A Jointer Question

[Glenn1]

I presently have an 8" jointer with a spiral cutterhead and am looking to purchase a considerably larger jointer.  I know that I can put a power feeder on to the unit to help flatten the width of the board.  My question relates to getting a straight edge on a planer.  Is there a way to hook up a power feeder to edge joint the boards? 
Although it's quite a bit more money, would a straight line ripper be a better option to get one straight edge?

[Joey Grimes]

I know it could probably be done but it seams a power feeder on a jointer would push the bow out of a board and it would spring back when it came out .As far as straight lining edges I use my woodmaster with rip blades lay board to be straight lined on a shooter board guided by 2 fences and feed it through I use this process when I need a straight edge on lumber longer than 8 foot any shorter I use jointer.

[MikeON]

Any chance of seeing a photo of your Woodmaster setup?  I tried SLR work with my 718 but the results were not straight enough.

[pineywoods]

Mike, using yer woodmaster as a straight line rip saw don't work very well.  BUT there is a way around that. Use a wide long board as a sled with your lumber laying on top of it..

[muggs]

they make feeders for jointers that don't flatten the board. They are for large jointers. I have mine on a 20 inch Oliver, I believe the brand name is Billstrum.  Muggs

[tule peak timber]

I built a machine I call "The Straighter-ater" to edge joint boards after the SLR. A 20 foot outboard fence and a "Buldozer" cutterhead on an old Oliver shaper. Works very well to get the boards super straight. For powerfeeding on a jointer , take a look at Comatic. Rob

  

  

  

 

[Joey Grimes]

My setup is what pinewoods  described

[oakiemac]

Tule Peak, why do you need to edge joint boards after the SLR? I run mine thru the SLR and they are ready for glue up. I use a top notch glue line rip blade though.

[tule peak timber]

My SLR is a Diehl 55 and I use Diehl blades. Almost always there is tension in a board and there might be 5-10 thousands bow in any given rip over 8 feet and the "straighterater" takes that out. This is important to me in flooring and wall panel especially.On glue-ups I take the time to double edge on a sliding table saw checking each cut with a dry fit multiple times for the best possible joinery coming out of my shop.Another option is a shaper cutterhead made by Garniga that straightens , joints , and aligns glue up boards for near perfect joinery on a larger scale.It all works ,,,,just depends on where you want to go !  Rob

  

[Larry]

A little over a year ago I fabricated a mount so I could put a power feeder on my 12" Griggio jointer.  I haven't done a lot of face jointing with it but can say it does a fair job.  I can do a better job by hand but if I did more with the power feeder or had a bigger feeder my results might improve.

Edge jointing is a different story.  It works absolutely great and is really fast.  A bonus, there is no little waste strips to clean up.  Much better than a straight line rip saw.  My feeder is a little 1/4" hp Grizzly.  I run it at the highest speed which is 43 fpm.  No grass grows under my feet at that speed.  The jointer will easily take off a 1/2", maybe more.  I want to clean the edge in one pass and usually 3/8" works.  The jointer has a Teresa head with 4 horsepower.  All of the above is with 4/4 hardwoods.  I've never used the feeder with thicker boards.  I've never ran anything longer than 10' either.

As hard and fast as I run the little feeder I'm surprised its still kicking.  A ½ or 1 hp would be better for a long life I would think.

If I only have a few boards for a project I'll joint by hand.  If I have a big stack of boards I'm looking at, I'll swing the feeder into place and have at it.  Since I made the mount it only takes about a minute to set it up.

The feeder in position.



I found out I could double up the wheels.  Just screw on an extra set, no mods required.  Gives me a little more board control.



I've been planing to make a utube for you guys about how good this works, maybe I'll remember and get one done in the next couple of weeks.

[tule peak timber]

Cool set-up Larry. On the wheels you might want to investigate the soft blue ones from Oregon Roller. The blue wheels are great at traction with very little pressure (board distortion) and you may be able to increase the speed even more.Rob

[Glenn1]

Larry,
This sure seems like a less expensive alternative to purchasing a SLR.  I can see that there would be pressure to keep the board against the fence but is there enough pressure to keep the board against the infeed or outfeed tables?  I have a 1 HP Grizzly that I use on my table saw and the thing is a beast.  It weights over 100 lbs and I'm thinking that your 1/4HP may be just the right size.  I'd be very curious to see your edge jointing on a video.

