DJ-20 Alignment problem

[Rob Knapton]

I'm trying to align the tables on my DJ-20 for parallelism. I've followed the instructions and gotten everything where I want it, then tightened the set screws. After doing this I've found a problem which is likely contributing to the mis-alignment of the tables. When I adjust my infeed table, one of the bushings is moving with the rod that goes through it. It is the bushing that is located under the depth gauge. (ie: the bushing and pin turn together when adjusting the tables up and down).

This continues to happen even when I try to crank down on the bottom set-screw.

Anyone had similar issues or suggestions to fix?

Rob

[CPeter James]

Can you get the bushing out of the housing? I would apply liberal amounts of "PB Blaster" to free it from the shaft.

http://shop.blasterchemical.com/images/images/products/PB-ts_lg.jpg

This is my penetrant of choice. It is available in auto supply stores and Wal-Mart. After you remove the bushing and get it to turn freely on the shaft, clean the shaft and busing and apply a thin coat of anti seize compound and replace and adjust the bushing. It sounds like the bushing has rusted to the shaft. How old is your jointer? The progression on location of manufacturer is: USA, Brazil, Taiwan, and now China. The Taiwan and Chinese ones are lower quality and so fit and finish are issues. Mine is Taiwan made and I have had some issues with it.

CPeter

[Rob Knapton]

I actually just went out and pulled off the bushing after I wrote the first post. It came off without issue and no signs of rust. . I cleaned it out pretty good and it still turns when I move the tables. I also checked out the setscrew and it appears that they may not have tapped the hole all the way. When I put the screw all the way in (until I can't turn it any more) it barely enters the channel for the bushing. In fact, I would expect to be able to turn the setscrew freely with the bushing being removed.

Regardless of this I am still wondering about the bushing. When I remove the setscrews from the other bushings they don't turn with the shaft.

I also noticed that the setscrew from this bushing is shiny around the edge of the "cup" on the bottom of the setscrew, while the others are black. I changed them and put some molybendium grease on the inside of the bushing. This seems to have solved the problem for the time being, as when I crank down the setscrew the bushing is now staying fixed. I hope this is a permament solution.

BTW: It is made in Taiwan

Rob

[CPeter James]

Does the hole for the set screw go all the way through and just not tapped all the way? My guess is that it is a metric thread and if you had a metric tap you could tap it through. Another idea would be to drop a BB or small ball bearing in the hole to be pushed by the set screw. This is the type of "issues" I was referring to. Do you have the official Delta alignment guide for the DJ20? I can email it to you if you want it.

CPeter

[Rob Knapton]

That's my guess, that the hole is not tapped all the way through. As mentioned, I managed to get it engaged enough to stop the bushing. I will look into getting a tap.

I have the instructions to align the jointer. Google gave it to me pretty quick.

Thanks

Rob