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The featherboard on my 520 Jointer does not adjust. The knob in the curved slot does not appear to do anything. I tighten or loosen it and nothing appears to change. The jointer has the red featherboard installed. The featherboard pivots freely and covers the blades just fine. Am I going to be forced to read a manual? Am I just missing something? I looked at the parts diagram and everything appears to be there. So how is the knob supposed to work? Does somthing need to be adjusted other than me?

I believe the knob in the slot is just for the guard stop and is removable. The guard stop is loosened, repositioned and then tightened depending on how far you want the guard to open. I remember having to rotate the actual feather guard counter clockwise to tension the spring on the guard pivot point bolt then install the guard stop.

dynabase wrote:The featherboard on my 520 Jointer does not adjust. The knob in the curved slot does not appear to do anything. I tighten or loosen it and nothing appears to change. The jointer has the red featherboard installed. The featherboard pivots freely and covers the blades just fine. Am I going to be forced to read a manual? Am I just missing something? I looked at the parts diagram and everything appears to be there. So how is the knob supposed to work? Does somthing need to be adjusted other than me?

Are you serious? I don't know if reading the manual will fix your problem but good greef, you don't want to read the manual? I think you are missing something - Read the manual.

jsburger wrote:

dynabase wrote:The featherboard on my 520 Jointer does not adjust. The knob in the curved slot does not appear to do anything. I tighten or loosen it and nothing appears to change. The jointer has the red featherboard installed. The featherboard pivots freely and covers the blades just fine. Am I going to be forced to read a manual? Am I just missing something? I looked at the parts diagram and everything appears to be there. So how is the knob supposed to work? Does somthing need to be adjusted other than me?

Are you serious? I don't know if reading the manual will fix your problem but good greef, you don't want to read the manual? I think you are missing something - Read the manual.

I did look in all the manuals I have, I looked at sawdust sessions and I also did an online search with zero results. That comment was ment as a JOKE. A joke similar to a farmer saying "I likes daylight savings time because thanks to the government my crops get an extra hour of sunlight".

I'm sorry you were troubled by that sentence but the basis for the joke is very old and I thought it would be obvious to anyone who read it that it was ment to be humorous.

thunderbirdbat wrote:I believe the knob in the slot is just for the guard stop and is removable. The guard stop is loosened, repositioned and then tightened depending on how far you want the guard to open. I remember having to rotate the actual feather guard counter clockwise to tension the spring on the guard pivot point bolt then install the guard stop.

OK I think I am starting to see the light. If I understand it you put the board in and press the featherboard aginst the wood then slide the knob back and tighten it against the stud under the featherboard. I will need to try that but it seems like a reasonable solution. None of the documentation I have shows how to set the featherboard on the jointer.

Thanks

I upgraded my jointer to the feather board guard. Here is a copy of the instructions that came with it. Hope this answers your questions.

thunderbirdbat wrote:I upgraded my jointer to the feather board guard. Here is a copy of the instructions that came with it. Hope this answers your questions.

Thank You. That is exactly what I needed to know. I read the entire document/manual. I did not have this document so I do appreciate you posting it. I don't know if it will help anyone else but it is exactly the information I was looking for.

Thanks again.

dynabase wrote:

thunderbirdbat wrote:I believe the knob in the slot is just for the guard stop and is removable. The guard stop is loosened, repositioned and then tightened depending on how far you want the guard to open. I remember having to rotate the actual feather guard counter clockwise to tension the spring on the guard pivot point bolt then install the guard stop.

OK I think I am starting to see the light. If I understand it you put the board in and press the featherboard aginst the wood then slide the knob back and tighten it against the stud under the featherboard. I will need to try that but it seems like a reasonable solution. None of the documentation I have shows how to set the featherboard on the jointer.

Thanks

If the document that Brenda provided is new to you, pray tell, what documentation have you been reading. You said the knob that travels in the slod seems to do nothing. You best use that document from Brenda and double check your assembly.

Dusty

I got this 520 used so I do have gaps in my documentation. I collect what I can where I can. This is one of the documents I did not have. Thanks to Brenda and a little reassembly the featherboard is working properly.

Thanks again everyone

You may have already figured this out but I thought I'd add my 2 cents: I too have a Sigma planer (I also have a Sigma band-saw). The planer adjustment is a three-function bolt/nut with red handle attached. First position adjusts one function, there is a neutral position in the middle, and the third position adjusts the other function (I have forgotten which functions but can go find out if necessary). I have tried to attach a photo for clarity.