Hi guys,

I'll need to cross post on OWWM; but I'm seeking some input on incorporating the ~1925 16" Porter C jointer I recently picked up in to my workflow. A few questions and problems to work through actually.

It's a 5hp 3-phase, 2 blade cutterhead with Babbitt bearings. It's old, loud, crude, and could enjoy a second life as a boat anchor; but I love it anyways.

Questions/issues:

Tear out: Came with a set of new knives and I put those in. Still experiencing tear out on different species of wood, more pronounced when face jointing. Liberal application of paste wax and careful feed speed seems to help. Especially 8-12" boards as they hug the tables so much. Suggestions?

Replacement knives: Source? Appear to be HSS or similar in there. Maybe carbide tipped would be better? Good cuts result in shallow 'scallops' along the board, think this is normal?

Babbitt bearings: lubricant/oil recommendations seem to be all over the place. Adding oil to the oilers before working seems to result in strong hot oil smells, normal I guess? The bearings get quite hot...

Jointing: getting the fence perfectly 90 degrees seems to be a challenge especially when moving from the 8-12-16" positions in the table surface. Would it be more efficient to leave edge jointing for the slider and using the Porter for face jointing? I know that using the 'inside/outside' technique for complimentary angles is an option as well.

Anyone using their shapers for edge jointing operations?