Replies

1. 
   joinerswork | Oct 03, 2006 01:00am | #1

   Frank,

   Sounds like the chute is clogged.  Sometimes the shavings will hang up just under the bed of the machine, waay up at the top of the chute. (The chute appears to be clear, but it isn't.)  Your shop vac may not have enough gumption, or too small a hose, to do the job.

   Regards,

   Ray Pine

2. 
   JohnWW | Oct 03, 2006 01:00am | #2

   You probably have shavings tightly packed in under the table clogging the dust chute, they'll need to be dug out.  The shavings got jammed in probably because the shop vac couldn't remove them fast enough.  Unless you take very light passes you will need a larger dust collector to properly handle the shavings produced by a jointer.

   John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine

3. 
   JMartinsky | Oct 03, 2006 02:12am | #3

   I concur with the other postings, you have a clog somewhere. Jointers can produce a LOT of shavings and will quickly overwhelm a shop vac. Time for DC!

   Best,

   John

1. 
   daryl | Oct 03, 2006 05:37am | #4

   Yes it will take a bit of effort to really clean it out. Just make sure you are unplugged. Also, some compressed air may not be a bad idea either. You don't want your hand near the blades.BTW, in another thread, I mentioned Frank Klausz's sugestion on having 1/4" of travel when setting the blades, and John White suggested that was too much. Well, I spent some time trying out various configurations (my Felder jointer is easy to adjust), and John was right. My blades just about brush the underside of gthe test piece, moving it less than 1/16", actually not moving at all, just hearing the nick, and performance is much better.One small item: use a laundry marker to note the nubmers of each blade and slot; that way you always know what you worked on.Thanks John.

1. 
   DJK | Oct 03, 2006 04:30pm | #9

   Man O Man I hate when the jointer clogs. My 30" Oliver 166 cloged while taking a 1/4" cut on a 28" wide walnut slab. Had to use a sewer snake to clean it out.DJK

1. 
   Winchester | Oct 03, 2006 07:11pm | #10

   Hard to feel too bad for a guy with a 30" joiner and 28" wide walnut.
   But hey, its all relative.
   Doug

2. 
   philip | Oct 03, 2006 11:24am | #7

   Ah, Evil J, I am having a quiet chuckle here: you would know about making some huge chippings with a jointer....(;)Philip Marcou

1. 
   JMartinsky | Oct 03, 2006 02:01pm | #8

   Dear Philip,
   So nice to be remembered! Yes, I DO know a bit about making huge chips with my jointer, shall we re-open the discussion? Assuming that no one wants to......... I can attest to the fact that even when making "maximum" cuts, a 3 HP Oneida cyclone with correctly sized pipe can easily handle the "chunks" even with 75' of pipe.Best,(Evil) John

4. 
   forestgirl | Oct 03, 2006 05:38am | #5

   Ditto to everyone above.  The jointer was the only tool that I could collect from easily with a large shop vac.  Go in and clean it out, you should be fine.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

1. 
   BigFrank | Oct 03, 2006 08:22am | #6

   Hmm,So you all think this is a clog? Interestingly enough this jointer did that from the moment I got it (new)! And I assembled it myself.

1. 
   JMartinsky | Oct 04, 2006 01:31am | #11

   Dear Frank,
   Perhaps a shipping block is the culprit then. They stick those blocks of styrofoam all over those machines, perhaps they buried one on you. Maybe just a piece of tape or similar as well. Are you getting anything into the shop vac?Best,John

2. 
   cadiddlehopper | Oct 04, 2006 01:33am | #12

   Big Frank:
   Clean it out as suggested. Blast it with compressed air. Make certain of its cleanliness. If possible, remove the panel with the dust chute on it. Place a box below the chute to catch shavings. Run the jointer to see what happens. The jointer may still clog when planing a wide board. If it does, your only hope is to attach a dust collector with mucho suction. Forget using a shop vacuum. Sometimes we have to live with problems, but it helps just to know their magnitude and causes.Cadiddlehopper

3. 
   dkubel | Oct 04, 2006 10:38pm | #14

   I have the same model jointer and mine has also done it from day one. You don't have to shave very much at all off a 3-6 inch board to clog it up.

   Mine seems to clog about 18" up the chute from the bottom. I unblock it with my hand and blow the rest out from the top with compressed air. I'm hoping that when I get a dust collector on it I won't have this problem.

   -doug

1. 
   BigFrank | Oct 04, 2006 10:42pm | #15

   Thanks for the comments all!I'll give that a try and see if I get better results.

5. 
   tinkerer2 | Oct 04, 2006 05:15am | #13

        My Powermatic 882 does that every time I joint a board, but I can clean it all out with a yard stick.  I don't have any type of vacuum on it yet.  I'm still setting up shop.