Thread: What is acceptable tolerance on infeed / outfeed tables on jointer?

Try adjusting the gib strips if it has them. They may be loose and letting the table ends drop. If they can't be adjusted try shimming the tables to get them level.

To my mind, the in- & out-feed tables on a cheap thicknesser are of little import in how the machine cuts, so long as they don't intefere with the actual feed. That's all dictated by the rollers, cutter & central table alignments.

A sagging feed table may lead to bit of snipe on leading and/or trailing edges, but for the cheaper machines that tends to be a problem anyway so one should always allow extra length for trimming.

What sort of work do you expect to put it to? Sizing frames? Box panels?

Thanks for the replies, but I realise now that I've caused a bit of confusion by referring to a planer thicknesser. My apologies for not being clearer. The machine as sold in Australia was called a planer thicknesser, where planer can refer to what is also called a jointer. I gather from the replies from NCArcher and certainly Skew ChiDAMN!! that you are referring to the thicknesser which I think is called a planer in the US. The tables I'm referring to on my combo machine are the top tables on the jointer i.e. the ones that plane an edge and one face to prepare the piece for thicknessing to create a piece of equal thickness in the part of the machine under the top tables. There is no adjustment possible on the top tables I'm concerned about because they are held by screwed pins through the steel sides of the machine into the cast alloy sides of the top tables, so the question is whether the variations from level across the tables will cause problems for the small work I want to do on it, such as sizing timber for small boxes and cutting boards.

Is this a planer/thicknesser or a planer or a thicknesser ( the last sounds unlikely with the table references ) If you can shim up the outfeed table to be parallel with the infeed table would be the better option as the outfeed rarely needs adjusting. If you have dips or something in the tops individually - probably best moving on as to get them properly machined is unlikely to be worth it. As you describe it with basically a hump in the middle will make everything slightly curved!