New powermatic 54HH issue

[Neil Selzer]

Hi all,
have had this jointer for about 1 month. The issue I’m having is no matter what I do, I get this tiny bow in the center of whatever I run across. Maybe 1/64th or so. I have not made any adjustments to beds as most reviews usually state no adjustments are usually needed. Obviously I need to make some. Where to start?
thanks for any input
Neil

[Matt Day]

Lots of good tutorials out there, the wood whisperer is one that comes to mind. You’ll need some feeler gauges and the longest straightedge you have. Lee valley has sole good ones that are relatively inexpensive.

My guess would be the people who buy new machines and say they don’t need any adjustment do not have very high standards. in my opinion, every machine, new or used, should have a full alignment and tuneup done before use.

https://thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/jointer-setup/

[Stewart Lang]

My guess would be the people who buy new machines and say they don’t need any adjustment do not have very high standards. in my opinion, every machine, new or used, should have a full alignment and tuneup done before use.

This.

Anyone who owns a jointer needs to know how to adjust it properly. It will without fail need adjustment at various points in it's life. It's by far the most fussy woodworking machine to own and requires you to learn it's adjustment techniques if you plan on owning one for more than a week. Just imo.

[Mark Carlson]

I found this article on woodcentral about 20 years ago when I needed to setup my 54A. It worked great and I kept it.

IMG_0770.jpg

[Andrew Hughes]

My suggestion is to lower the outfeed table using the wheel a small amount. Make some test cuts with a board on edge see if that changes things for the better.
Good Luck

[Derek Arita]

Just FYI, I had a PM PJ882 that beautiful, but until I spent a few hours adjusting the beds, I got bowed boards no matter what I did. After the time spent, I was jointing as dead flat as my eyes could see. Good luck and you'll learn a lot.

[Holmes Anderson]

If you are getting a spring cut then the outfeed table is too low.

[Mel Fulks]

Hope the problem is “sol-ved”. I read “ small bow” ,but was not sure whether it was concave or convex. “It matters” (written in whispery
voice)

[Phillip Mitchell]

I agree that you really need to get intimate with your machine and learn how to dial it in. The details of the problem and method of testing hasn’t been explained in enough detail to really tell you what’s going on, but...

There is also the variable of technique that is easy to overlook. I have seen others (and myself at first) make the mistake of face jointing a board with the concave bowed side down, taking a depth of cut that isn’t deep enough to overcome the entire bow in one pass, all while pressing down in the middle of the board as it passes over the cutterhead. This essentially flexes it flat as it passes over the cutterhead - not unlike what happens when you put a banana board through the planer. It temporarily flattens it but then bows back after the cut. I’ve seen this happen even on 6/4 thick hardwood material if the wrong technique is applied. Sometimes this issue is hard to avoid with thin stock that’s bowed and needs to be flattened.

Not saying you’re doing this or have improper technique, just something to be aware of that I’ve seen mystify many a woodworker.

In other news, just last week I was noticing that my jointer was producing tapered cuts on 7’ long boards no matter what type of board and what technique employed. I checked it and realized that the end of the infeed table was sagging...probably from stacking a bunch of milled lumber on it for a few days. A quick adjustment of that end of the infeed table solved the problem and got me back to jointing straight as an arrow. This is a 12” Oliver 166 (industrial grade machine) that you wouldn’t think would go out of adjustment very easily, but it does happen and things need to be checked periodically.

[Matt Day]

Unless the board sucks down to the outfeed bed it’s not flat.

[Neil Selzer]

Hi all,
thanks for all the information! Well, a little more info. The concave bow is in the center. I ordered a 50 inch straight edge and feeler gauge.
I called powermatic and they told me the planer is not in co-planer. This is not my first planer, so don’t think technique is the issue. Once I receive the straight edge I will take some time and dig into correcting the issue! I may be back!
thanks again!
Neil