I do acrylic (plexi) fabrication. I edge the sheet with a Delta Shopmaster
bench top jointer. It has two knives and does a good job. It does leave fine
perpendicular mill marks on the edge that are, for some reason, more or less
random in appearance. See pix http://home.att.net/~jriegle/edge.jpg (It
does better with new knives) I was wondering if I can do better with a
jointer such as this three knife Ridgid JP0610
http://www.ridgid.com/MenuDriver.asp...ointer--Planer
Is this a good machine? Any other recommendation?
Thanks, John

"JohnR66" wrote in message
...
I do acrylic (plexi) fabrication. I edge the sheet with a Delta Shopmaster
bench top jointer. It has two knives and does a good job. It does leave
fine
perpendicular mill marks on the edge that are, for some reason, more or
less
random in appearance.

Feed speed will affect the random nature of your scallop marks. The slower
you go the less noticeable.


See pix http://home.att.net/~jriegle/edge.jpg (It
does better with new knives) I was wondering if I can do better with a
jointer such as this three knife Ridgid JP0610

Until you dull the knives it will do better. Keep in mind that wood glue
dulls knives quickly. I suspect the plastic is particularly hard on the
knives.

"JohnR66" wrote in message
...
I do acrylic (plexi) fabrication. I edge the sheet with a Delta Shopmaster
bench top jointer. It has two knives and does a good job. It does leave
fine
perpendicular mill marks on the edge that are, for some reason, more or
less
random in appearance. See pix http://home.att.net/~jriegle/edge.jpg (It
does better with new knives) I was wondering if I can do better with a
jointer such as this three knife Ridgid JP0610
http://www.ridgid.com/MenuDriver.asp...ointer--Planer
Is this a good machine? Any other recommendation?
Thanks, John


The mill marks are from each cutter blade passing through the stock. Moving
the material slower over the blade will make the edge smoother. Random width
of the mill marks comes from not feeding the material at a constant speed
and the speed changes of the motor as it slows with load.
It is hard to say if the Ridgid jointer would do a better job. It depends on
how large the pieces are and the operator of the machine. The cutter head
speed on the Ridgid is much slower than the Delta so the difference from two
to there blade cutters probably would not make a difference as you are
getting more cuts per minute with the bench top Delta.
One would think the Ridgid would do a better job. It is a much better
machine than the bench top Delta, But if your material is just short pieces
1-2 foot long, it may not make a difference.
More information would help.
Greg

A sharp block plane does a fine job cleaning up the edge on acrylic -
once you get it flat and square with a jointer. You might have to get
creative with clamping it, depending on how big/thick a sheet we're
talking about.

"JohnR66" wrote in message
...
I do acrylic (plexi) fabrication. I edge the sheet with a Delta Shopmaster
bench top jointer. It has two knives and does a good job. It does leave
fine
perpendicular mill marks on the edge that are, for some reason, more or
less
random in appearance. See pix http://home.att.net/~jriegle/edge.jpg (It
does better with new knives) I was wondering if I can do better with a
jointer such as this three knife Ridgid JP0610
http://www.ridgid.com/MenuDriver.asp...ointer--Planer
Is this a good machine? Any other recommendation?
Thanks, John

Can't vouche for its use on acrylic but the machine is great. It came
disassembled but the cutterhead and table adjustments were ready to go. For
your needs it will more than suffice.