I thought jointing would be easy...

[davidtu]

is it possible to not get a straight edge jointing? I think perhaps this is happening? Not talking about square to the face... but rather ending up with very slight curving...

I marked the bottom of each board with pencil to see that the marks are all erased. I assumed that as long as I held the workpiece against the fence and ran thru until all the marks were gone then it would be straight. Btw, I am only taking off 1/16-1/32 at a time.

Is it possible based on how pressure is applied downward to not end up straight? Any other reasons? Could it be that the knives are set right? (I still have to reset them now that I've received the gauge to do it.)

Thanks.

[maxparot]

There's more to a jonter than just the blades and the fence. The tables need to be set up coplaner to each other and the cutter head.

[LCHIEN]

the blades have to be perfectly set- too low and they will make it concave and too high they will make it convex. (or is it the other way around- too late to think)
Also tables have to be adjusted perfectly coplanar with the infeed set to 0 and the infeed needs to drop down parallel to the outfeed.
Technique is also important hand over hand feed to keep the board flat to the outfeed table once it passes the blade.

It's not a piece of cake.

[jabe]

Loring is right, adjustment of the tables are critical follow your jointer instruction manual step by step. Next technique in the use of the jointer. Don't press down too much light pressure is enough and keep it flat on the outfeed table and fence. Don't feed too fast or you'll get a wavy look instead of a smooth surface. For hardwood feed the wood in cutting with the grain or you'll get tear/chip outs.

[Pappy]

You already got the advice you need to correct the problem. After the tool is set right, practice on some scrap, both face and edge jointing. A jointer is one of the simplist apprearing power tools but comes with a steep learning curve. Once you have the set up right and get the technique figured out, it is easy.

[25]

Also if the board was convex to start with it's easy to keep it convex if your not careful.

[davidtu]

Thanks guys!

I will have to recheck all the settings. Geez, I spent 2 days doing it the first time! I think the tables are setup right... and I don't think, say, all the knives are high or lower than the table, but I think that the knives might be at slightly unequal heights from each other; what effect would that have?

Anyway, today I will rebite the bullet and reset the jointer. I now have the knife gauge from Grizzly, so hopefully it'll be easier!

Regards,
David

[LCHIEN]

Thanks guys!

... and I don't think, say, all the knives are high or lower than the table, but I think that the knives might be at slightly unequal heights from each other; what effect would that have?

...
Regards,
David

If the knives are at unequal heights from each other then surely one or more of them is not even with the table! They must all be
1) at the same height as the others and
2) at the same height as the outfeed table.

now, just to confuse things a bit, some people like to set the knives .001" higher than the outfeed table which they say makes the finished board edge straighter - this may take some experimentation. that's one reason a dial gage setup is better than a setting jig.

An of course there's nothing that makes the concave or convexness of a board edge more apparent than putting two of them against each other - it doubles the error.

If one knife is higher than the others, it will do all the cutting., the others will not touch the board, and the cut will be less smooth. Just picture it in your mind! remember the blade holder is spinning much faster than you feed the wood.

[Tom Hintz]

Have faith. You are not alone! I think learning to use a jointer is a right of passage in woodworking.
We get a lot of jointer-related questions, enough that we are doing a full story and shooting a DVD on the subject.
One of the more common problems we see is applying too much pressure downwards on the wood. You can flex a surprisingly wide board - even on edge - enoujgh to cut a slightly curved edge.
All of the adjustments mentioned are also very important. I have gone to using a dial indicator tools (Oneway MultiGauge) to set my knives and that bit of accuracy cured many evils. I always got them close with sticks and other tools but the dial indicator lets me get them dead on and that makes a difference.
Practice, use only enough pressure to maintain control of the wood and check the alignments. One day soon you will suddenly get straight edges and not fully understand what happened.

[davidtu]

Tom, thanks for the words of encouragement! I'll hold you to them.

Loring what you say makes perfect sense I'll redo the knives today using the gauge and see if things improve.

Btw, what is a dial setup gauge?

[LCHIEN]

Tom, thanks for the words of encouragement! I'll hold you to them.

Loring what you say makes perfect sense I'll redo the knives today using the gauge and see if things improve.

Btw, what is a dial setup gauge?

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=22771&page=2
see post#11

a dial gauge mounted on a jig that references it to the outfeed bed.

[davidtu]

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=22771&page=2
see post#11

.

oh, how embarrassing! right in my own other thread!

[ronmetz]

flat contacts?

Loring,

Would you share how you can make flat contats for the HF gauge?

thanks,

[LCHIEN]

Loring,

Would you share how you can make flat contats for the HF gauge?

thanks,

I'll post something in a couple of days.

[Wood_workur]

remember to apply pressure to the outfeed table , not the infeed, when can be done SAFELY.