Jointer Question

>
> Do a complete jointer tuneup and don't skip any steps. After the
> tuneup you will know that the blades are 90-degrees to the fence, plus
> there are dozens of other things that could be wrong. The 1/4" is
> excessive--1/16" is better. Review the proper technique to using a
> jointer--keeping the stock tightly against the fence and body
> posture/weight shift during the cut.

My preference is to take less than 1/16... more like 1/32. I always expect
to take at least 2-3 passes on relatively straight rough-cut lumber.
Jointing is an iterative process.

More technique hints:
1. Make sure you rough-cut to length before jointing . It is much easier to
accurately joint a 3' piece and than an 8' piece, and it wastes less wood
too.
2. Almost all boards have one concave edge and one convex edge. Always
joint the concave edge. If you must joint the convex edge, take a pass or
three in the middle of the board (don't cut into the first or last six
inches) This will cause the board to ride in firmly on the ends rather than
rocking on a center point when making a final full-length pass.

Also:

>>I suddenly realized that I was making a real nice wedge, rather than
>>smoothing the edge of the rough sawn wood.

At the risk of sounding anal, jointing is intended to straighten/flatten
stock, not smooth it. Smooth and flat are very different things. Some folks
"smooth" a less a coarse TS cut with a light pass on the jointer. A jointer
can leave a very nice surface if the grain is all going the right way. I
seldom see stock without some grain reversal. I prefer to do smoothing with
a card scraper.

-Steve



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Eldon wrote:
> Greetings to the group.
>
> I have a Gizzly 8" jointer and have recently discovered a problem of
> which I need help with. While edge jointing some cherry I was
> thinking about something else while preforming the task. I suddenly
> realized that I was making a real nice wedge, rather than smoothing
> the edge of the rough sawn wood. I was taking off about 1/4" at a
> pass. The fence is dead on at 90 degrees. I placed a 4" level across
> the bed and things seem to be in order there. What the heck am I
> doing wrong? After finding this problem I then tried to edge joint a
> piece of red oak and again the same problem. I haven't used the
> jointer all that much, but when I got it I edge jointed some poplar
> so that I could do a glue up and it seemed OK.
> What am I missing here?
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Dave

A 4" level? Did the jointer deplete all your funds? If you read the manual,
you will find that you need a straight edge to determine if the infeed and
outfeed are coplaner. The level will tell you if your jointer is level with
the floor.
When you say "wedge," do you mean that leading edge is narrower then the
trailing edge? If so, then this is an indication that the knives are set to
low. If knives are set to high, you will get snip on trailing edge.
A quarter inch! That must be some very rough lumber.

--
Frank Howell

My guess would be technique if you are confident that the machine is
set up correctly. Even pressure is the key to good technique. The
longer the board is, the harder that is to accomplish. And the more
times you run the board through the jointer, you may wind up
magnifying the problem.

Probably anyone that has used a jointer has made their share of
"tapered legs" before getting it correct.

This page says it all better than I could in respect to diagnosing
jointer problems. Scroll down to "techniques":

http://tinyurl.com/269mfy

Robert

"Frank Howell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Eldon wrote:
>> Greetings to the group.
>>
>> I have a Gizzly 8" jointer and have recently discovered a problem of
>> which I need help with. While edge jointing some cherry I was
>> thinking about something else while preforming the task. I suddenly
>> realized that I was making a real nice wedge, rather than smoothing
>> the edge of the rough sawn wood. I was taking off about 1/4" at a
>> pass. The fence is dead on at 90 degrees. I placed a 4" level across
>> the bed and things seem to be in order there. What the heck am I
>> doing wrong? After finding this problem I then tried to edge joint a
>> piece of red oak and again the same problem. I haven't used the
>> jointer all that much, but when I got it I edge jointed some poplar
>> so that I could do a glue up and it seemed OK.
>> What am I missing here?
>>
>> Thanks in advance
>>
>> Dave
>
> A 4" level? Did the jointer deplete all your funds? If you read the
> manual, you will find that you need a straight edge to determine if the
> infeed and outfeed are coplaner. The level will tell you if your jointer
> is level with the floor.
> When you say "wedge," do you mean that leading edge is narrower then the
> trailing edge? If so, then this is an indication that the knives are set
> to low. If knives are set to high, you will get snip on trailing edge.
> A quarter inch! That must be some very rough lumber.
>
> --

Pssst, Frank, he's jointing, not planing a surface. Makes a 4" level pretty
good for checking a 8" dimension. Though that's not the problem. If the
knives are square to the fence all the way across, and the outfeed ditto,
things should work.

