On 3 Jul 2006 14:56:43 -0700, wrote:

I just acquired an old, belt driven Craftsman Joiner and tried using it
for the first time. To my dismay, it cuts the board thicker on one end
than the other. When I eyeball it, I can see that the infeed table
slants downward away from the fence.

I turned it over to look for easy adjustments, but it looks pretty
complex. Has anyone had any experience with this problem? Can it be
fixed or is it even worth it? I have $75 into the joiner at this
point.... should I abandon it and buy a new one or is this something I
will ned to learn to do to maintain any joiner?

I don't know if it's a systemic problem or if it was unique to me, but
I had a Craftsman joinTer at one time that had exactly the same
problem. In the alignment process, you could get the infeed table
coplanar with the outfeed table, or you could get the height
adjustment wheel to work, but you couldn't do both.

At first I thought it was the table and got another infeed table from
Sears under warranty, but it exhibited the same behavior. I tried
every trick I could think of, including shims on one or more of the
four bosses on the underside of the table to which the dovetail gibs
attach.

I tried to think of other methods, and at one time I thought of taking
it to an engine machine shop to have the infeed table reground while
adjusted properly on the rest of the machine, but never followed
through with that.

In my opinion, the problem is unfixable. There are ways to make the
machine function after a fashion. Find a compromise adjustment that
allows you to set the table height as desired while getting the table
reasonably coplanar. That's not hard to do. Then make sure the fence
is square to the outfeed table--also not hard to do. You now have a
jointer that will mill board edges flat and square well enough for
most any work that you will do. Just be sure you register the work
tightly against the fence.

The jointer is hopeless for face jointing. Don't even think about it.

You may not realize it, but the outfeed table is integral with the
body of the machine, which, while probably cheaper to build, actually
somewhat compounds the problem, as with an adjustable outfeed table
you might have been able to adjust both tables coplanar (and reset the
knives) and still be able to move the height adjusting wheel. That's
still a mickey-mouse arrangement, though.

For $75, you can have an okay edge jointer. For $75 you can toss it,
inflict it on an acquaintance (you wouldn't do that to a friend), or
put a $150 tag on it at a garage sale and sell it for anything you can
get over $30 and the buyer will think he scored.

I'd shop around for something else (which is what I did--first a DJ15,
now a DJ20).

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

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