Dialing in a Wahuda 10" benchtop jointer.

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  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    Dialing in a Wahuda 10" benchtop jointer.

    This is cross posted from a different forum, so other members that know me there, this is my original work, and I am doing a copy / paste AND addressing the issues that were brought up in the thread there. However I am not going to address people that completely misunderstand how spiral / helical cutterheads work and their adjustments or lack thereof.

    Now on to the thread...

    Yes I said that right, 10" bench top jointer. I know there is no shortage of bench top jointer haters out there, but I have owned my Sunhill 6" SM-160B now for, oh going on 14 years I guess, and the only reason I was looking to replace or upgrade it is knives are getting REALLY hard to come by for it. I have sourced up replacements but the fit is iffy at best, and setting the knives is a pain in the tail. So I was looking for an upgrade and a solution...

    I snagged an end of year sale deal on the Wahuda 10", and while the build is far and away better than the Sunhill even pretended to be, with the Wahuda being predominatly metal construction and LARGE cast iron tables for a benchtop, one area Wahuda did skimp on is out of the box adjustment, at least on my unit.

    As an aside, it has been brought to my attention that Wahuda is made up via a rather odd route, of the folks that started up Steel City, and from the design and build quality, I can say, yep it looks like it... but I digress...

    I have watched and read countless reviews of these jointers to know plenty of folks get them and they are dialed in just fine from the factory. Mine, was NOT... The infeed table was quite high, the outfeed table was considerably low, and coplanar was not even in their vacabulary.

    Now Wahuda includes a user guide, that is great for all things, except how to adjust the jointer. Why that is, I do not know. The Wahuda web site points to a Youtube video on how to adjust it. Except my jointer doesn't have the same adjustment mechanism. So I called Wahudas support line. I am sorry sir I did not catch your name, but if I could get it I would gladly give you credit for explaining it to me, and i am here explaining this to other owners / potential owners to help them out as well.

    So let me clue you in. IF you have the newer style with the elongated holes that go front / back oriented, there are 4 per table, the adjustment is easy... ish.

    First off, make sure you have no power to the jointer (insure it is unplugged or if you lose hunks of finger it is on you!) Loosen the 2 allen screws that secure the guard on, slide the bracket up to clear the screw keyholes and extract the guard, set it aside.

    Start with the infeed table, loosen the table lock knob on the front of the front of the jointer, and then with the adjuster knob on the side, lower the infeed table all the way out of the way.

    Remove the 4 plastic covers from the elongated holes on the outfeed table.

    Using a trusted straight edge, I used my 4' Johnson Level that I KNOW is straight edged, and rotate the cutter head so that the cutters are at their apex or peak of rotation.
    Carefully set your straight edge over the table and cutter, you should be able to see if the table needs to go up, or down or what.

    Loosen the 2 visible allen bolts in each slot starting on the fence side. Then using the same allen key, in the more recessed hole there is another allen bolt the same size in that bore. Turn it clockwise to lower the table, and counter clockwise to raise the table. Adjust until you can just clear the straight edge while rotating the cutter head. Lock the 2 visible bolts down in each bore, repeat the process for the holes / side of the table facing you. Repeat as necessary until you get no gaps and lock it down. Now move on to the infeed table.

    Raise the infeed until the gauge is at 0. Repeat the process of adjustment just like on the outfeed side, but you will be adjusting the the infeed so that there is no gap on your straight edge infeed table to outfeed table, front and back. Once done, lock all bolts down and verify one last time. If all is good, reinstall and tighten bolts down for your guard. Lastly reinstall the plastic bolt covers to keep junk of our the adjusters, and if you are anything like me, you will have sweated all over your machine. Clean off and re-wax your tables.

    The youtube video adjustment procedure for the fence remains the same. No change at all...

    If you look at my attached photos, you can see the elongated adjuster holes, both the infeed and outfeed tables have these. There is a close up of one of these bores, the 2 visible bolts are the lock downs, the center bore at the bottom has the adjuster bolt.



    Hope this helps somebody out.​
    Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.
  • nicer20
    Established Member
    • Sep 2007
    • 365
    • Dublin, CA
    • BT3100

    #2
    10" benchtop model seems more than adequate for a hobbyist like me. Interested in your follow up review once you start using it. Especially how the aluminum fence going to hold up and work.

    May I ask what deal you were able to get - I see it is listed at $700 on their website right now.

    BTW those red marks on the fence are hopefully not your sacrificial blood

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    • dbhost

      dbhost
      commented
      Editing a comment
      It's going to be a couple of weeks still, maybe longer. I am under Dr. orders to not lift anything over 25lbs for a bit. Once that comes off, I need to crawl around in and under my truck doing funny things with wrenches until it reliably roars to live again... THEN I can futz with it, or more correctly will need to futz with it. Will need to build a flipper stand for it then press it into action ASAP. The friend helping me fix the truck, I am swapping labor and rebuilding the front cab area cabinets of his class A diesel pusher. They had a roof leak and somehow the MDF cabinets didn't like that...

    • nicer20
      nicer20 commented
      Editing a comment
      I am in a bad shape since mid-September. Cannot get into my workshop. I can relate. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    #3
    The prior price had been what Amazon lists for, $749.00, at the end of year they dropped to $699.00 with free shipping. I think they kept the $699.00 price but dropped the free shipping, and at the size and weight of this that can be considerable...

    The aluminum fence on any of these bench top machines, is one feature I am less than thrilled with. My Sunhill had the plastic adjusters go back within 3 years and by then Sunhill had folded, so I ended up making wooden handles for the broken plastic ones. I am going to reach out to Wahuda on this fence, it sits funny by my eye. I can square it up and lock it down, but I have to be fidgety to make sure it is level as well... Will report back on that. Honestly if they offered an upgrade to a Cast Iron fence I would hop on that in a hot second...

    And no the red marks on the fence are where the guard rubs on it. I have seen several youtube videos of folks setting up the 10 inch, and 8 inch Wahuda jointers, and they all seem to do it.

    Before buying my Sunhill, I looked at, physically laid hands on the Delta, Craftsman, and one other brand that Woodcraft carried at the time that I do not recall, but the Sunhill seemed to be better built than all of those in the Benchtop jointer space, which is why I went with the Sunhill...

    Now comparing the Sunhill to the new Wahuda, not a fair comparison. The Wahuda is MUCH more substantially built. Although I suspect the Fence extrusion is the exact same piece. Everything is just designed and built beefier.
    Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

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