Hello Group,
What are the advantages to having both adjustable infeed and outfeed
tables on a jointer. The infeed is obvious, but I see disadvantages to
the adjustable outfeed. If it's higher than the top of the cutters
then your woork piece would catch on edge, unless you lifted it over
before continuing the cut. If it's lower, would you have a tendency to
not get a uniform depth on the cut?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Marc

marc rosen wrote:
Hello Group,
What are the advantages to having both adjustable infeed and outfeed
tables on a jointer. The infeed is obvious, but I see disadvantages to
the adjustable outfeed. If it's higher than the top of the cutters
then your woork piece would catch on edge, unless you lifted it over
before continuing the cut. If it's lower, would you have a tendency to
not get a uniform depth on the cut?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Marc

basically you set it once and forget it until you change the knives.
the outfeed is carefully adjusted by the user so that a cut piece of
lumber JUST slides onto the table with no interference or clearance. In
other words, it's adjusted to a gnat's ass for optimum results. Too
high and you get convex boards. Way too high is obvious as you'll hit
the edge of the table with the boards! Too low and you get snipe.

I make final adjustments by cutting into an already flat board, by about
4 inches and check the clearance (if any) between the bottom of the
board and the outfeed table, while holding pressure on the infeed side
of the board.

Dave

How would you align the outfeed table exactly with the cutter head if
it were not adjustable?

On 1 Nov 2005 16:42:27 -0800, "marc rosen"
scribbled:

Hello Group,
What are the advantages to having both adjustable infeed and outfeed
tables on a jointer. The infeed is obvious, but I see disadvantages to
the adjustable outfeed. If it's higher than the top of the cutters
then your woork piece would catch on edge, unless you lifted it over
before continuing the cut. If it's lower, would you have a tendency to
not get a uniform depth on the cut?
Thanks in advance for your responses.

I have a cheap, crappy jointer I bought under pressure (I only paid
$100 for it. Adjusting the knives is a serious PITA because onto only
do you have to get them level with each other, but also with the
table. With an adjustable outfeed, you can set the knives and then
adjust the table so it is exactly the same height. Much easier.

Luigi
Replace "nonet" with "yukonomics" for real email address
www.yukonomics.ca/wooddorking/humour.html
www.yukonomics.ca/wooddorking/antifaq.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...ct_Woodworking

Good point Bob and Luigi, and also David,
But I thought cutter adjustments were made - one blade at a time -
aligned with the outfeed table. Giving the outfeed a chance to move
appears more cumbersome.
Anyway, I'll fine tune my jointer (a very old Jet) and work with the
infeed only.

Marc

"Luigi Zanasi" wrote in message
...
On 1 Nov 2005 16:42:27 -0800, "marc rosen"
I have a cheap, crappy jointer I bought under pressure (I only paid
$100 for it. Adjusting the knives is a serious PITA because onto only
do you have to get them level with each other, but also with the
table. With an adjustable outfeed, you can set the knives and then
adjust the table so it is exactly the same height. Much easier.


Hmmmm. AMT or Sears? Or did anyone else put their label on those?

How about the other dimensions of adjustability to make help make the
infeed/outfeed coplaner. Those need to be there, so you might as well
have a height adjustment, as well.

George wrote:

"Luigi Zanasi" wrote in message
...
On 1 Nov 2005 16:42:27 -0800, "marc rosen"
I have a cheap, crappy jointer I bought under pressure (I only paid
$100 for it. Adjusting the knives is a serious PITA because onto only
do you have to get them level with each other, but also with the
table. With an adjustable outfeed, you can set the knives and then
adjust the table so it is exactly the same height. Much easier.


Hmmmm. AMT or Sears? Or did anyone else put their label on those?

Several versions...I had a very old no-name which only had a 3-point
rear table adjusting system--no gib arrangement at all. Worked, but
wasn't nearly as simple as the fully adjustable outfeed table.

marc rosen wrote:

Good point Bob and Luigi, and also David,
But I thought cutter adjustments were made - one blade at a time -
aligned with the outfeed table. Giving the outfeed a chance to move
appears more cumbersome.

As Liugi says, it's actually precisely the opposite---it separates the
task of setting the knives to two separate tasks independent of each
other--first make sure all are at the same height, then adjust the rear
table to the proper height. Also then allows for "tweaking" the outfeed
table height to account for wear and honing in place that reduces the
cutting diameter slightly w/o having to readjust the knives between
actual full resharpenings.

Another advantage is for the occasional use of the jointer to create
tapers one can set the table high or low for special purposes.

