Straight Edge recommendations

[Graham Haydon]

I'm not sure this will help much, but I've never used a straight edge, machinist or otherwise to set a jointer. I've only had to set up two. A large Danckaert jointer with loose HSS 400mm knives. More recently it's been an SCM FS 520 with TERSA knives to comply with regulations in the UK. On the Danckaert I would use a piece of hardwood with two pencil lines set 6mm apart. The out feed table would be set so when the block was rotated it would throw the block 6mm and I would adjust accordingly. With TERSA they go in the same spot each time. I always do test pieces after set up and it all just seems to work.

[Patrick Walsh]

Right now I’m not concerned myself with a jointer. Although this thread is about that. I’m more speaking generally it excluding jointers.

I have seen machine repair guys do as you say honestly to varying degrees of success. Sadly even some service techs have a “good enough for wood” attitude. Totally not except I left to me when I’m paying you and disgraceful to say so much to a client if your a service tech. Kinda self admittance to being incompetent and a jestful way to let yourself off the hook. But I have seen your method work so you know it’s what they say about the arrow. I do t dare use the whole analogy..

I'm not sure this will help much, but I've never used a straight edge, machinist or otherwise to set a jointer. I've only had to set up two. A large Danckaert jointer with loose HSS 400mm knives. More recently it's been an SCM FS 520 with TERSA knives to comply with regulations in the UK. On the Danckaert I would use a piece of hardwood with two pencil lines set 6mm apart. The out feed table would be set so when the block was rotated it would throw the block 6mm and I would adjust accordingly. With TERSA they go in the same spot each time. I always do test pieces after set up and it all just seems to work.

[Darcy Warner]

Right now I’m not concerned myself with a jointer. Although this thread is about that. I’m more speaking generally it excluding jointers.

I have seen machine repair guys do as you say honestly to varying degrees of success. Sadly even some service techs have a “good enough for wood” attitude. Totally not except I left to me when I’m paying you and disgraceful to say so much to a client if your a service tech. Kinda self admittance to being incompetent and a jestful way to let yourself off the hook. But I have seen your method work so you know it’s what they say about the arrow. I do t dare use the whole analogy..

I had a little contest with a former machinist turned woodworker. Needless to say, I was at least twice as fast with my stick and at least if not more consistent than he was with his gauges and dials.

He has since converted.

This was a 24" jointer. Yates American

[Robert Hazelwood]

Using a stick to set the knives can be very accurate, but what I found irritating is that you just have to guess at how far to adjust the knives. If you are trying to get the stick to move 1/8" and it moves 3/16", how much do you need to lower the knife? Pretty much you just lower it "a tiny bit" and then check again. With a dial indicator I can see the knife is 0.004" high and then tap it down while watching the dial move until it is a bit below zero, tighten the gib screw and watch the dial go back up, hopefully to zero. No guessing...well except for how far the knife will rise when the gib is tightened, but I can see immediately if I have undershot or overshot.

I can see for a Tersa head where the stick method would be ok since you should only have to set the table to one knife. My jointer has a 4 knife head and my first attempt to set the knives was with the stick method...never again. I made a wooden version of the oneway gauge and the process is not too bad now, about 30 minutes.

[Patrick Walsh]

Darcy,

Me and my typos, autocorrect, typing to fast and well not knowing how to spell or form a sentence.

My intention was to communicate I have seen a number of machinery service techs not machinist use just a stick to setup a jointer relying on depth of that first cut to set the outfeed height then largely sound and using that same stick if indeed the machine can produce a flat board at least place along into width.

But maybe you understood me perfectly and were just elaborating.

I would think one would get very good at setting up machines doing what you do. Or maybe not I guess, but if you cared the slightest and were ever held to the fire by clients I bet one would get very very good at setting up machinery pretty quick. It seems like rocket science to the uninitiated but is largely just common sense.

I had a little contest with a former machinist turned woodworker. Needless to say, I was at least twice as fast with my stick and at least if not more consistent than he was with his gauges and dials.

He has since converted.

