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Thread: I bought a Jointer - now what?

  1. #1

    I bought a Jointer - now what?

    This is not mine (stole the pic from a certain auction website), but it is the same model and similar condition. No, well, actually mine's not as rusty, but it is a fairly rusty, and much dirtier - gunked-on old oil, etc.

    My 2 main questions (although I'll probably have many more) are:

    Are the blade guards fairly universal? Mine did not come with one, and the craftsman website says a replacement part for this model is not available. Where could I get a suitable replacement guard?

    The manual basically makes it seem as though any old hack with a shop can sharpen the blades on a whetstone or similar. Yet, I always hear about people sending out their jointer and planer blades to be sharpened. Can I really do it myself, or is it just asking for trouble. They definitely need to be sharpened before I use it, I'd say.



    Last edited by Andy Henriksen; 10-09-2007 at 1:34 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    West Chester, PA
    Posts
    231

    Guard not universal AFAIK

    Ah, the old fixed-outfeed-table Craftsman! As can be seen in the pic, the knife guard pivots on a pin through the table, with a springy thingy attached underneath. I imagine the exact arrangement is not universal. OTOH, there must have been a million of these sold (various models, same basic machine), so you might have luck with a few WTB ads here, on Craigs famous list, etc. Or, maybe Sears still sells parts for a more recent vintage that would fit.

    If the knives are really all crapped up, I would just spring for a new set rather than trying to sharpen or have sharpened the old rusty ones.

    Good luck getting the old knives out of the beast. If they are rusted in place, you will need to figure a way to get a small pry bar under both sides of each one (easiest if you take the cutterhead out of the machine for this). After major applications of PB Blaster, of course. Then clean all oil, rust, etc., from the cutterhead and wedge bar before installing new ones. Set the knives exactly even with the outfeed table, NOT .003" above as the manual states.

    Also good luck getting the infeed table adjusted. My advice is not to disassemble the ways and gibs if at all possible, and to get it aligned at a fixed depth of cut (about 1/32") then never touch the cut depth adjustment. Its about six-way tweaking needed to get it coplanar with the outfeed.

    DAMHIK all this.

  3. #3
    Consider the option of making your own blade guard out of maple or other hardwood. Just copy the basic curved shape so that it swings smoothly out of the way. You should be able to use a hardwood dowl or a steel pin as the hinge post. You can probably find a spring at Home Depot to allow the guard to swing closed. The guard should be level and keep about 1/2" clearance from the blades.

    Depending on the condition and your patience, you may want to buy replacement knifes. If you have the patience and the stones for it, there is no reason you can't sharpen them yourself. You'll need basic sharpening skills but thats a fact of life for a woodworker.

    I say try it, there is nothing to be afraid of. Worst case, you can't get them sharp enough or straight enoung and you buy the replacement blades anyway. Better to learn how to do it on this jointer than the really nice one you buy someday.

    I think the real trick is putting the knifes back in the cutter head. Don't forget, the knifes must be parallel and even with the outfeed table at the highest point in their rotation. Consider getting the little magnetic jig from Woodcraft that holds the blades in that position while you tighten them.

  4. #4
    Yeah, its doubtful they are universal. There wouldn't be much need for them to be, since its not like you will be wanting to replace it with a better one.

    I think they all pretty much follow the same design though, in so far as they all seem to be spring loaded cams that slide out of the way as you feed the stock through, and they are all removeable (AFIK) for dealing with larger width stock.

    The cam has the advantage that it minimizes the amount of the blade that is exposed for any given width of stock. If you decide to build your own, make sure it has enough clearance from the cutter head, but make sure its not so high that your push blocks slide under it without pushing it open.

  5. #5
    Thanks for the tips guys. I know this jointer style has a reputation for being a PITA, but it was a good price, and better than nothing - which is what I had previously. The blades, based on a very quick inspection, seemed OK. A little orange surface rust maybe, but nothing serious, and no nicks that I could see.

    I'll have to take a closer look at it to see if I can come up with a serviceable DIY option for the guard. If anyone here has a similar jointer, or at least one with a similar guard and wants to snap a picture or two that might really help me figure it out too.

  6. #6

    Planer...

    For anyone else out there in the same boat... there is a 6 inch grizzley jointer in great shape in Lindon, Utah for $250 on craigs list right now. (Provo, Utah) I have an 8 inch powermatic of I would be interested myself...

    Drew

  7. #7
    Gene O. Carpenter Guest

    OldCraftsman Jointer

    Andy, Don't know if Mod will let this fly or not but in case they don't OWWM has an index for mfgrs of machines made for Sears,search for "Craftsmand Index", check your Nod. No. they may have made the same machine for someone else.. Also
    that machine was made for quite a few years, they just changed the numbers. So there's a possibility that you might get a part from a more recent Model year that will fit..You'll just have to do a little investigation! Ace Tool Repair in Canada might have a parts schematic if you can find it made that mfgr or for another retailer..I have the same machine, haven't used it in years, so if push comes to shove let me know and I'll see if I can't take some photos for you.
    As was said in previous post, it is a pain to tune that thing so it doesn't cut concave or convex edges..
    Good luck with it..
    http://www.owwm.com/MfgIndex/Detail.asp?ID=222

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