1. Home
  2. Woodworking Forum
  3. Help with Jointer Setup

Help with Jointer Setup

Hiya, I'm having some issues with my jointer and was hoping for some help. I'm getting a tapered board with the front of the board narrower than the trailing end (I'm edge jointing). I understand this could be due to the tables not being parallel or the cutter head is too low. I checked the tables and they seem fine. I did lower the outfeed table slightly to where if I put a board on it and manually spin the cutter, it moves the board about 1/2" or so backwards. But now I'm getting snipe. In the past, I've fixed that by setting the outfeed table to be just below the top of the cutters. Am I to assume that there is a very, very fine line between snipe and taper here or is there something else I should be addressing? I believe my technique is fine (hasn't changed in the 10-15 years since I've been using a jointer with no problems). Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson
Loading thread data ...

If the outfeed were high you would get the taper on the trailing portion. You'd also hit the leading edge on the table, because the cutterhead had not removed enough material. If the outfeed is low, you get the snipe you induced by lowering. The symptom you report is a characteristic of outfeed droop or not feeding with even pressure.

Recheck parallel, make sure your stock is not bowed in the middle causing misfeed, and try again.

Reply to
George

The outfeed table should be at the same height as the blades. If it's not, as you found out, snipe results.

Reply to
CW

Ok, so it seems that a hair high gives me snipe and a hair low gives me taper. I'll have to take a look at it again tomorrow and run some wood through it at different heights to see if I can eliminate both! Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

Keep in mind also that a "slight" taper result is common on all jointers. Jointers are not used to create parallel surfaces, only straight and flat surfaces. The TS should be used to make the opposite edge smooth and parallel.

Reply to
Leon

Are you using a dial indicator to align your outfeed table with the blades? If not, I highly recommend it. The TS-aligner Jr works well for this task.

Reply to
Stoutman

Only to take it out of parallel at the jointer??

Reply to
Stoutman

Possibly.

There is no parallel reference on a jointer. Jointers make a face flat, and/or one face an exact angle to another, based on the setting of the fence.

Parallel edges or faces obtained on a jointer are based on luck.

Reply to
B A R R Y

Really? I thought the cutters took off a measured amount all along the length, based on their height. If you started parallel, you should get parallel, less the equal amount removed by the cutters. I can't measure the difference.

Assuming you set the outfeed properly, of course.

Reply to
George

Take a piece of any stock that "has not" been edge jointed at all. Run the stock through the jointer "several" times and then measure with a accurate tool(calipers).

In my opinion, you "will" have taper to some degree. I have a highly tuned, well adjusted DJ-20 and I know it will taper a board in a heart beat. It has since the day I got it.

A jo>>Keep in mind also that a "slight" taper result is common on all jointers. > >

Reply to
Pat Barber

I'm not trying to edge both edges with the jointer. I'm just trying to get my one true edge so I can rip the other edge to parallel at the TS. I've not had this problem before so I'm assuming an adjustment I made a few weeks ago to eliminate snipe may have been too much of an "adjustment". Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

Oh I don't need calipers to see the taper forming. I had one board that I had to continue to run through several times before it started jointing the trailing edge of the board. By that point, I could visually tell that I had taken much more material off the front vs. the rear. I think I'll go spend some time today fiddling with the outfeed table height and see what I come up with. Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

I'll simply credit you with superior jointer skills.

All of my training involved not expecting opposite faces to remain parallel off the jointer, so I'll agree to disagree.

Maybe my faces are parallel, but since I don't expect them to be, I don't check.

Reply to
B A R R Y

By doing it "several times", yes, you will possibly accumulate error that can be measured with a caliper. I think the OP is seeing taper with out using a caliper.

If you start with parallel faces you should end up with parallel faces. If you start with a taper you should end up with a taper.

Reply to
Stoutman

I'm confused. If you guys aren't getting parallel faces at the jointer than why do people drop all that dough on those fancy Besseimer TS fences? I guess I will stick with my $15 delta stock fence.

Reply to
Stoutman

My typical method of preparing stock:

- Cut the board to rough length with a hand or jigsaw.

- Possibly rip to rough width with the band saw. I don't always work from a sawmill edge. If I'm not, I'd now create a roughly rectangular board at the band saw, based on figure preference.

- Joint a face flat enough so I can thickness plane the other side. This may leave hollows in the center of the board, as I'm not looking for a perfect face yet.

- Thickness plane the non-jointed side flat, then flip the board to totally flatten it and ensure both faces are parallel.

- Choose an edge and joint it 90 degrees to a face

- Rip the other edge to width, creating a second edge parallel to the jointed edge.

This works great for me, others may prefer their own methods.

Reply to
B A R R Y

Not necessarily the case at all, either with edges, or faces. AAMOF, it you happen to have done so, just consider yourself lucky ... this time. ;)

If the board has any edge or face bow the faces/edges can still be "parallel" ... joint one of those faces/edges and you will absolutely NO longer have parallel faces/edges.

Then try to joint the opposite face/edge and you will be chasing your tail with "taper" on one or both ends ... guaranteed.

As Leon correctly stated, a jointer simply should not be used in an attempt to make opposite faces/edges "parallel".

These results can only be guaranteed with, and are jobs for the well setup thickness planer and table saw for the normite, respectively, or the appropriate planes for the neander.

If you do NOT follow this truism, it will eventually bite you in the butt ... guaranteed.

Reply to
Swingman

Theorectically possible, providing you start with stock that is both parallel AND perfectly "flat", but if your stock is already flat and parallel there are much better ways to dimension it than running it over a jointer.

Reply to
Swingman

I have to question this. What is it about a jointer that would cause it to produce a piece that is tapered? Properly set up infeed/outfeed/cutterhead relationships should indeed provide a non-tapered result. Do you expect your router to leave a tapered piece? What's the difference between what the router is doing and what the jointer is doing? I think you've been settling for too little in your jointer setup. Or - am I out to lunch?

Reply to
Mike Marlow

What I've found is that it is very important to ensure the total bed plane is in proper alignment. It's easy to have the infeed tilted inward toward the cutter head and the outfeed the opposite (or any of the myriad of other combinations) - such that over the total length of the two beds, there is not a parallelism. Co-planer and all those other words we like to throw around. Re-do your measurements both at the cutter head and across the total bed length.

Use your imagination and think about a piece of wood making its way through the jointer bed in all of the various misalignment configurations.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.