[Larry]

Cool set-up Larry. On the wheels you might want to investigate the soft blue ones from Oregon Roller. The blue wheels are great at traction with very little pressure (board distortion) and you may be able to increase the speed even more.Rob

Rob, I'm running the blue tires from Western Roller on the shaper feeder....that's where I got the extra wheels to put on the jointer feeder. :D

Can't go any faster as 43 fpm is top end for that feeder.  I am on the prowl for a bigger one...just has to be in my price range.

You are right, those blue ones really have the traction.

[Larry]

Larry,
I can see that there would be pressure to keep the board against the fence but is there enough pressure to keep the board against the infeed or outfeed tables?

With the double tires it does good in keeping the board down firmly on the outfeed.  I help until I get about 18" of board past the cutter head than the feeder does it all.

[YellowHammer]

I have a Grizzly Extreme Duty 12 inch planer, and use it to face boards to remove any bow before I plane and sell them.  I also use it to quickly edge a board.  Here's a video of me edging an 8 foot rough sawn board, taking about a 1/4 inch on one pass, which is all many boards, like this one, need.  It goes pretty fast.  The problem with edging on a jointer is I can't pick my path, I'm simply truing up an edge that is already there.  Notice that this board has a big knot on the edge, and how I can't remove the knot without making several passes on the jointer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYB0Mz6ySlQ

I also have straight line rip saw.  I love it.  Let me say that again...I love it.  I haven't had it that long, but have already used if for many thousands of bdft of mixed hardwoods.  Its easy to use, takes very little effort, and cuts a guaranteed 8 foot glue line with no problem.  Here's a video of me edging a board.  I simply line the red laser where I want the edge to be cut, feed it in and let it eat.  I have the caterpillar feed set at about half speed for this video, but at normal speed, it will run as fast as I can feed boards in.  Very fast with two people and almost no effort.  Notice that I'm not using the fence, its pushed out of the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sirh2Tf-0Y0

One big advantage a SLR has over a jointer is the ability to arbitrarily rip a board on the laser line, so that defects can be removed.  I can take a quarter inch off one end of the board, and two inches off the other end of the board and have a perfectly straight edge in one pass.  In addition, if I take off an edge on the jointer with a big bite, it may mean the board now has some taper.  I would have to rip the board with a table saw to make both sides parallel again, then joint that side.  With an SLR, simply laser edge one side, then slide the fence in position, and run the other side.  Easy as that, a perfectly parallel board edged on both sides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E1GRIg0wUU

I charge 50 cents per bdft to edge boards for customers while they wait, and if they only buy a board or two, I sometimes use the jointer, just because its there.  If they want 20 or 30 boards edged, I always go to the SLR.
   
Larry, I really like your powerfeed setup, how did you mount it on the jointer and can you post some pictures of the mount?  I've been looking at special purpose jointer powerefeeds but they start at about $2K.

[MikeON]

Can't go any faster as 43 fpm is top end for that feeder.

I have the 1/4 HP Grizzly feeder on my table saw.  They make a slow speed kit for it that if mounted with the gears reversed will up your speed to 62 FPM.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Slow-Speed-Kit-For-G4176/H3236

[Larry]

Larry, I really like your powerfeed setup, how did you mount it on the jointer and can you post some pictures of the mount?  I've been looking at special purpose jointer powerefeeds but they start at about $2K.

It was a bit of a challenge to come up with a good feeder mount.  The jointer is a parallelogram design so any stress on the cabinet might effect the jointer accuracy. 

The jointer cabinet has two heavy gauge sheet metal sides that are welded to structural rectangular tubing at the top and bottom of the cabinet.  I bolted my mount to the structural tubing.  I haven't had any flex or noticed anything unusual.



If I had more room I would buy a US made jointer with cast iron base and leave it set up with the feeder at all times just to do edging.  Course I could buy a Martin....they come with a feeder mount as standard equipment....no extra charge. :D :D :D

[AnthonyW]

I did just what you are asking. As for taking the bow out due to the down pressure, the pressure  is no different than using the proper technique by hand feeding. I have a a Grizzly G0490 8" jointer with straight blades (I have come to realize this was a mistake and I should have opted for the $200 dollar upgrade to the spiral head). It works great. You just have to keep the feed tables clean and waxed.







