Thanks for the great video. The best explanation and demonstration on "how to" adjust your jointer. I appreciate the time you spent and the details you provided in the video.
This is the ONLY video on YT that goes into great detail. On how to properly set up a dovetail style jointer after its gone out of alignment. Its really a unexpendable resource. Now im gonna go out in my shop for half a day and curse my life!! Ill never buy a dovetail way jointer again
Glad to be of service! I made this video because I couldn’t find one that explained every part of the process. Good luck in the shop! Hopefully yours isn’t too bad.
@@stachebuilds8459 hey man quick update!! It only took me 45 mins to get everything parallel and back into alignment thanks to this vid. I didn’t even have to shim anything. Was able to get it all done with the gib screws. Which I had no clue what they did until your vid 😂!
I have a 6” jointer and never took it apart, because I lack the know how. I think I’m ready after watching your video. I wish I had your calm demeanor……thank you for taking the time to show us how it’s done.
Excellent walk thru. I've been reluctant to loosen anything on my jointer, fearing I would exaggerate problem I intended to address or create a problem that wasn't there and then end up hopelessly lost. Your vid gives me confidence I can find my way.
Thanks for taking time to make this video, have the same jj6 bought new was pretty true but was only cleaning 1 edge of material now that I’m into bigger projects somethings off bad. Guess I’m going to block off 6-8 hrs and get this thing back in shape
The gibs are bolt s ground to a point . They secure the table . They do else . Remember,they have no cam function.To raise or lower the table ,use shim stock placed under the dove tails in various places .do outfeed table first .Cheers
People complain about how tedious it is to dimension wood with handplanes, but when you experience the misery of working on these machines I begin to see the beauty of them (handplanes I mean).
@@stachebuilds8459definitely. Great video by the way. I’m planing up beams for a roubo bench and I found that they were becoming tapered. Discovered my outdeed table is sagging towards the outside end. This video gave me some idea of how to remedy that.
I’ve been setting up a wood working shop and a jointer is the last missing piece I’m considering buying. I’ve been squaring boards on a DeWalt planer by pinning and shimming them to a flat “sled” board for side one, flipping for side two to make it parallel, double side taping a straight edge and ripping in table saw to square the first edge then using that edge against the fence to square the other side. It thought the was tedious until watching this video 😂 Watching it makes me wonder why no one makes a jointer where the bed is one piece casting with the in-feed side factory milled 1/16” / 1 mm lower than the out feed table. It would restrict the machine to only taking off a small increment with each pass but eliminate the need to constantly realign the two sides to be flat relative to each other and the knives. All that would be needed adjustment-wise was a way to adjust the cutters so they are the same height and level with the higher out-feed side.
It can definitely be tedious! That’s a great idea for a tool though, leaving little room for error. The versatility of a jointer is useful for other things as well, so I can see why they’re designed the way they are. You can cut rabbits on edges on a lot of them. But to your point, I have other tools for that 😂
@@stachebuilds8459 I had another thought regarding jointer design which hasn’t changed much since the days they were powered by steam 😂 Given the state of the art of stepping motors and sensors why not put a stepper motor on each corner of the in- and out-feed tables controlling a cams move the corners up/down linked to sensors for leveling and in vs. out height. Unlock table, press button to level, lock it down. It would probably be less complicated than the controls for a DJI drone.
This really helped me. Thanks so much! I am running into a problem getting the fence square. It's a bit twisted, so when one end is square, the other falls out of square, and so on and so forth. I've tried playing around with the four adjust screws, but so far no success. Any tips?
Something to look at is the check if the fence itself is flat. If the fence is warped, you’re gonna have a tough time. If that’s the case, you can always add an auxiliary fence in front of that. If it is, you’re on the right track with those four adjustment screws. You’ll have to jump back and fourth though, doing little by little to get it right. Definitely tedious!
Thank you for an excellent video. I have one question: When setting your infeed and outfeed tables to be on the same plane, on what wetting, height, how many mm to cut, is your infeed table set? I assume it is 0mm but I just want to make sure as you haven't mentioned it. I bought a Powermatic 50 from someone and I get the idea I will need some time setting it up properly. Thank again & greetings from South Africa.
