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Thread: Jointer Safety

  1. #16
    When edge jointing, my left hand is always on the outfeed table side holding the board down/against the fence. Left hand is pushing the board through. For normal width (6"-8" boards) when my left hand is within 2' of the blades, my thumb goes to the top of the board and I push with the side of my hand with ALL of my fingers curled making a fist. When I was in school, the shop teacher showed me a picture of his uncle with all of his fingers jointed to the length of his ring finger, say no more, always curl those fingers.

    50% of woodworking safety is always knowing where your hands are in relation to the blade and how they would move if something unexpected happened. The other 50% is don't be dumb, if it seems sketchy, it probably is. I've had one accident with the tablesaw, I touched the side of the blade when trying to catch a piece of scrap, I was tired and aggravated with the project I was working on. Know when it's time to take a break and go for a walk.

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dylan Wyatt View Post
    When edge jointing, my left hand is always on the outfeed table side holding the board down/against the fence. Left hand is pushing the board through. For normal width (6"-8" boards) when my left hand is within 2' of the blades, my thumb goes to the top of the board and I push with the side of my hand with ALL of my fingers curled making a fist. When I was in school, the shop teacher showed me a picture of his uncle with all of his fingers jointed to the length of his ring finger, say no more, always curl those fingers.
    I agree with curling the fingers to somewhat protect them, but I'm always leery of putting my hands past the cutter. Just as with putting your hand on the far side of a tablesaw blade, in the event of a kickback, your hand (along with the workpiece) could be kicked back toward the cutter or blade, though it's less of a concern with a jointer than a saw...the jointer is one tool where I almost always use push blocks/push pads, particularly with small workpieces.
    Last edited by Jacob Reverb; 10-17-2019 at 7:34 AM.

  3. #18
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    Found a good jointer safety video on youtube by a guy that teaches shop. Look for "How to use a jointer". Guys name is Mr. Kosloski. One safety tip from that I don't hear mentioned often is adjusting the fence so the theres minimum cutter head exposed.

  4. #19
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    Wax your tables so the wood can move well. One thing I like a lot about my jointer is the surface finish, which is made so that the wood is moving along the high spots. I’ve worked on precision ground tables and they’re awful, the wood is practically glued to the thing as it gets flat.

    I don’t muscle the work on the jointer, I think many people use much more downward pressure than necessary.

    I use a gripper for face jointing.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    Wax your tables so the wood can move well. One thing I like a lot about my jointer is the surface finish, which is made so that the wood is moving along the high spots. I’ve worked on precision ground tables and they’re awful, the wood is practically glued to the thing as it gets flat.

    The ground surface is particularly helpful when face jointing wider stock because as the material actually gets "flat", the effect with a flat, smooth bed is something akin to "suction". It can really stick down hard and make the workpiece hard to move! The grind (Blanchard I think?) on some machine beds helps to break that "suction".


    I don’t muscle the work on the jointer, I think many people use much more downward pressure than necessary.
    Exactly. The whole point of a jointer is to knock off the "high spots" until you have a perfectly flat surface. When folks press down hard, they are distorting the surface and taking material from the "low spots", too.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #21
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    What do you guys do for edge jointing narrower pieces? I find the normal push pads awkward to use with these, seem to have better control using my hands directly. Of course then your fingers are really close to the table, so I just try to keep them a foot or so away from the cutterhead on either side. I can envision a type of pushstick that might help but it would either have to be adjustable or be custom made for various board widths.

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Darcy Warner View Post
    It's how I feel safe using a 30" machine.
    The jointer in Maloof's shop. Canvas backed like some tambours.

    Sams jointer.jpg

    Wish I would've gotten better pics of it. I keep meaning to drop by.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  8. #23
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    A few in this thread have mentioned not running your hands over the cutter. Do you all mean you never have your hands over the cutter at all? My left hand moves over the cutter in the beginning to get the piece to the outfeed side. I just can't see any other way to do the operation without having one of your hands over the cutter at some point. I always use push pads when face jointing regardless of the thickness of the stock but it is a little unnerving having your hand an inch or two away from the cutter.

    In regards to kickback, I always pay really close attention to the grain and try and joint downhill as much as possible and I always take pretty light cuts.

  9. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    Wax your tables so the wood can move well... I use a gripper for face jointing.
    Yup, yup, yup! ^^^^

    It's like a night and day difference with wax and +1 for the Gripper.

    Erik
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  10. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    The jointer in Maloof's shop. Canvas backed like some tambours.

    Sams jointer.jpg

    Wish I would've gotten better pics of it. I keep meaning to drop by.
    I think Suva made those.

    I have enough of the fold up sections to make a gaurd for my 30, it doesn't take much width until a conventional style gaurd makes the jointer almost impossible to use.

  11. #26
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    I like those fold down guards, they’re a smart and practical design. I used one on a Martin and found it’s a great guard in my opinion. Nice to have to walk around the guard.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  12. #27
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    I always use push blocks when running the jointer.

    https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...31.WQHvxXwUbJA

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    The jointer in Maloof's shop. Canvas backed like some tambours.

    Sams jointer.jpg

    Wish I would've gotten better pics of it. I keep meaning to drop by.
    That jointer and guard look exactly like the Zefam my friend has with different badging. Made in Poland, like a battleship. That style guard is about the only practical way of going about it on wide jointers.

    John

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tim M Tuttle View Post
    A few in this thread have mentioned not running your hands over the cutter. Do you all mean you never have your hands over the cutter at all? My left hand moves over the cutter in the beginning to get the piece to the outfeed side. I just can't see any other way to do the operation without having one of your hands over the cutter at some point. I always use push pads when face jointing regardless of the thickness of the stock but it is a little unnerving having your hand an inch or two away from the cutter.

    In regards to kickback, I always pay really close attention to the grain and try and joint downhill as much as possible and I always take pretty light cuts.
    Tim

    Yes, your left hand will pass over the cutter head on the first motion for edge jointing, but after that the left hand should come to just in front of the cutter head.
    I typically like to move my fence to expose as little blade as practical, and then rely on the spring loaded guard to keep my hands away from the cutter head. If the guard is on place, and working properly, my hand never gets within 2" of the spinning cutter head.
    For face jointing, no, my hand does not pass over the cutter head. I will feed it through about 6 inches and then put my left hand down on the material on the out feed table. I'll sacrifice a few inches of board, instead of risking that board braking, or splitting with my hand directly over the cutter head.

    I do not wear gloves in the shop, and as a general rule while operating any machine. I have used them for working with Wenge and Shedua, because of the splinters,but rarely, very rarely, for anything else. No gloves around rotating machinery.
    Last edited by Mike Cutler; 10-18-2019 at 9:17 AM.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  15. #30
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    I use a Euro/Bridge guard and my hands never get near the bottom of it where the spinning knives are. I can slip them over the top if extra control is needed after the leading edge of the board is engaged, but I try to avoid that whenever possible.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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