Hello everyone
I just wanted to ask for peoples opinions on thier expectations for the accuracy of new equipment and share my experience.
I recenlty upgraded from a 6 inch Jointer to a 8 inch Powermatic with the helical head, yes I did not listen to everyones warnings to purchase the bigger jointer the first time, dumb. Used the smaller jointer less than 6 months.
I would like to have purchased the paralleogram version but just could not handle the weight and size in my shop.
Adjusting the outfeed table was no problem but using some feeler gauges and a machinist straight edge I noticed the tail of the infeed table was slighly raised causing my boards to be convex slighlty. Being a former machinist I have plenty of shim stock and precision tools so I shimmed the front of the in feed table closest to the cutting head with .004 shims. Started with .002 and .003. The edge glue ups look good now. I could have done the outfeed table instead.
I was slighlty disappointed as I spent the extra money on the Powermatic hoping to avoid the need to shim the table. I also had to shim the 6 inch jointer but the table drooped slightly in that case. I have a relatively cheap milling machine and metal lathe so am no stranger to shimming.
I just wanted to see if most people today would expect to have to shim a new jointer in todays world. If so it would seem that the parallelogram jointer would be the best option but they are just so big and heavy. I thought metal working took a lot of space but wood working is another level in my opinion.
I also think that todays user manuals for dovetail weigh jointers should be amended to include instructions on shimming if the manufacturers feel in reality adjustments will be needed. When I called tech support they indicated to take out the gibs and clean them, done, and play with the various set screws, done. I just dont think the set screws are a very precise method of adjusting the tables. I would have been better off going right to the shim stock.
I am envious of the experienced wood workers who have the skill and technique to work around machine set up issues but I am a long way from there.
Thanks
Replies
Expectations
Toro,
I find I am disappointed with every jointer I use, once I get to checking the flatness of the tables. I have never shaken my expectation of surface plate flatness, since I know that half a thousandth, when setting the height of the outfeed table, makes a big difference in the accuracy of the cut. It is a confounding irony that the little whiskers on the freshly cut wood (that come from micro nicks in the knives that develop almost in between boards, it seems) effectively raise the outfeed table relative to the cutting circle, and change your cut.
The man I learned from had a pretty old 12" machine (babbit bearings), and he taught me to change shims often, depending on if we were flattening stock for milling or shooting edges for joining. That machine was just big enough to have separate beds on top of the wedges, which made it convenient to use paper as shim stock. Shimming the infeed obviated the need to reset the outfeed as well.
Many are the old industrial sized machines I have taken out to have the tables ground. I don't remember if I dared to look when a later boss bit the bullet and purchased a brand new Northfield, long time ago. As Northfields have a table with cored and box construction, they are the only ones I might rely on to be and stay flat. Even the Porter, which set the standard for thoughtful and convenient features to quickly adjust to accurate performance, has the drawback that all others do of very touchy tables. Just try tightening or loosening the clamping screws while you are looking at a straight edge set crosswise, for an example.
Lee Haelters
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