Thread: Setting blades on old 12" jointer - Help!

Good evening Sir, I have a pair of the Carbatec planer blade setting jig that you can borrow if required, before spending your hard earned $$. It is best if they were measured before dismantling, but as that is too late, I would set the in feed table level with the out feed, then remove the out feed to give access to the bolts and set it up from there.
I recently set up my 4" woodman this way.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Kryn

Thanks Kryn, that is a very generous offer that I would be keen to take you up upon however unfortunately I don't often get out Murray Bridge way (only when driving back to Victoria once or twice a year) and the cost of postage and return postage would eat a fair chunk out of just buying a set.

I think that the concept of the Carbatec jig would work for me but if you look at the picture on the Carbatec website the unit straddles the blade and rests on the round cutter head housing on either side of the blade. With mine the out feed side of the jig will be sitting on the section of cutter head which is removable to hold the blades in place. It may not be too much of a problem given the bolts will be finger tight to hold the blade in position but it may introduce an error.

Hi SS
I know your problem all to well. What I do with my 50's style/manufactured Jointer is nip the 2 outer bolts just tight enough to hold the knife and then to adjust it use a nylon hammer of appropriate piece of timber to tap the blade down to its cutting position which is flush with the out feed table. It can get frustrating doing it this way but it works.

EDIT...Forgot to say when you are happy with the position make sure you tighten all the bolts and recheck that nothing has moved.

Hmmmm - tricky. I've never been a fan of the jigs that register the blades to the cutterhead, as this isn't necessarily the same plane as the outfeed table (especially on cheap or old/worn machines). Better if possible to reference the blades to the table(s).

Provided your infeed and outfeed tables are coplanar, I'd set them both level to start with (i.e. zero cut), then back the outfeed table down to access the bolts. I use a straightedge to set my blades using the "pickup and carry" method; usually aim for the blades to just brush the straightedge and move it by maybe 5mm. Make sure you have any machine covers removed (and power disconnected....), then its easier to rotate the cutterhead to and fro using the belt. This method is usually done with the straightedge on the outfeed, but no reason why you can't reference to the infeed to facilitate adjustment in your case. Adjustment is basically as chambezio says - nip the outer bolts up a bit, then tap the blades down to the required position while rotating the cutterhead to check against the straightedge. I have done this on an ancient machine, and it isn't all that hard. If the blade goes down too far at one end just lever it back up a bit with a screwdriver. Gently nip up all the bolts when you're done.

Once you've set blades to the infeed table, adjust outfeed table with your straightedge until the blades barely graze it. Tighten up ALL bolts before switching on - I'm guessing this machine doesn't have any kind of retention pins to prevent blades pinging off. Do a test cut, then do a fine adjust of the outfeed table height to get the board as flat as possible.

Hours of harmless fun.....

The end plates on the table should be removed to give acess to the cutter block bolts

Thanks all for the advice ..... it has given me plenty to think about.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Hmmmm - tricky. I've never been a fan of the jigs that register the blades to the cutterhead, as this isn't necessarily the same plane as the outfeed table (especially on cheap or old/worn machines). Better if possible to reference the blades to the table(s).

It has taken me a while to get my head around this as I was initially thinking that if I could get the projection of the blades the same above the cutter head it would give me good results, but now I see the issue if the cutter head and the table are not aligned.

With all that in mind I think my first step would be to buy a straight edge and have another go at setting the blades that way. It will be handy to have in the garage anyway so it will not go to waste. The end plates can be removed and that would be the best option to enable me to reference off the out feed table and get access to the bolts. I just hope that they can still be removed as I haven't tried it before. I hadn't really considered their purpose before.

If this approach fails I will then look at perhaps dial gauges.

Cheers

Stinky

Well that's a bugger. A quick trip down to the garage this evening reveals that the in feed table end plate can be easily removed my a few screws accessed from the top of the table, however for whatever reason the out feed end plate seems to be riveted on and cannot be removed.

To tighten the blades I need access from the out feed end so removing the in feed end plate will not help much. Even removing the end plate didn't seem to provide too much more access so I am reluctant to try and remove the out feed end plate.