# Electra Beckum HC260 Jointing problem



## Bdx (24 Jul 2022)

_Hi I,m new to this site and wonder if anyone can give me some advice.

i,m having trouble jointing using the above planer the joint has high and low spots and as it’s for musical instrument they need to be perfect.
i,ve levelled the beds reset the blades but the problem still persists and I,very out of ideas.
can anyone suggest any other options or a good repair service somewhere inNorth East England.
Thanks in advance
Brian_


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## clogs (24 Jul 2022)

quite a lot of planers do this.....
on my dewalt D27300 I made sure that the blade were fresh from the sharpers and was careful to have a steady but fast'ish speed over the blades...plus my wife is very good on the out-feed side..
I only edge plane / joint in one session....
never after flatening boards / normal planing / thicknessing...
bigest prob with modern machines are the alloy and tin plate body/frames and the tables....
read flex....
Alloy will perform like cast iron if designed and cast properly but our level of planing does not concern the factories too much....."near enough is good enough.....
I did joint some longish thick/ heavy Euro oak for a door n frame....
after jointing I finished it off by hand planing


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## hlvd (24 Jul 2022)

It’s to do with your knife setting skills, sounds like they’re too low in the block.


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## Bdx (24 Jul 2022)

Thanks for the reply
i’ve had a straight edge between the beds and the largest gapi can find is .002“
I’ve set the blades to .005” above the outfeed table but still no success.
The machine used to produce very good joints but I had to change the blades as the old ones were nicked and I sadly had to discard them.


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## Bdx (24 Jul 2022)

H. Could you elaborate please


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## hlvd (24 Jul 2022)

Bdx said:


> H. Could you elaborate please


You need to set your knives with a straight edge, but not how you’re describing.

It’s difficult to explain on here, but this video gives you an idea of how it should be done.


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## rogxwhit (24 Jul 2022)

Can you describe where the high and low areas appear along the length of the pieces? Do they appear consistently, eg always at the ends, worst towards the centre, etc? 

It's always going to be tricky with such a lightweight machine, but if you managed it before then there ought to be an answer.


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## Bdx (24 Jul 2022)

Hi R
over 16 inches it butts for the first 2 ins then there’s a gap of about 3 ins then it butts for about 6 ins then a gap for the remainder


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## Bdx (24 Jul 2022)

Hi H
Thanks for the info and video
I was using a straight edge but will try the methods shown in the video and report back


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## hlvd (24 Jul 2022)

Bdx said:


> Hi H
> Thanks for the info and video
> I was using a straight edge but will try the methods shown in the video and report back


That’s the correct way to set your knives, it can be ridiculously frustrating at times but it does work.


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## rogxwhit (24 Jul 2022)

Bdx said:


> over 16 inches it butts for the first 2 ins then there’s a gap of about 3 ins then it butts for about 6 ins then a gap for the remainder


That doesn't immediately strike me as being to do with table alignment or knife projection. The passage of wood over a planer, maybe especially for jointing purposes, involves some very subtle changes of hand pressure and placement - when you press where and how - and is rarely foolproof. I wonder if your technique needs more attention? Laborious or even impossible to describe in words, but to visualise it you have to 'become' the piece of wood ... focussing your mind on that interface between beds, fence and work ...


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## Spectric (24 Jul 2022)

If it is technique then maybe worth getting Peters videos, they helped me get to grips with my Pt107 Peter Sefton DVDs

Wow, just noticed that Peter does two videos on sharpening. One on grinding and the other on sharpening so may be worth me looking as I am not confident when it comes to chisel sharpening but it is the fact it requires TWO videos!!

If you have issues setting the knives you can buy a setup that uses disposable / reversable knives from 

ESTA Knife System

solved all my issues with getting the three knives set correctly.


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## MikeJhn (25 Jul 2022)

I use a piece of plate glass to set my blades level with the outfeed table, cured all the problems.


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