Jointer problem

[bobscarle]

Can somebody help me please. I cannot get invisible joints in my board glue ups. I am using good quality wood, cherry or alder, and passing it through a Rexon bench top jointer. I must have a problem with the technique because, although the edge is square, it is not straight.

Is there a secret to using a small jointer or is it something that comes with practice?

Any help or tips would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Philly]

Hi Bob
Welcome to the forum!
How long are the boards you are jointing (in comparision to the length of the machine?)
CHeers
Philly

 

[devonwoody]

No knowledge of your model but it could be technique, pushing down heavy on one end more than balancing. I would practice with some cheap timber same (lengths) and rip off and keep redoing until satisfaction.
Perhaps some others will also come along with their views, and welcome.

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum. A quick search of previous posts - with a search term like "jointer" etc should throw up plenty of results.

Adam

 

[bobscarle]

Thanks for the welcome, glad to be here. I have not been woodworking for long so its good to find a place to turn for help and advise.

The wood is only short lengths, 500mm ish. I think my problem is that I am rocking the wood along its length as I push it through. This gives me a high spot somewhere by the middle. Maybe it is just a case of finding an old piece to practice on and running that through until I get it right.

 

[ratkinsonuk]

Bob, reading your original post I had a short gasp! I also have the Rexon and was worried there might be a 'quality' issue.

I used the 6 foot jointer at college (evening class), but always ended up going from an evenly thicknessed piece to a tapered piece, probably because I was over-plaing or something.

As yet, I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong. The college staff were pretty good, but having around 20 students each to look after, you were lucky to get 10 minutes time with them, let alone checking what you were doing (wrong).

Luckily my age gives me enough common sense to pick my way through some of the problems, but I'm still left with an unease about the techniques to use for various tasks.

Rob.

 

[Adam]

Try this link (which came from a post that came up from a search of this forum)...

http://www.herts.ac.uk/lis/ltdu/project ... er9set.htm

Also....

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3412

or here

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3531

 

[bobscarle]

Thanks for the responses. I have looked at the links and gone through them carefully.

Today I have tried 2 things that seemed to help a little. Firstly I keep 2 hands on the wood as I push through and try to maintain even pressure. Secondly, I lubricated the jointer bed making the wood slide easier. I am still getting a high point but less than before.

I do not think it is a quality problem, more likely IMHO a technique issue. I have some scrap wood to practice on so lets make some shavings.

 

[neilc]

Sounds to me like the like the beds are not parallel to each other, try dropping the end of the outfeed table slightly. If the end of the outfeed table is too high you will get a high spot on the board. If its too low you will get a concave board from my experience. Play around with it with scrap till you get it right. When I got my p/t first I thought I'd never get it right but with a bit of practice it gets easier to setup. Hope this helps.
Neil

 

[engineer one]

couple of thoughts. i have a mafell 6x4, and so far have not had such problems, so

first thought if you use a push stick, which is notched so that it catches the top of the wood that you are pushing through rather than your hands, then the pressure is really at the rear but kind of down ward.

second how do you adjust the outfeed table, or is it only the infeed table you change, are you sure that both tables are flat and level in all planes(sorry :lol: )

third how about putting a couple of feather boards on the fence?
you make them by cutting a number of slots in a 12 in long piece of
timber, and then placing these at the height of the timber you want to plane so that it presses slightly onto this timber. latest issue of the american mag popular woodworking has some stuff, whilst rutlands and axminster sell plastic ones. then use a push stick from the rear, and that way the pressure is always in the same planes, this should make sure that your work is flat.

but also practice with scrap. it does help

paul :wink:

 

[Offcut]

Bob
Sounds like the beds are not correctly aligned. I would tackle this first then try some different pressure techniques later.

I had a similar highspot problem with mine which i corrected with adjusting the end of the outfeed table up slightly. I also find applying pressure to the wood as it passed the cutter, on the outfeed side, seems to work for me. Bound to be a personal thing though.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bob

Welcome

I think you may not be keeping most of the pressure on the outfeed table? the infeed does not require a great deal but the outfeed should have pressure just afteer the blades for the whole cut - i.e. keep moving your hand every 6" or so of feed

 

[johnelliott]

Before worrying too much about technique, you must make absolutely certain that the machine is set up properly. If it isn't eg if the blades are higher than the outfeed table, or the tables aren't parallel, then no amount of technique will get you a straight edge.
First step is to check the blade height. A straight piece of wood resting on the outfeed table and overhanging the cutterblock should be pulled forward 2 or 3mm only when the block is turned by hand in its normal direction. Check at each side of the table. Expect to spend some time on this.
When the blade height is correct, ensure that the infeed table is parallel with the outfeed table. Use a long straight edge resting on the outfeed table, and ensure that the gap between the straight edge and the infeed table is the same all over.

John

 

[bobscarle]

Wow.....Thanks for all the responses.

The consensus appears to be mal-aligned tables. I will need to spend time looking at this as I am not sure what adjustment, if any, there is on the Rexon. I must admit that even when concentrating on applying even and constant pressure and a steady speed I still get a high point.

Thank you all for your help and advise. I may be a little while.

 

[johnelliott]

The consensus appears to be mal-aligned tables.

Check the blade setting first

John

 

[OPJ]

Just incase you haven't sorted this problem yet, the technique I've seen Norm (and others) use requires you to keep more pressue on the infeed side as opposed to pressing down on the outfeed.

By all means, keep it tight to the fence. But if you apply even pressure all over I'm quite sure you'll end up with a board that is tapered ever so slightly.


On the issue of setting up your machine, the outfeed table should be in perfect alignment with the highest position of the blade. From there, you then bring in the infeed table and adjust to get a true surface both across and along the table.

If you have a steel straight edge slightly longer than the planer, it'll help you a lot. Otherwise, you could always plane one edge of a length of plywood, mark it, and use that instead.