This was a 24" jointer. Yates American

[Tom M King]

I set straight jointer knives with a strip of wood, and never measure how far it moves a stick. Once they're all set to brush the bottom of the stick, by feel, a test piece is run, and the outfeed table adjusted if needed. Takes about 20 seconds per knife.

The strip of hard wood (Boxwood lately) pushes the knife down until it will barely brush the bottom of the strip of wood while rocking the head back and forth with a wrench on one of the middle gib screws. If the tail end of the wood strip stays on the outfeed table, you can't push the knife down too far. The trick is being able to tighten the end gib screws enough to hold the knife in place, but still allows you to move the knife. It's not as hard as it sounds, and works for other such tools as handheld power planers. Once the knife is felt brushing the same on both ends, the screw that the wrench is on tightens that one, and then the others.

[Allan Speers]

Take one or two blocks of wood and put a slot in them that's a hair wider than the thickness of the straight edge and a hair deeper than the height. Slip it/them over the top of the straight edge as you have it on the surface you're testing. It/they will hold the straight edge up without binding it so your hands are freed to do what needs done.

Great idea !

[jack duren]

I had a little contest with a former machinist turned woodworker. Needless to say, I was at least twice as fast with my stick and at least if not more consistent than he was with his gauges and dials.

He has since converted.

This was a 24" jointer. Yates American

Agree... not that technical....

[jack duren]

They bought a new Oliver at work. Guys kept complaining about it being slow on the out feed like it was hitting or dragging something. Looked at it and with those gauges he had the out feed just high enough to cause a problem. Took a board and reset it. Worked fine and no complaints..

[Brian Holcombe]

Straightedge arrived from Starrett with a big curve to it. I will see if they will accept a return, I can't imagine reliable results coming from this.

Was mounted to a piece of wood for shipping and wrapped in cardboard.

[Doug Dawson]

Straightedge arrived from Starrett with a big curve to it. I will see if they will accept a return, I can't imagine reliable results coming from this.

Was mounted to a piece of wood for shipping and wrapped in cardboard.

Was this shipped direct from Starrett, or somebody else?

In purchasing such things from amazon, you have the option of clicking "this is a gift", which forces them to double-box it.

[Brian Holcombe]

Right from Starrett, the shipper wasn’t the issue IMO.

[Gustav Gabor]

That's concerning that Starrett would let something like that past quality control, after all, accuracy is what the company is built on.

Out of curiosity, how much of a curve? Over what span?

I would hope that they will ship you another (checked for flatness and straightness) at no expense to you, as well as paying for return shipping on the curved one.

I have a number of Starrett measuring instruments and straight edges, and thankfully haven't had an experience quite like this with them yet.
Having said that, back in 1982 -84 when I was a student at Leeds Design Workshops in Easthampton Massachusetts, I did have to try quite a few Starrett combination squares before I found one that was actually accurate.
Still have it today, and amazingly after 37+ years, it's still bang on.

[Patrick Walsh]

I have a 12” sterrett combo square I received as a gift at least five years ago. Brand new out of the box it was out like at least a 32nd..

Wish I had done something about it as it’s relegated to stuff that’s not important.

[Brian Holcombe]

That's concerning that Starrett would let something like that past quality control, after all, accuracy is what the company is built on.

Out of curiosity, how much of a curve? Over what span?

I would hope that they will ship you another (checked for flatness and straightness) at no expense to you, as well as paying for return shipping on the curved one.

I have a number of Starrett measuring instruments and straight edges, and thankfully haven't had an experience quite like this with them yet.
Having said that, back in 1982 -84 when I was a student at Leeds Design Workshops in Easthampton Massachusetts, I did have to try quite a few Starrett combination squares before I found one that was actually accurate.
Still have it today, and amazingly after 37+ years, it's still bang on.

They were great in that regard, offered to inspect one and send it but I decided simply to return. I’m inclined to move to a longer cast iron straight edge of to begin learning about autocollimator’s. At certain lengths it becomes clear that there are alternatives to a straight edge that should be considered.

This is not for woodworking, per say, but just to pursue interest in this area.