Greetings All…
I am lucky enough to have a brother who was a woodworker when FWW started, so he has all the back issues. I have started getting into woodworking, and I have started going though the dusty issues page by page… meeting all the greats along the way…
I was startled to see an article on making one’s own jointer… maple infeed/outfeed tables… seemed pretty niffty! It was in a 1981 issue I think… anybody remember this article?
Have any of you ever tried copying it? Actually making your own machine? Ever heard of anybody trying it out?
I have noticed that those older issues contain articles that really show ingenuity and doing it yourself from everything from finding old electric motors to metallurgy… lots of engineers as amature woodworkers experimenting…
I must admit I like the old issues better. Why? For example, I do not have 200$ for a tomek sharpening system. I DO have $$ for a handcrank from ebay and a new norton wheel. See where I am coming from? Necessity is the mother of invention! Lack of funds is a cousin. 🙂
I wish you all well…
William
Replies
Wow,
That sounds like something out of Popular Woodworking! I'd be curious as well. However I doubt that anyone who actually spent the time and money making it would admit if it didn't work. :-) I love reading old magazines as well. there is so much to learn!
Mike
I too am a charter member of FWW and remember the article well. That goes back to the days before the inexpensive imports became plentiful. In the early days there weren't as many choices on saws and planers and gadgets that woodworkers think they need now a days. If you learn how to tap into the used market it doesn't make any sense to try to fabricate a jointer but one does have to know what to look for and sometimes that so called deal is a money pit unless you know all the pitfalls to watch for. It means knowing where to have tables reground and whether to change a motor or get a converter.Having a quality machined straight edge is important. Some machines have the motor built in so a converter is the obvious choice. Knowing to look to see if the motor is 550 volts and other less obvious things that could ruin a good buy are things not found in any book and learned the hard way. With imports and used machines available it really doesn't make any sense to make a machine. I've seen 16" jointers that cost more to move than buy and were in working shops.
I remember that article. I still have that FWW issue somewhere. I would have liked to make that jointer but I felt that it was a lot of work to go through for a machine that most likely would change acuracy with the wheather. Good luck if you do make it. I would like to see a photo of the finished product if you do it.
Garry
I've considered making a big a$$ jointer off and on for several years, but haven't yet found the time to do it and I guess I'm a little hesitant to invest the energy and come up with something that doesn't work satisfactorily. Please let us know if you decide to build it.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled