Shopsmith Forums

I've been using my dad's Shopsmith MarkV, which he recently purchased secondhand. It's a nice machine, but I've been having trouble with the jointer. It often leaves the board with a slight convex curve. I checked with a straightedge and found that the tables are not aligned. Resting the straightedge on the outfeed table and raising the infeed table until it touches the straightedge, the infeed table contacts the straightedge at the outside end first, leaving a gap of 0.016" at the cutter head end. The gap is a bit larger when I slide the straightedge over to the other side - about 0.02". In other words, the infeed table slopes down toward the cutter head and leans slightly to one side.

Has anyone out there dealt with a similar problem? I couldn't find anything like this in the other threads, and our manual is missing the jointer section. I haven't dropped the jointer or otherwise abused it. I think it must have been this way when my dad got it.

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judaspre1982 wrote:I would take the infeed table off its mounts and check to see if you have any gunk built up on the machined parts that the table slides on.
Make sure the machined parts are not damaged.Should be smooth surfaces. While it's apart this is a good time to give this area a good cleaning, inspection and wax the machined slides.Also clean the threads the adjustment knob threads onto and use graphite to lubricate.

Before you take unit apart check to see if your infeed table has excess play buy rocking the table towards the outfeed table the away from it.
On my 1955 jointer it has rubber washers stacked between metal washers on the mounting stud under the tensioning nut.

Dave

Excellant things to check. I found four nylon like spacers at the four contact points between the infeed and outfeed tables. I lightly sanded the bottom two nylon spacers, reassemblied the tables and then rechecked the alignment. It took a few tries to get the 2 tables in alignment. I also have used various thin shim stock and JB Weld to level the two tables.

I made a special jig to machine the two tables (machine shop) when there was any twist or grooves in either table.

I use 3 flat washers and two Belleville Disc Springs (http://www.mcmaster.com/#disc-springs/=avmavh) between the washers located under the tensioning nut.

Contact me if any questions. Thanks.

Hey guys, thanks for the tips. I tried rocking the infeed table, but it was tight. Took things apart, which wasn't difficult. Just flipped it over, removed the tensioning nut and washers, unscrewed the adjustment knob, and lifted the infeed table off. There was a bit of grease on the bearing surfaces, which I cleaned off with turpentine. No sign of damage. Put things back together to see if it lined up better after cleaning. Unfortunately, no. So now I guess I will have to try shimming it up. There are no nylon washers in mine, just metal on metal. I am thinking of sacrificing one of the leaves out of my feeler gauge for shims.

See my PM to you.

Once again, thanks for the tips. I shimmed up the table with blades from a feeler gauge. It took a .004" on one side and a .006" on the other. I glued the blades in place with a thin film of silicone gasket sealant. Ran a few boards through with much better results. Incidentally, I decided to wax the tables, and what a difference that makes!