That’s correct, you would set them both at 0mm. Then you would have a more accurate setting on how much you would be taking off when it comes time to use it. I wouldn’t worry too much if it’s giving you problems and you are close. I only take very small cuts when using my jointer and rely on my planer to get the dimensions I need. Good luck with the Powermatic! I almost got one of those.
@@stachebuilds8459 Thank you very much for the prompt reply. Your video really helped me a lot. I have never owned a jointer and the knifes were damaged and had to be sharpened. This caused me to take the "jump" and start learning.
The gibs just lock everything in place. You’ll want to have those loose and anything else that locks it in place loose, then you’ll get a little bit of play underneath to slide in a shim. A little goes a long way.
I was given an old 6” jointer. Been using it for years but recently, it’s getting out of square and impossible to adjust depth of cut because it hasn’t been changed in years. It really needs a full cleaning and tune up. I’m in the middle projects now but I plan to do a major cleaning/tuneup. This is helpful as it doesn’t have to be intimidating. You just need patience and persistence.
Yea dude! My in feed table corner where the table meets the blades and dips down at that angle about a 16th….. From your detailed how-to, seems like it’s fixable? Would you still start at the outfeed table? Thanks!!
I would still start at the outfeed! You’ll have to play with shimming your infeed possibly though. It will likely be a bummer whenever you go to adjust your infeed in the future, but I rarely touch it once I have it where I like it.
Really informative, Thank you. I have a very similar jointer but no manual. Between the gibs there are two black screw like things with wings that can turned. What are they for?
Those should be to lock your tables in place once you have everything set up how you like it. Since it naturally vibrates when it’s on, this just helps keep your settings set where you put them.
I have a craftsman 6" jointer (SIMPSON-SEARS LTD. MODEL NO 103.20620) maybe 2011 year. Mine is high on ends low middle; leaves a bow in the middle of boards. can't match up flats. There doesn't seem to be any visible gibs to adjust. Just a raise or lower out feed table. I'm frustrated.
It’s possible that the infeed table isn’t flat. I would put a straightedge to the top diagonal to see if the table is even flat. Buying a used unit, you can come across someone who only used it for one purpose and actually wear down the tables surface.
I have a Ridgid jointer that I purchased from an individual. It was damaged in a house fire and the plastic switch and bezel on the front of the machine were melted. Other than this, all looks ok other than the rust that was on the infeed/outfeed tables. That was removed with lots of elbow grease. Now I am in the process of truing up the infeed/outfeed tables. I am using a 4’ straight edge to find where the table is sagging. What is an acceptable clearance under the straight edge when looking for misalignments. I used a feeler gauge with .005” and all seemed ok. Then I went down to .0025” and in spots the feeler gauge slipped under the straight edge. Should I call it a day and leave things alone? Also, when I first began the true up process, I ran the infeed table all the way up then used a dial indicator to measure how much the cutter head was out of alignment to it. It was out about .007” at one end and I shimmed one end of the cutter head up with aluminum from a soda pop can and reduced the misalignment to about .002”-.003”. Is this good enough?
I’d say that’s plenty good! You can can go down a rabbit hole trying to get it perfect, but sounds like you have it really close. Especially by the time you run it through the planer, you’re going to have some nicely milled wood. You can even do light passes on each side of the board through the planer once you’re done if you’re not happy with the result. But I’d call it good and start building!
@@stachebuilds8459 Thanks for the feedback. I remeasured the infeed table and towards the back corner end, it’s a little low > 0.0025”….maybe 0.003”. A piece of tin foil should be a good shim. Aluminum from a soda pop can will be too much. Will loosen and retighten gibs before placing a shim since that might true things up better.
I have a question, is it necessary for the floor under the machine to be in a state of balance or stillness, because I might disassemble the two tables?
The floor under the machine doesn’t need to be level, but you don’t want the machine itself to wobble. It’s a tool that can be very dangerous, so you don’t want it moving around. As long as the in feed and out feed tables set correctly in relation to the blades, you’ll be good to go.
