really big slabs across the jointer.

J.R. makes a good point about the length of the feeder. The only reason I was considering long feeders was to get more traction.

Does this get us back to the Jointer Mate power feeders? (We talked about this several months ago). Are these things catching on?

Knowing my luck, I would buy one and then they would be discontinued:eek:.

Anyone have further experiences with the Jointer Mate?

Rob

[Rob Will]

Anybody using the Jointer Mate power feeder on a big jointer?
Who has the best price for one of these?

Thanks,
Rob

[J.R. Rutter]

Rob, I don't know if the jointer mate is really wide enough to be much different from a 3-wheel feeder. How wide is it?

I've had good luck with my basic feeder on a 12" jointer. Feed so that the low spot (which will get flattened first) hits close to the wheels and it won't move around much. I routinely take multiple passes with a feeder where the opposite corners get flat and the high corners and middle don't get touched by the cutters, even though the feeder is pressing down securely. Never had a traction problem unless the table is getting sticky. Even a 4-wheeler, which I use on a shaper and table saw, will have problems if the surface isn't slick...

[Rick Lizek]

Must be fairly new. It does have spiked wheels which sound like it would have good traction but they are aluminum which seems more likely to get worn quickly. I've used steel ones on other machies and they grabbed really well. Seems a bit underpowered at 1/4 hp. In my experience a 1 hp 3 wheel feeder is the industry standard. A powerfeed on a jointer will never equal the control you have by hand feeding especially with really twisted stock.
http://www.sunhillmachinery.com/Power%20Feeders%20AF104.htm
Sometimes you have to be the guinea pig. Seems woodworkers are the most timid when it comes to new tools. They usually wait until their buddy buys one first. What's the worst that can happen? Restocking charge????

Western Roller makes great replacement wheels and track rollers for power feeds.

I'd call Sunhill for Joint Mate owner referrals. I do wish they had more pictures. Seems a bit short and wiuld like to see the underside more than the top side.