Shopsmith Forums

I'm trying to put a 1/4" rabbit edge on a 12"w X 6' Long board. with the SS joiner. the tail of the board keeps lifting up & the leading edge is walking off!!! What is the best way to handle Long stock rabbit edge cuts.

Hi Whizz! The only way I'd try a quarter inch rabbet on a board of that size is to use a fence extension. You have been trying to hold a heavy workpiece perfectly upright on a 1/2" edge. You need a sturdy fence to help stabilize the workpiece. Shopsmith sells a fence extension,http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/j_auxiliaryfencekit.htm but it would be pretty easy to make a suitable one. Shopsmith's is only 7.75 inches high.

IMHO, it would be a lot easier to make that rabbet on the table saw or by using a router. (a router table or a rabbet bit)

I agree with Chuck that this would be a job more for the router or, if you don't have one, on the table saw with a dado set.

This operation calls for a good method to hold the workpiece regardless if done with the table saw or the jointer(I recommend both - rough out by saw and finish with jointer).

As has been suggested a fence extension is needed(higher than the 12" of the workpiece). One can be attached with only two bolts. If you have a mark 5/V or a 510 the same hole spacing allows mounting it to both the saw fence or the jointer fence.

Howsomever I think you need infeed and outfeed support from your description. You need to provide something both in and out that is the same height(s) as the jointer bed(s). These can be as simple as horizontal boards clamped securely so as to provide the support needed.

Bottom line is you need Both the fence support and the in/out feed support.

to the good replies above, I would add the suggestion of one or more featherboards. one nice thing about the jointer is that you can use the magswitch featherboards to augment the featherboard/cutter guard.

Ivan

iclark wrote:to the good replies above, I would add the suggestion of one or more featherboards. one nice thing about the jointer is that you can use the magswitch featherboards to augment the featherboard/cutter guard.

Ivan

Not a whole lot of room for them with this operation!:(

JPG40504 wrote:Not a whole lot of room for them with this operation!:(

oops. sounds like I should have read the manual before commenting. I take it the fence slides all the way to the left for rabbeting (and not to the right as I had thought)?

iclark wrote:oops. sounds like I should have read the manual before commenting. I take it the fence slides all the way to the left for rabbeting (and not to the right as I had thought)?

Take a good look at the edges of the in and out feed bed. There is extra width on the in side to support the longer edge. The out bed supports the workpiece at the cut depth. Tain't so on the other side! Also the cutters are tapered on this side, square on the other.

JPG40504 wrote:Take a good look at the edges of the in and out feed bed. There is extra width on the in side to support the longer edge. The out bed supports the workpiece at the cut depth. Tain't so on the other side! Also the cutters are tapered on this side, square on the other.

yes, I have been reading that part of PTWE
http://www.shopsmith.com/academy/jointe ... erabbeting

it looks like there wood be room to use the universal magswitch base on the side of the in feed bed with the vertical attachment featherboard mounted on it (so that the featherboard wound up horizontal).
http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2021137/2021137.aspx

am I still missing something?

the online PTWE has not been updated for the featherboard/blade guard upgrade and the old guard is removed completely for one of the Rabbeting pics. can the upgraded guard be used when rabbeting?

iclark wrote:yes, I have been reading that part of PTWE
http://www.shopsmith.com/academy/jointers/index.htm#edgerabbeting

it looks like there wood be room to use the universal magswitch base on the side of the in feed bed with the vertical attachment featherboard mounted on it (so that the featherboard wound up horizontal).
http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2021137/2021137.aspx

am I still missing something?

the online PTWE has not been updated for the featherboard/blade guard upgrade and the old guard is removed completely for one of the Rabbeting pics. can the upgraded guard be used when rabbeting?

Nope! Yer not missing something! It looks like it might work! Surface on mine is rough. That would probably decrease holding 'power'.

The thickness of the stock will determine if the guard need be removed. If the workpiece will clear the guard, it can stay on. The older guard is so easily removed(Allows you to use it to cover the back side of the exposed blades) that I do not think twice about it(except to be 'careful').

FWIW I set my blades for as close to ZERO distance beyond the outfeed table edge. I just make sure it is not LESS than zero. Although that edge of the outfeed table is not machined, I just like riding it since the fence is so short..