I'm so screwed. The only part of the wood that is cut is the first few inches. After that, the remaining wood is untouched by the cutters. What is wrong?
Could be a few things. The piece of wood you’re using could be super bowed, so it’s not making contact. You can be only putting pressure on one end of the wood causing the back to lift up. When your infeed table isn’t as long as the wood, it can get tricky. Or your infeed and outfeed table aren’t level with each other causing some funky cuts.
The process is similar to adjusting the outfeed table. You will need to loosen the gib adjustment screws on the back side in order to loosen it up. It’s also possible to be seized if you’re having issues getting it off. Some penetrating oil could assist with that as well!
If it’s an old unit, metal has a way of almost welding itself together with rust and grit. If it’s a dovetail style like the one in my video, there are long plates that those gib screws wedge in. You can try hitting those with a softer metal, like brass, to see if you can break it free. Tapping it with a hammer on the back and front can also help. Just don’t give in to the temptation to hit the top!
@@nolimitsldr I have the Jet JJ-6CSDX and am in the process of fully restoring it as it was neglected by a previous owner and had a bit of rust/wasn't tuned etc. I was able to remove the infeed table after I removed the gib and fully lowered the table with a bit of wiggling to pry it off. However, I have not been able to remove the outfeed table. I was hoping to do so as the adjustment screw/mechanism to raise/lower the table is not running smoothly and you really have to muscle the wheel to get it to move which is never good. I have tried to spray some penetrating oil near the gears/screw and cleaned out as much of the sawdust as possible, but I'm worried that the screw itself which runs the gear may be slightly crooked and would need to be replaced. Only way to really diagnose it or properly clean it would be to remove the table. @StacheBuilds - any tips to remove the outfeed table?
Typically the outfeed table is squared to the cutter head body (not the knives). They the parallelism of the infeed table is set to match the outfeed table. BTW, it 'gibs' not 'jibs'. Good luck. Thanks.
It can, but you need to keep it flat against the joiner the whole time. So if the piece is very heavy, that can be tough. For long pieces, I’ll set up a table before and after the jointer to add additional support.
Out of all the videos I've watched on this topic, this is BY FAR, the best.
Thank you so much!
I’m glad it helped! Definitely one of the more frustrating tools to make perfect, but one of those you can’t live without.
Thanks for the great video. The best explanation and demonstration on "how to" adjust your jointer. I appreciate the time you spent and the details you provided in the video.
Thank you, I was ready to turn mine into the printer from "Office Space"... I think you just saved its life.
Haha I wouldn’t blame you! It can be super frustrating to get the jointer just right.
Simple and to the point. Thank you! I just got this same model the other day for $100 and about to start tuning her up. Thanks again!
This is the ONLY video on YT that goes into great detail. On how to properly set up a dovetail style jointer after its gone out of alignment. Its really a unexpendable resource. Now im gonna go out in my shop for half a day and curse my life!! Ill never buy a dovetail way jointer again
Glad to be of service! I made this video because I couldn’t find one that explained every part of the process. Good luck in the shop! Hopefully yours isn’t too bad.
@@stachebuilds8459 hey man quick update!! It only took me 45 mins to get everything parallel and back into alignment thanks to this vid. I didn’t even have to shim anything. Was able to get it all done with the gib screws. Which I had no clue what they did until your vid 😂!
That’s great! I spent 4 hours the first time I did mine….
I have a 6” jointer and never took it apart, because I lack the know how. I think I’m ready after watching your video. I wish I had your calm demeanor……thank you for taking the time to show us how it’s done.
I’m glad it helps! I know how intimidating it can be to tackle something new. Hoping to get more videos out soon!
Excellent walk thru. I've been reluctant to loosen anything on my jointer, fearing I would exaggerate problem I intended to address or create a problem that wasn't there and then end up hopelessly lost. Your vid gives me confidence I can find my way.
Glad to hear it! It can be intimidating at first, but there’s not a lot to them. You’re going to be happy with the results.
Just bought the same jointer. Slightly newer. This was super helpful. Thanks!
Glad it helped!
