Ever since new my Makita planer/jointer seemed to unevenly remove wood when jointing. By that I mean that starting off with parallel stock and maintaining even pressure on the outfeed table I end up with non-parallel top and bottom. Recently I got sufficiently anoyed that I stretched a decent long straightedge along the outfeed table and found that the feed end of the in table is lower than it is at the cutter slot. Is there anyway to remove this non-parallelism given that only the infeed table is moveable? What am I missing?
Thanks
Replies
Squidman,
I've lurked on this site for quite a while but couldn't believe my eyes when I read your post. I also have a 2030 - original owner - and have used it off and on (mostly off) since the 80's. I'm gearing up to do some woodworking and was tuning the 2030 using techniques posited by John White. I adjusted the new blades using the "stick" method but found I had an issue when I ran some trials.
It also took an accurate straightedge and some time-consuming feeler gauge work to determine I had (have) infeed/outfeed issues. It is strange. Instead of the infeed sagging, the infeed was slanted toward the cutter!? I spent a couple of days, over the holidays, feeling and shimming the best I could. I've "cured" the slant but determined the infeed is twisted. By that I mean, the infeed and outfeed are coplanar near the cutter but one of the far ends of the infeed is higher than the other.
I just came (cussing) up from the basement and saw your post. The compromise adjustments still aren't cutting it (of course no pun intended). I'm going to recheck the blade height setting and see what happens. I'll have to wait until I come back from vacation.
Good luck,
Rob
I thought I was the only one left with a Makita 2030! It's good to hear there are a few of us remaining in the world. I've owned mine (bought used) since 1977, and it's been a real workhorse for me. When I worked as a carpenter I used to drag it on site. Now it's in my shop. I've replaced the rollers on it once but still have the original blades, which I resharpen myself.
As to the sagging infeed table, mine did that as well. I fixed it by adding some thin shims to the ways underneath the infeed table. However, once I did that, I also realized that the bolt (or nut, I forgot which it is) that holds the infeed table to the main casting needs to be very tight or the table will sag of its own weight. Once I tightened that up sufficiently the sag disappeared. That might be something to try in your case.
The nut that holds the infeed table onto the casting on my machine is very tight now, to the point that it is difficult to move the infeed table much to adjust the depth of cut. That's not a big deal to me, as that adjustment is something I really don't do often, and I'd rather the table not sag. A compromise, I know. Lubing the ways helps too - and that reminds me that I must do that to mine. It's been about ten years since I gave this machine any comprehensive service...
One of the big compromises Makita made with the 2030 is the fact that the outfeed table does not adjust! That's caused me hours of consternation over the years. You need to get the jointer knives adjusted perfectly or you'll end up with a bad jointer cut. That's the one drawback I have with this machine - well, that and the fact that it does not seem to have been designed for chip and dust collection at all. I've tried to retrofit a dust collection system onto but so far have not been successful. Have you been able to overcome this deficiency?
As to a twisted infeed table, you should be able to remove the table and take it to a machine shop for regrinding. Because the infeed table has adjustability, removing a few thousandths of an inch from the top in order to correct the twist won't make any difference. I had this done to an older tablesaw top once and it really wasn't too expensive - maybe 60 bucks or so at the time. If such a procedure manages to salvage your Makita (and your sanity), it could be worth the expense.
Zolton
Thanks so much for your suggestion about shimming the infeed. Yes, I too have had mine many years and on the advice of the dealer installed the reduced feed speed gears. I have been very satisfied with it aside from the dust collection issue you mentioned. I don't have any indication that the infeed is twisted, but I have a frined with a large machine shop that can use some high fallutin grinding process to level it out.My main complaint lies with the basic design of the cutter head. Cutter height adjustment is a royal PITA, what with wedging the irons with a screw driver. I do have a dial indicator to help with the job, but tradition adjument screws and lcok nuts would speed things up, especially when in mid-job and an iron needs shifting. I wish too the cutter assembllies had been made of steel, which would allow magnetic indicator mounts, etc. to work.Take car and happy chips, Bill
Bill,
I agree with you about the cutterhead design of the Makita 2030. It is labor intense to change out or shift the blades. In fact, I've never bothered to shift the blades due to a nick; I just try to avoid the nick if I can. But it was a pretty early version of this type of tool, so maybe the cutterhead can be forgiven from that standpoint.
I adjust my jointer knives by laying the blade of a 12 inch combination square (high end, Starrett, so it's ground and precise) on edge on top of the outfeed table. I play around with the knives until rolling one of the knives past the ruler makes it shift forward exactly one eighth of an inch. Then I try to tighten the bolts so the blade doesn't shift. It often takes two or three tries. It's a good thing the knives are made of such good steel and last a relatively long time between sharpenings. Otherwise I'd have sold this machine a long time ago due to the trouble it takes to deal with setting the knives up accurately.
The planer knives are easy to set. I just finger-tighten the bolts and then press a flat piece of hardwood across the top of the casting where the knives poke through, with the cutterhead held at top dead center by the little spring loaded holding bolt. I wish the jointer knives were as easy to deal with...
Zolton
Hi again Zolton- Yes the planer blades are far easier to set as their relative heights isn't so important. I recently purchased a 12 in Starrett combination square with center-finder head as well, but never thought of simply using it as a straight edge. I do recall, however, from the distant past in one of Tage Frid's Taunton Press books to use a straight piece of wood, mark the infeed end of the cutter head slot, then rotate the joiner head which carries the wood forward, and to finally place a second mark at the lein-feed edge of the cutter slot. Do this iteratively on a single knife until both sides move the same amount relative to the reference lines. Seemed like a pain to me so I bought one of those Canadian-made jigs which are ground with parallel top and bottom faces and perpendicular ends into which a standard dial indicator near one end. I have a thumb-tack shaped point for the indicator and use this rig at either side of the blade to establish uniform height across the blade and between blades. Still slow though.No, I too have not solved the shaving collection problem adequately either.Cheers, Bill
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