That is IF he's using a flat enough for long enough face against that fence
and maintaining proper pressure against it. One should, of course, sight
for high spots on the edge of the board and remove them first or spend a lot
of time trying to straighten a board. I'm assuming that 1/4" refers to the
diference between the end and the middle of a bowed board, as anything else
would demand something so loose as to be immediately noticeable even on a
Grizz jointer.

Had one at the school in those grant tools that had nearly a 1/8 difference
between the L side of the head and the table. Made the knives a joy to set,
but we did get a replacement eventually where the difference was much less.

"Eldon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greetings to the group.
>
> I have a Gizzly 8" jointer and have recently discovered a problem of which
> I need help with. While edge jointing some cherry I was thinking about
> something else while preforming the task. I suddenly realized that I was
> making a real nice wedge, rather than smoothing the edge of the rough sawn
> wood. I was taking off about 1/4" at a pass. The fence is dead on at 90
> degrees. I placed a 4" level across the bed and things seem to be in order
> there. What the heck am I doing wrong? After finding this problem I then
> tried to edge joint a piece of red oak and again the same problem. I
> haven't used the jointer all that much, but when I got it I edge jointed
> some poplar so that I could do a glue up and it seemed OK.
>
> What am I missing here?


Well, 1/4" per pass seems awfully steep and wasteful. Why are you using a
4" level to check your jointer? A jointer does not have to be level to work
properly, you need a strait edge. Even properly set up jointers do not
insure against a tapered board. After jointing one edge or side use a TS or
thickness planer to make the opposite edge or side parallel to the one
straightened or flattened on the jointer.

I suggest taking lighter passes, much lighter, maybe 1/16" Use a long
straight edge to determine if the in feed and out feed tables are co planer
and insure that the cutting depth is no higher than the out feed table.
Make passes only until that edge is straight or flat. Do not try to take
the resulting taper out in the jointer.

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:59:56 -0500, "Eldon" <[email protected]> wrote:

[...snip...]

>I placed a 4" level across the bed and things seem to be in order
>there.
[...snip...]

You need something more accurate. Metal straightedges of sufficient
length for your purpose are very expensive. I just saw a tip at Fine
Woodworking about making a "straightedge" out of MDF, for this
purpose.

It showed how to get 3 screws along the edge of the MDF piece set to
an accurate line.

It is an adaptation of a well-known method of creating a metal
straightedge without an accurate reference surface, from 3
non-reference but straight lengths of material (usually metal).

It requires 3 boards to make 1 straightedge; you have to adjust the
screws between all 3 boards to ensure you have an accurately straight
edge.

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:59:56 -0500, "Eldon" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Greetings to the group.
>
>I have a Gizzly 8" jointer and have recently discovered a problem of which I
>need help with. While edge jointing some cherry I was thinking about
>something else while preforming the task. I suddenly realized that I was
>making a real nice wedge, rather than smoothing the edge of the rough sawn
>wood. I was taking off about 1/4" at a pass. The fence is dead on at 90
>degrees. I placed a 4" level across the bed and things seem to be in order
>there. What the heck am I doing wrong? After finding this problem I then
>tried to edge joint a piece of red oak and again the same problem. I haven't
>used the jointer all that much, but when I got it I edge jointed some poplar
>so that I could do a glue up and it seemed OK.
>
>What am I missing here?
>
>Thanks in advance
>
>Dave

Do a complete jointer tuneup and don't skip any steps. After the
tuneup you will know that the blades are 90-degrees to the fence, plus
there are dozens of other things that could be wrong. The 1/4" is
excessive--1/16" is better. Review the proper technique to using a
jointer--keeping the stock tightly against the fence and body
posture/weight shift during the cut.