How to add spring tension to jointer blade guard?

[Dick Holt]

Anyone ever re-tension the spring on the blade guard on a Shop Fox W1741 (or Grizzly G0490) jointer? I removed the blade guard but, instead of loosening the set screw, I mistakenly removed the cap screw on top of the guard and the spring came out. I put everything back together, but there is no tension on the spring and the guard won't retract. How do I add tension to the spring?

Dick

[Steve Wurster]

Can you spin the guard around so the spring gets tension? You might have to remove the fence to do that, but then the fence is what would prevent the guard from unwinding after that.

[Carl Carew]

I did it a while ago and from memory I think you loosen the allen screw on the pivot and rotate the large black knob to increase tension then retighten the allen screw you may have to play with it a little. I did this a while ago and I am in the middle of trying to get someone free our stopped up sewer drain or I would go out and confirm this. I just might have it backwards (ie loosen the black know and adjust the allen screw) If this doesn't get it send me a PM and tomorrow I will go out to the shop and verify how I did it.

Regards
Carl

[Dave Zellers]

Yeah- I've done it too on my G0490 but I don't remember what I did.

Ain't rocket science- play with it is the best advice. It will become obvious.

[Ronald Blue]

If the spring is a torsional type which means it rotates as the guard moves you just need to pre-load it. I can't tell enough from the parts break down how it is done but as others have said experiment with it. Not a lot different then a recoil spring on a small engine pull rope. It just needs to be rotated and locked down so it closes. The other possibility is it has a specific orientation when installed and there is no adjustment to it. The ends drop into holes that are already properly indexed. You will figure it out.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dick,

Looking at the G0490 parts manual, here is what I believe you need to do.

1. As always when working on any equipment, disconnect power to the tool.

2. Temporarily remove the guard assembly by loosening the set screw. Then reinsert the guard assembly making sure the flat spot on the bottom flange is aligned to be engaged by the set screw. Tighten the set screw onto the flat spot.

2. Move the fence as far to the rear as you can to get it out of the way of the blade guard as you are going to have to rotate the blade guard. You might have to tip the fence back to get it completely out of the way.

3. IF you are sure the two vertical ends of the spring inside the blade guard assembly are properly in the holes of the two clamps (one at the bottom with the flat spot held by the set screw, the other at the top with the cap screw going through it), loosen the cap screw slightly and carefully try turning the blade guard CCW as viewed while looking down on it. If you can't turn it, release the tension on the blade guard and loosen the cap screw some more and retry. There should be a point to where the cap screw is loose enough that you can turn the blade/cutterhead guard CCW without too great an effort and yet the cap screw still holds the assembly together.

Once you reach that point, turn the blade guard 1 revolution CCW and retighten the cap screw. You should probably hold the blade slightly cocked while you tighten the cap screw. Test the operation of the blade guard.

The CCW revolution should preload the spring and yet if you look at the drawings, there is a roll pin that should stop the blade guard from going too far when the cap screw is properly tightened. Carefully loosening the cap screw should allow the blade guard to ride up over the roll pin and when the cap screw is tightened, the roll pin should stop the blade guard from rotating CW too far.

4. You may have to put more than one CCW revolution on the spring to get proper tension but I suspect 1 revolution will put enough preload on it for normal operation.

5. Be careful and good luck!

[Myk Rian]

Kens procedure sounds like Grizzly has done something dumb. I had a G1018, and all I had to do was turn a knob to pre-tension the spring.
Do you really have to move the fence out of the way?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Myk,

Looking at the parts manual for the G1018, it was similar and I fail to see a knob to simply adjust tension. It came pre-tensioned and you would have to tension it in a slightly different manner. In fact, the manual shows you having to hold tension on it with your finger by holding a roll pin in a specific position while you slide the guard on and tighten the lock handle.

Checking the manuals for similar Powermatic and Jet jointers, show a similar device to the G1018.

Call Grizzly tech support and talk to someone with some experience.

[Dick Holt]

Thanks guys for your help. It took a few tries, but I finally got it working again. I just hope if I need to take the guard off again, I remember to do it the right way.
Dick

[woody dixon]

I made the same mistake taking my guard off and now the whole assembly came apart. I've read several threads, reviewed pictures, but I now get no tension when I reassemble. One thing I noticed is the black knob underneath the cap screw on top is about 1/4 inch above the guard. The guard now also strikes the table when I move it over the cutters. To get the knob closer to the guard I have to push it down but this pushes the small vertical end of the spring out of the slot. I tried tightening while holding the setscrew but this does not add any tension only makes it harder to swing the guard manually. i tried moving the guard ccw but it only goes a short distance before a pin stops it and this adds no tension. If this is the roll pin Ken references. loosening the cap screw doesn't seem to help. Any ideas?

[Lee Schierer]

Here's a link to a previous post where Frank Carpenter had the same problem.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....G0490X-Problem

[Bill Dufour]

My old school delta 8" you have to back he fence off and spin the guard a turn or two to preload the spring. The big jointer at my high school used. a sash weight and a cable to pull the guard. I think the weight was in the front where it could hit your toes if the guard was swung forward too far. It was probably a war surplus jointer from the shipyards like the big bandsaw and planer.
Bil lD.

[woody dixon]

Bill,

If I try spinning the guard I get nothing. I suspect I have not loaded the spring properly into the shaft of the guard. There is an indentation under the top of the guard where i positioned the vertical piece of the spring and the short horizontal piece was put in a slot at the bottom of the guard shaft. Nothing in the manual about this and most dont face this problem since this wouldnt ordinarily be disassembled. Not sure what to try next.

[woody dixon]

Attachment 409864Attachment 409865

The second picture shows the spring put back into the bottom of the guard with the shorter horizontal piece sticking in the slot and the longer verticall piece going down to the underside of the guard where there is an indentation. the first picture shows the bottom collar with the pin sticking up on top opposite from the set screw. This pin catches the end of the slot on the bottom of the guard when I tried to wind and tension the spring. Am I attaching the spring correctly in the bottom of the guard? What do I do about the catching? Some said they loosened the top capscrew until the the guard rides over the pin but the whole assembly comes apart when I try that. Any suggestions?

[Charles Lent]

On my import copy of an old Delta jointer, I remove the guard. It just pulls straight up. Then I pre-wind the spring about 2 revolutions by reaching under and turning it. Make certain that you are turning it the right direction. While holding the spring at that position, I insert the shaft of the guard. It engages the spring and the spring tension keeps it against the fence. If not, I repeat the process, putting a little more rotation on the spring before replacing the guard. A couple of tries and it will be just right. It's really quite easy, at least on my jointer.

Charley