Inherited this same jointer, this has been incredibly helpful. Much appreciated. Thank you a ton!!
Glad it was able to help!
Instant sub if you keep this kind of content coming
Thank you! I’m hoping to make some more videos soon.
Thank you brother just bought a used jointer like this and this by far is the most helpful video
Glad to hear it!
awesome content, just picked up the same jointer today....hoping I can be as zen for 8 hours to get her dialed in...
Thanks for taking time to make this video, have the same jj6 bought new was pretty true but was only cleaning 1 edge of material now that I’m into bigger projects somethings off bad. Guess I’m going to block off 6-8 hrs and get this thing back in shape
You’ll be glad once it’s all done!
Awesome video. Thanks so much!
Good video. And - nice old Jet jointer. Thanks.
Thank you! It’s been super good to me.
Yes! This is the best tutorial on RUclips for setting up/tuning up a Jet Jointer. Thanks so much! Looking forward to other videos.
Thank you! Glad it helped!
The gibs are bolt s ground to a point . They secure the table . They do
else . Remember,they have no cam function.To raise or lower the table ,use shim stock placed under the dove tails in various places .do outfeed table first .Cheers
I am dreading having to do this lol just bought a used ridgid jointer and I can tell that it’s going to need a lot of tuning
At least you know what you’re getting into! Just don’t be afraid to walk away for a little if you need to.
People complain about how tedious it is to dimension wood with handplanes, but when you experience the misery of working on these machines I begin to see the beauty of them (handplanes I mean).
There’s something to be said about a good handplane and knowing how to use it.
@@stachebuilds8459definitely. Great video by the way. I’m planing up beams for a roubo bench and I found that they were becoming tapered. Discovered my outdeed table is sagging towards the outside end. This video gave me some idea of how to remedy that.
Very good for your first RUclips Do some more!
Thank you! I’m hoping to make another one soon. Glad you like it!
I’ve been setting up a wood working shop and a jointer is the last missing piece I’m considering buying.
I’ve been squaring boards on a DeWalt planer by pinning and shimming them to a flat “sled” board for side one, flipping for side two to make it parallel, double side taping a straight edge and ripping in table saw to square the first edge then using that edge against the fence to square the other side. It thought the was tedious until watching this video 😂
Watching it makes me wonder why no one makes a jointer where the bed is one piece casting with the in-feed side factory milled 1/16” / 1 mm lower than the out feed table. It would restrict the machine to only taking off a small increment with each pass but eliminate the need to constantly realign the two sides to be flat relative to each other and the knives. All that would be needed adjustment-wise was a way to adjust the cutters so they are the same height and level with the higher out-feed side.
It can definitely be tedious! That’s a great idea for a tool though, leaving little room for error. The versatility of a jointer is useful for other things as well, so I can see why they’re designed the way they are. You can cut rabbits on edges on a lot of them. But to your point, I have other tools for that 😂
@@stachebuilds8459 I had another thought regarding jointer design which hasn’t changed much since the days they were powered by steam 😂 Given the state of the art of stepping motors and sensors why not put a stepper motor on each corner of the in- and out-feed tables controlling a cams move the corners up/down linked to sensors for leveling and in vs. out height. Unlock table, press button to level, lock it down. It would probably be less complicated than the controls for a DJI drone.
Awesome work buddy!!
Thank you!!
This really helped me. Thanks so much!
I am running into a problem getting the fence square. It's a bit twisted, so when one end is square, the other falls out of square, and so on and so forth. I've tried playing around with the four adjust screws, but so far no success. Any tips?
Something to look at is the check if the fence itself is flat. If the fence is warped, you’re gonna have a tough time. If that’s the case, you can always add an auxiliary fence in front of that. If it is, you’re on the right track with those four adjustment screws. You’ll have to jump back and fourth though, doing little by little to get it right. Definitely tedious!
Thank you for an excellent video. I have one question: When setting your infeed and outfeed tables to be on the same plane, on what wetting, height, how many mm to cut, is your infeed table set? I assume it is 0mm but I just want to make sure as you haven't mentioned it. I bought a Powermatic 50 from someone and I get the idea I will need some time setting it up properly.
