Fantasizing about hobbyist equipment design

[Brian Runau]

Most all high end Euro jointers have motorized adjustment of the infeed table. It’s a nice feature and I move mine a lot. A lot of the vintage euro jointers had hydraulic up and down or a simple lever like molders have for infeed adjustment. Some vintage US jointers had large ships wheels for easy adjustment.

Ta-da! Thanks Joe. Brian

[Jim Becker]

Hah! I have not changed the depth setting on my jointer/thicknesser for the jointer since, oh...2005 or so when I bought it. The same old, same old slightly less than 1mm / 1/32" since it came off the trailer.

Note, I'm not saying that an automated depth adjustment is a bad idea. It's interesting, especially for folks who actually do want/need to change the setting frequently, both for functional and creative reasons.

[Joe Calhoon]

Jim, early on I had a SCM combo that was difficult to adjust the height on and it pretty well stayed at 1mm removal and just make a few passes with crooked material. I said I move mine a lot but in reality it probably stays at 1mm 80 percent of the time. I find it’s handy when straightening crooked boards. I do a lot of door beveling and chamfers on the jointer and nice to just go to a depth for door bevels depending on the thickness being beveled. For example a 2 1/4” thick door gets a depth setting of 3 mm to produce a 3 degree bevel on the edge.

[Jared Sankovich]

Some vintage US jointers had large ships wheels for easy adjustment.

My newman is 0.010" per revolution of the "ships wheel"

I also move my infeed height a lot between roughing and finishing/cleanup passes.

[Bernie Kopfer]

As long as we are fantasizing….. I would like a motorized lift/lower mechanism for my bandsaw upper guide.

[Richard Coers]

I adjust my height adjustment all the time too. But an extreme adjustment would be 1/8". Even that adjustment take less than a full rotation of adjustment. By the time I pushed a button, my adjustment would have been made by hand.

[Warren Lake]

seems the last of the machines that need it, the old stroke sander yes it was brutal.

[William Hodge]

I worked in a milling room at a window and door shop. They had an old babbet bearing 20" jointer with a ships wheel height adjustment. It was great for wood that had a lot to remove, it was easy to make a 1/4" pass and go right back to skimming passes. The idea was to make fewer passes, just do it on one.

[James Jayko]

This feels like a solution looking for a problem...

[mike stenson]

Levers are faster and easier than wheels are.. and also, like manual window cranks, one less thing to break. I do adjust my depth of cut regularly, takes less than a second to go from 0 - 4mm and everything in between. My powermatic could do the same thing, because lever.. although the dovetailed tables were harder to move in general.

[Brian Runau]

The Felder Plan51L jointer (20”), has a power drive infeed table with digital height display.

It also has a locking lever under the infeed table so you can make convex, straight or concave workpieces.

I’ve used one, superb machine, and adding a stock feeder to the outfeed table really increases productivity

Regards, Rod

That sounds cool. Brian

[Brian Runau]

As long as we are fantasizing….. I would like a motorized lift/lower mechanism for my bandsaw upper guide.

Thanks for playing along. Brian

[Joe Calhoon]

As long as we are fantasizing….. I would like a motorized lift/lower mechanism for my bandsaw upper guide.

Zimmermann is one Bandsaw manufacturer that has electric lift of the upper guides. Rare to find here and expensive.
My Agazzani 36” band saw had a horrible lifting system with plastic gears that was a bear to use and out of alignment at different heights.
Yet my 20” Hema saw has a beautiful lifting system that is effortless to use and aligns perfectly.

I think in regards to both jointers and bandsaws you will see much variation in the quality and ease of movement with the higher end machines working better as they should be.

[Warren Lake]

its one thing to wind a stroke sander table by hand that has big resistance up 30 inches, much lesser a planer table on a good machine up and down 8" This scm planer has no need for a power table it moves that nicely. A jointer table, are you kidding, we are moving some fraction of an inch.

[Wes Grass]

My ... uh ... 741 ... has a lever adjustment. I make light passes jointing, using a thumb as a guide based on roughly half the twist. Yes, so far at least, I've raised it above the table before getting to the cutterhead.

And I'm a PAB when it comes to the thickness planning aspect of it. A 16th ... excuse me, 1.5mm, and then less sneaking up on the final thickness. Or is it 'inch' decimal? Obviously it's been sitting idle for far too long.

The saw has inch scales ...

Something ... maybe my Fadal VMC, has metric screws but configured in inches for program input ...

??????

!!!!!!

LOL.

Years back, '83?', I was programming wire EDM with an HP pocket calculator and a notebook. A few test cuts, and I decided it left a better finish in 'metric'. Also only required 3 digits right of the decimal...

And now I'm back there with the Fadal ... since my perpetual license of Surfcam no longer is.

A 'useful skill' ... in desperation ...