Old Shopsmith jointer tables not in parallel

[Sazerac81]

BUT FIRST...Ask yourself why the previous owner would sell his jointer on ebay. Will it be any better than what you just worked on.

Most likely, because he or she bought a bigger jointer.

The SS jointer is outstanding, within its capacity. But face-jointing 6-8" boards is not its strong suit.

Haha, very true! Before I landed the used shopsmith planer system, I was considering a grizzly, jet or RIKON 12" combo planer/jointer with helical head. Pricey but likely would not leave me wanting for much more in terms of planing/jointing capability in my small garage shop. We'll see if I can make do with the shopsmith jointer and planer. I am not planning on making extremely large, unwieldy projects.

[BuckeyeDennis]

BUT FIRST...Ask yourself why the previous owner would sell his jointer on ebay. Will it be any better than what you just worked on.

Most likely, because he or she bought a bigger jointer.

The SS jointer is outstanding, within its capacity. But face-jointing 6-8" boards is not its strong suit.

Haha, very true! Before I landed the used shopsmith planer system, I was considering a grizzly, jet or RIKON 12" combo planer/jointer with helical head. Pricey but likely would not leave me wanting for much more in terms of planing/jointing capability in my small garage shop. We'll see if I can make do with the shopsmith jointer and planer. I am not planning on making extremely large, unwieldy projects.

If you only occasionally need to flatten wide boards, check out this simple planer-sled technique. I use it with my SS Pro Planer, and it works like a charm.

[Sazerac81]

Very cool idea buckeye and thanks for sharing. Simply use hot glue and tape. Amazingly simple and ingenious!

I am assuming after surface planing the board completely flat using this method, just flip over and begin planing the other side flat to dimension your lumber to the size desired?

Cheers,
John

[BuckeyeDennis]

Very cool idea buckeye and thanks for sharing. Simply use hot glue and tape. Amazingly simple and ingenious!

I am assuming after surface planing the board completely flat using this method, just flip over and begin planing the other side flat to dimension your lumber to the size desired?

Cheers,
John

Yes indeed. I think of it as simply a way to face-joint boards that are too wide for your jointer. But note that you do need a reasonably flat surface on which to assemble the workpiece/sled "sandwich".

[Sazerac81]

Got another lemon of a jointer table! This one is a lot more recent, purchased in the 80's and hasn't been used for a couple of years and it is also no longer coplanar and out of alignment in the very same manner as the much older one that I've brought back into alignment after milling it down by hand. The very start of the infeed table is just a shade taller in height than the end of the infeed table just before it hits the cutterhead. This leads to the concave bow toward the end of the board.

I also removed all the blades as they were quite rusty and actually fractured a blade because it was so rusted. It bent while I was using the leveling screws to unseat it. Two blades popped out without much issue, but the third was just too rusted. Luckily I have a few spare replacement blades. Ah, the joy of refurbishing old equipment.

Looks like I'll be doing the same with the newer jointer table. Carefully milling it down by hand with the Mill Bastard.

I didn't go looking for a new jointer. This one came with a system that included a planer which I very much wanted. I really do wonder if I am doing something wrong.

Cheers,
John