Need advice to adjust jointer knives

[davidtu]

Got a 6" Grizzly Jointer 1182 used and it didn't come with the knife setting jig... so I am having to set the knives by eye and hand.

The manual says to set the knives around 1/8" above the piece that holds it in place... THEN you are supposed to use the jig for final adjustment...

1) Does that jig actually lower the knives LOWER than 1/8" above the holder (or just even them out)?

2) I am using a 1/8" setup block which is only 1.5" long or so, so I am doing it by eye and its taking forever to get it right!

3) There is no indication in the manual as to how to position the knives horizontally over the hub assembly, I am trying to center them, but if there is a more rigorous methond, please tell me.

Any suggestions on a good way to work w/o the jig?

(Attached jig I DON'T have)

Thanks,
David

[Tom Miller]

Check out this thread.

Regards,
Tom

[davidtu]

Thanks Tom, that is a helpful thread.

BUT... since this is my first and only jointer, I am wondering how similar the Grizzly is to the other models out there.

The Grizzly has its knives set along side a block that wedges the knife to hold it in place. The knife sits atop two springs that try to push the blade upwards. There are three bolts that are tightened against the block to wedge the knife. The trick is to get the knife LEVEL... since it is sitting atop springs, you have to apply a downward force to seat the knife at the correct height and then tighten the bolts. The problem I'm having is that I am trying to adjust it to 1/8" above the block but its very hard to get it LEVEL... I can easily get just about 1/8" using a brass 1/8" setup block, but then it'll be high by 1/64" or so on one side or another. So that is the problem I'm having.

As for the knife adjustment discussed in the referenced threads, it seems they are set up differently. I don't see any reference to getting this 1/8" or similar height above a wedge block. As for setting the height of the blade to match the outfeed table, it seems to me that the way the Grizzly is working is that you adjust the outfeed table, not the knife, in order to make the two "even" (or just strong of even). So now I'm a little confused, because I assume all the jointers work similarly yet there is much focus on setting the blade height in the other thread... what is that height being compared against? Why aren't folks just adjusting the table height to match the blades?

Thanks!

[Ken Massingale]

This may help David.

http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticle...justment.shtml

And this from a Woodnet post:
Get a piece of stock and make it as straight as you can about 1x2x14" or so long. remove the guard and set it on the outfeed table with about 2" hanging over the end toward the infeed table. Make a witness mark on the stick at the edge of the outfeed table on the stick. now rotate the cutterhead until it picks up the stick and moves it. If the stick is not moved go around the head until one knife picks up the stick and moves it. once it stops moving toward the infeed table, make a second mark in line with the edge of the outfeed table. These two line will be used for setting all the knives at the correct height.

now move the stick to the opposite end of the cutterhead( I usually start against the fence and move outward) and set the first line up so it is at the edge of the outfeed table. Now rotate the same knife and it should pick up the stick and move it. if it does not stop at the point of the second line on the stick, the knife is either too high ( the knife pulls the stick further than the second line) or lower (Not a far as it should)

if the knife is indeed off, you need to rest it so the knife from both sides remains in the proper height and parallel across the width of the jointer. Loosen the gib screws just enough to make minor adjustments and re tighten the screws. check each knife across the width as you progress and be sure the witness lines are landing the same each time.

[jarhead]

A few links

David,
I have bookmarked a couple of sites related to jointer tune-up - hope they help:

http://www.joewoodworker.com/jointerknives1.htm

http://woodworking.homeip.net/wood/T.../Jointers.html

[Tom Miller]

...I am wondering how similar the Grizzly is to the other models out there.

...The knife sits atop two springs that try to push the blade upwards.

That's the critical difference, but shouldn't be a problem. (My Jet jointer blades sit atop jack screws which are positioned to get the right height.)

In your case, setting the knives to ~1/8" above is not a critical step -- just gets the knives in the ballpark. Then you can use one of the methods the others have mentioned.

The idea behind these methods is to use either the infeed or outfeed table as a reference plane to get the knives set in-plane. Once that is done, you can then set the tables properly. Usually, it's recommended to have the outfeed table a couple mils below the cutter at top dead center, and set the infeed for how much of a cut you want to take.

Regards,
Tom

[Jeffrey Schronce]

David,
I have bookmarked a couple of sites related to jointer tune-up - hope they help:

http://www.joewoodworker.com/jointerknives1.htm

http://woodworking.homeip.net/wood/T.../Jointers.html

That attached photo of the glass/rare earth magnets seems to make a great deal of sense.

[davidtu]

Guys, you're awesome... thanks for so much help. I sure need it.

I spent an embarrasing amount of time over TWO days trying to get it adjusted correctly. I don't think its perfect yet, but it is serviceable for now.

I have ordered the part from Grizzly so hopefully that will help. I find that unlike all other descriptions my blades are either tight or loose there is no in-between for fine adjustments. They are only held by 3 gib bolts, I see that current designs have 5 (incl. newer Grizzlys).

How do the jack screws work? How do you gain access to adjust their height... do the blades have to be removed to adjust them? Seems like that would make it very difficult if it is the case.

Thanks again!

ps: I am going to make a new post regarding how to check the jointer bearings... if you can comment please see that one!

[Tom Miller]

How do the jack screws work? How do you gain access to adjust their height... do the blades have to be removed to adjust them?

I think we established that your jointer doesn't have jack screws; yours has springs.

Jack screws jack the knives up into position, with minute adjustment to get the height just right, then the knives are secured into position. An alternate approach provides springs which push up on the blade, pushing it against a fixed reference (some type of knife-setting jig), at which point the knives are secured into position.

Regards,
Tom

[davidtu]

Tom, the reason I ask is that the later model Grizzlys have jack screws *as an option* so I am wondering if I would want to "upgrade"... or if it IS an upgrade? So, just wanting to understand how that would work and be different.

On that front, how do know where to set the screws or is it just that you put all the screws the same number of turns from bottom, etc. so that all blades end up even?

[LCHIEN]

This jointer setting measurement jig cost me $11, $7 for the dial gauge and $4 for the flat contact. I like it because you can set it to zero, and then when you are setting the blades, you can see if you are +.001 or -.001 or greater. Rather than setting it according to a fixture and hoping it's right and not bent or whatever.

I've since figured out how to make flat contacts for near nothing.
Everytime I go to HF and they have dial gauges on sale, I buy another.
I think I have three mounted in measurement devices now.

[Tom Miller]

Tom, the reason I ask is that the later model Grizzlys have jack screws *as an option* so I am wondering if I would want to "upgrade"... or if it IS an upgrade? So, just wanting to understand how that would work and be different.

On that front, how do know where to set the screws or is it just that you put all the screws the same number of turns from bottom, etc. so that all blades end up even?

Ahhh, gotcha. Sorry for adding confusion where there wasn't any.

As to whether or not jack screws are an upgrade -- hard to say. In theory, either approach is straight-forward, and allows you to set your knives in minutes.

I know that with jack screws, what really happens is that you get the jack screw height set, and then when you tighten the knives, they move a couple mils. I'll be interested to hear from you how the spring approach really works.

When I'm setting the knife height (with the jack screws), I use a dial indicator that is referenced to the outfeed table height. The knives rest on the heads of the jack screws, IIRC (which I might not).

Regards,
Tom