Anyway, I'll fine tune my jointer (a very old Jet) and work with the
infeed only.

Marc

On Wed, 2 Nov 2005 06:56:30 -0500, "George" George@least scribbled:


"Luigi Zanasi" wrote in message
.. .
On 1 Nov 2005 16:42:27 -0800, "marc rosen"
I have a cheap, crappy jointer I bought under pressure (I only paid
$100 for it. Adjusting the knives is a serious PITA because onto only
do you have to get them level with each other, but also with the
table. With an adjustable outfeed, you can set the knives and then
adjust the table so it is exactly the same height. Much easier.


Hmmmm. AMT or Sears? Or did anyone else put their label on those?

Bottom end 6" Delta actually. I had to buy it, along with the ARHA
Sears routers attached to the table saw I wanted. Guy was leaving town
and said I had to take the jointer & router if I wanted the table saw
and clamps.

Luigi
Who will be extending his workshop by 8' next year so he can have room
for the 8" General long-bed he has been drooling over for a long time.

On 1 Nov 2005 19:39:05 -0800, "Bob" wrote:

How would you align the outfeed table exactly with the cutter head if
it were not adjustable?

=============
I HAVE NOT read any replies past this point...

But I have been using a 6 in Rockwell Jointer for almost 40 years now
that has a fixed outfeed table.... I simply adjust the knives to
the table ......Not hard to do...HONEST !

Now back to reaqding the other replies...

Bob

On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 11:42:15 -0500, Bob G.
wrote:

On 1 Nov 2005 19:39:05 -0800, "Bob" wrote:

How would you align the outfeed table exactly with the cutter head if
it were not adjustable?

=============
I HAVE NOT read any replies past this point...

But I have been using a 6 in Rockwell Jointer for almost 40 years now
that has a fixed outfeed table.... I simply adjust the knives to
the table ......Not hard to do...HONEST !

Now back to reaqding the other replies...

Bob



not terribly hard to do, but not possible to tweak after the fact
either. glad you are having no problem with your jointer. I know
several other people with jointers like yours who also have no
problems with them. mine has adjustable outfeed and I do use it, but I
could live without it.

I don't buy the "set the outfeed once and then leave it alone" deal.
After i put in some fresh sharp knives and get it just right, it is good
til the knives lose a little sharpness. then I have to make a minute
adjustment to the outfeed to compensate for the slightly shorter knives.

just my experience
jack

Jack Gray wrote:

I don't buy the "set the outfeed once and then leave it alone" deal.
After i put in some fresh sharp knives and get it just right, it is good
til the knives lose a little sharpness. then I have to make a minute
adjustment to the outfeed to compensate for the slightly shorter knives.

just my experience

Yep, mine too...

It also makes that touch-up honing operation much easier/feasible in
place between real resharpenings...

Also, imo, ymmv, $0.02, etc., ...

On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 12:29:25 -0600, Duane Bozarth
wrote:

Jack Gray wrote:

I don't buy the "set the outfeed once and then leave it alone" deal.
After i put in some fresh sharp knives and get it just right, it is good
til the knives lose a little sharpness. then I have to make a minute
adjustment to the outfeed to compensate for the slightly shorter knives.

just my experience

Yep, mine too...

It also makes that touch-up honing operation much easier/feasible in
place between real resharpenings...

Also, imo, ymmv, $0.02, etc., ...



yabbut the machines with fixed outfeed are pretty much all short bed
jointers. the difference in straightness with the wear of the blades
is less than the total accuracy of the machine anyway. I suppose that
with a carefully constructed test you could measure the loss of
accuracy at the wood as the blades wear, but it's not likely to be
enough to make a difference to the type of folks using those machines.

making the jointer simpler has the benefit of making it harder to
screw up as well as keeping the price down. these machines are
definitely not adequate for any kind of production shop, but they do
have their place in the home garage shop- and perhaps in the jobsite
kit of a trim carpenter.

s wrote:

....
yabbut the machines with fixed outfeed are pretty much all short bed
jointers. the difference in straightness with the wear of the blades
is less than the total accuracy of the machine anyway. I suppose that
with a carefully constructed test you could measure the loss of
accuracy at the wood as the blades wear, but it's not likely to be
enough to make a difference to the type of folks using those machines.
....

May be true for anything being currently marketed, I don't know, but the
6" fixed outfeed table machine I had as my first jointer was quite
adequate for length and functionality...certainly the overall table
length was as good as any other current 6" machine w/ the exception of
the long-bed PM.

I think it would have been quite easy to tell when the knives were dull
and honed that it wasn't "spot on"...