Thank again & greetings from South Africa.
That’s correct, you would set them both at 0mm. Then you would have a more accurate setting on how much you would be taking off when it comes time to use it. I wouldn’t worry too much if it’s giving you problems and you are close. I only take very small cuts when using my jointer and rely on my planer to get the dimensions I need. Good luck with the Powermatic! I almost got one of those.
@@stachebuilds8459 Thank you very much for the prompt reply. Your video really helped me a lot. I have never owned a jointer and the knifes were damaged and had to be sharpened. This caused me to take the "jump" and start learning.
👍 Nice video, thanks for sharing! How do you lift the dovetail to insert shims to adjust coplanarity? Do the same gibs control dovetail gaps? Thanks!
The gibs just lock everything in place. You’ll want to have those loose and anything else that locks it in place loose, then you’ll get a little bit of play underneath to slide in a shim. A little goes a long way.
I was given an old 6” jointer. Been using it for years but recently, it’s getting out of square and impossible to adjust depth of cut because it hasn’t been changed in years. It really needs a full cleaning and tune up. I’m in the middle projects now but I plan to do a major cleaning/tuneup. This is helpful as it doesn’t have to be intimidating. You just need patience and persistence.
That’s exactly it! It doesn’t have to be intimidating. As long as you know it will take some time, just relax and enjoy the process.
Love the explanation thanks
Yea dude! My in feed table corner where the table meets the blades and dips down at that angle about a 16th….. From your detailed how-to, seems like it’s fixable? Would you still start at the outfeed table? Thanks!!
I would still start at the outfeed! You’ll have to play with shimming your infeed possibly though. It will likely be a bummer whenever you go to adjust your infeed in the future, but I rarely touch it once I have it where I like it.
@@stachebuilds8459 ok sounds good. I’ll get after it tomm
@@stachebuilds8459 stupid question….. Do you have to remove a table to add shims? How do you do that?
When everything is loose, you should be able to add shims without removing the table. A little will go a long way too!
@@stachebuilds8459By chance are you in Florida lol! Starting off with a good ol Coke Zero can
Really informative, Thank you. I have a very similar jointer but no manual. Between the gibs there are two black screw like things with wings that can turned. What are they for?
Those should be to lock your tables in place once you have everything set up how you like it. Since it naturally vibrates when it’s on, this just helps keep your settings set where you put them.
@@stachebuilds8459 Ok, so turning the gibs won't do anything until the gib locks are loosened. Important point 🙂
You got it!
I have a similar model and i cant get my infeed to raise. What am i missing? Loosed the lock knob.
It could be rusted up on the dovetail. That could cause it to seize to the body.
I have a craftsman 6" jointer (SIMPSON-SEARS LTD. MODEL NO 103.20620) maybe 2011 year. Mine is high on ends low middle; leaves a bow in the middle of boards. can't match up flats. There doesn't seem to be any visible gibs to adjust. Just a raise or lower out feed table. I'm frustrated.
It’s possible that the infeed table isn’t flat. I would put a straightedge to the top diagonal to see if the table is even flat. Buying a used unit, you can come across someone who only used it for one purpose and actually wear down the tables surface.
I have a Ridgid jointer that I purchased from an individual. It was damaged in a house fire and the plastic switch and bezel on the front of the machine were melted. Other than this, all looks ok other than the rust that was on the infeed/outfeed tables. That was removed with lots of elbow grease.
Now I am in the process of truing up the infeed/outfeed tables. I am using a 4’ straight edge to find where the table is sagging. What is an acceptable clearance under the straight edge when looking for misalignments. I used a feeler gauge with .005” and all seemed ok. Then I went down to .0025” and in spots the feeler gauge slipped under the straight edge. Should I call it a day and leave things alone?
Also, when I first began the true up process, I ran the infeed table all the way up then used a dial indicator to measure how much the cutter head was out of alignment to it. It was out about .007” at one end and I shimmed one end of the cutter head up with aluminum from a soda pop can and reduced the misalignment to about .002”-.003”. Is this good enough?