The mount is a 1/2" plate steel and two 4" 1/4" wall tubes. (shout out here to Haverhill Steel for the great pricing on the cutoffs)

I started in woodworking before sawing and got a lot of flack on this idea. But I'm glad I followed through and ignored the nea sayers.

A word of caution on this setup. As you see there is no guard on the machine. The Grizzly uses  (as do many other brands) a porkchop style guard. The proper location for the feeder is just inside the swing of the guard. The height of the feeder is lower then the guard, so it can't open when jointing 4/4 material. I would get a euro style guard, but they cost more than the whole jointer was new. The advantage to the setup is that if I stay under 12 1/2" I can joint and plane all boards with my current equipment.

I have a 12 1/2" planer (hoping to upgrade soon). I built a 7 3/4" wide 3/4" tall HPL coated insert. I run the wider-than-8" board through the jointer with the jointed face on the insert. Once the wide face is flat, I flip over and plane off the un-jointed portion on the reverse side. With these tools I can joint and plane, perefectly, any and all boards from 1" to 12 1/2" wide.

[Glenn1]

That is a sweet setup.  I once took the guard off my 8" Grizzly to joint boards that were 10 inches wide.  It worked great until I forgot to put the guard back in place to  edge joint these same boards.  Caught two fingers from my left hand into the spiral cut blades and lost an inch off each one of them.  I am looking online at the euro guards as I never want to be without a guard again.   :'(

Anthony, how were you able to mount the steel plate to the jointer case?   Was there some steel inside the case that was strong enough and what is the HP on the power feeder?  I have a 1 HP but it weights over 100 lbs.  Bet that would be overkill.   ;D

[AnthonyW]

Anthony, how were you able to mount the steel plate to the jointer case?   Was there some steel inside the case that was strong enough and what is the HP on the power feeder?  I have a 1 HP but it weights over 100 lbs.  Bet that would be overkill.   ;D

If you look closely at the pictures, you will see how the 4" tubes are mounted. The steel plate is 1/2", L-shaped, and painted black. (hint, it is the only black on this Grizzly jointer). The steel plate goes under the entire jointer. The plate is 36" wide and 12" deep for ~24" on the right, and ~18" deep for the 12" on the left.

The extra width of the 1/4" tubes allows for me to move the feeder mount to the right by drilling more holes in the top tube.

PLEASE...Let me know if you find an euro guard that does cost an arm and a leg. The guard I like the most and the design I prefer is the Suvamatic guard. Check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft6MFmjmzhc

[Larry]

That's an early Euro guard on my Griggio.  I think it uses a spring loaded cylinder to adjust height.  The second black knob is the control.  Might not take much money to fabricate one but the time....  I'm not sure if I would like the Suvamatic as it seems to stick out more than some of the others.  I do like how it holds the board against the fence.  I saw another model that used rollers to do the same.

I love using it for edge jointing without the feeder, much better than the pork chop.  I can't get used to using it for face jointing.  It seems awkward.  I do use good push blocks when face jointing.

[David Freed]

Any chance of seeing a photo of your Woodmaster setup?  I tried SLR work with my 718 but the results were not straight enough.

This took 2 or 3 days to build. We ran 1,000's of feet of 8' to 12' lumber through it. The board could have up to a 1 1/2 inch crook in it, and it would put out straight blanks. We usually had 8 blades on the shaft; 4 bundled together to straighten and grind the scrap, and the other 4 set to cut up to 4 blanks out of wide boards.

https://forestryforum.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=1609

[MikeON]

Any chance of seeing a photo of your Woodmaster setup?  I tried SLR work with my 718 but the results were not straight enough.

This took 2 or 3 days to build. We ran 1,000's of feet of 8' to 12' lumber through it. The board could have up to a 1 1/2 inch crook in it, and it would put out straight blanks. We usually had 8 blades on the shaft; 4 bundled together to straighten and grind the scrap, and the other 4 set to cut up to 4 blanks out of wide boards.

https://forestryforum.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=1609

Thanks for the link to the photos.  That is an impressive setup.

[David Freed]

Thanks for the link to the photos.  That is was an impressive setup.

Thanks, but the gang rip setup is dismantled. I lost my semi and my lumber business in '08.

[Glenn Ohman]

Another option is a lumber jointer.

Glenn