I’d say that’s plenty good! You can can go down a rabbit hole trying to get it perfect, but sounds like you have it really close. Especially by the time you run it through the planer, you’re going to have some nicely milled wood. You can even do light passes on each side of the board through the planer once you’re done if you’re not happy with the result. But I’d call it good and start building!
@@stachebuilds8459 Thanks for the feedback. I remeasured the infeed table and towards the back corner end, it’s a little low > 0.0025”….maybe 0.003”. A piece of tin foil should be a good shim. Aluminum from a soda pop can will be too much. Will loosen and retighten gibs before placing a shim since that might true things up better.
You’re going to be super happy with the results. With discipline like that, I’m sure you’re going to produce some great work.
I have a question, is it necessary for the floor under the machine to be in a state of balance or stillness, because I might disassemble the two tables?
The floor under the machine doesn’t need to be level, but you don’t want the machine itself to wobble. It’s a tool that can be very dangerous, so you don’t want it moving around. As long as the in feed and out feed tables set correctly in relation to the blades, you’ll be good to go.
Much appreciated.
I'm so screwed. The only part of the wood that is cut is the first few inches. After that, the remaining wood is untouched by the cutters. What is wrong?
Could be a few things. The piece of wood you’re using could be super bowed, so it’s not making contact. You can be only putting pressure on one end of the wood causing the back to lift up. When your infeed table isn’t as long as the wood, it can get tricky. Or your infeed and outfeed table aren’t level with each other causing some funky cuts.
@@stachebuilds8459 i was putting pressure as i was told on the outfeed side. it's very discouraging. i'm a complete failure. thanks for your comment
Just keep at it! It takes a lot of patience. Sometimes it’s better to walk away for a minute then start again from scratch.
this is a niceplaner
Have you removed the infeed table? I can’t get mine off…
The process is similar to adjusting the outfeed table. You will need to loosen the gib adjustment screws on the back side in order to loosen it up. It’s also possible to be seized if you’re having issues getting it off. Some penetrating oil could assist with that as well!
@@stachebuilds8459 I tried oil and all the screws. It’s driving me crazy. I think I may just have to disassemble the whole thing
If it’s an old unit, metal has a way of almost welding itself together with rust and grit. If it’s a dovetail style like the one in my video, there are long plates that those gib screws wedge in. You can try hitting those with a softer metal, like brass, to see if you can break it free. Tapping it with a hammer on the back and front can also help. Just don’t give in to the temptation to hit the top!
@@stachebuilds8459 I removed the gib…It’s slides up and down but will not peel off.
@@nolimitsldr I have the Jet JJ-6CSDX and am in the process of fully restoring it as it was neglected by a previous owner and had a bit of rust/wasn't tuned etc. I was able to remove the infeed table after I removed the gib and fully lowered the table with a bit of wiggling to pry it off. However, I have not been able to remove the outfeed table. I was hoping to do so as the adjustment screw/mechanism to raise/lower the table is not running smoothly and you really have to muscle the wheel to get it to move which is never good. I have tried to spray some penetrating oil near the gears/screw and cleaned out as much of the sawdust as possible, but I'm worried that the screw itself which runs the gear may be slightly crooked and would need to be replaced. Only way to really diagnose it or properly clean it would be to remove the table.
@StacheBuilds - any tips to remove the outfeed table?
Are you from LA or at least Cali?
I’m in LA
Great video thank you for the info nice mustache 👍🫵🫡
Typically the outfeed table is squared to the cutter head body (not the knives). They the parallelism of the infeed table is set to match the outfeed table. BTW, it 'gibs' not 'jibs'. Good luck. Thanks.
Bro! make more videos!
❤❤
If Mr. Rogers had a kid with Mr. Flanders..
I’ll take it.
Don’t wear tops with dangling cords when working with spinning blades.
And I see that domino
I couldn’t help myself…
Good job man...but one question....i see is not long ..it can join a piece of wood of 72 eanchs?
It can, but you need to keep it flat against the joiner the whole time. So if the piece is very heavy, that can be tough. For long pieces, I’ll set up a table before and after the jointer to add additional support.