Old... I mean, "vintage" Jointer "restoration"

[Phil Mastro]

So it's turning at around 5800 RPM, oops
I'll probably just try and set it as close to 4000 I can.

 

[TerribleTim68]

...The only safety measure it has is a guard...

Thus my healthy fear of my jointer. Seriously, that thing freaks me out every time I turn it on. Could have something to do with my boss missing half his finger from one of these. I love having it and it is super helpful, but man it freaks me out.

 

[Phil Mastro]

I guess I should update for posterity.

It turns out most of the issues I'd mentioned were solved easily. I ended up taking @Bruce Johnson's suggestion of just drilling new holes and tapping. There was just enough meat beyond the outside screws to drill new holes there. Finding hex bolts that were around 1/4" long was actually a bit challenging, the biggest ones I could find were M5... so that's what I bought.

So it turns out the pulleys on the jointer were appropriately sized to run around 4000-4500 rpm. I did the math thinking the belt was riding at the bottom of the pulley instead of at the "pitch diameter".

And the co-planar table stuff turned out to be a bump in the infeed table. I flattened it out with a diamond plate, and all of a sudden the two tables are almost in perfect alignment.

I reinstalled the gibs and blades (what a fun process that is), and the whole thing works pretty well. I also matched the blades and gibs according to their weight (thanks again Bruce). I haven't changed the belt yet, but it seems to be spinning more quietly already. I was able to flatten out some mildly wavy birch without tear-out, so that's good enough for me.

Thanks for the help.

 

[bolophonic]

I’d tap new holes before fabricating all new parts.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I guess I should update for posterity.

It turns out most of the issues I'd mentioned were solved easily. I ended up taking @Bruce Johnson's suggestion of just drilling new holes and tapping. There was just enough meat beyond the outside screws to drill new holes there. Finding hex bolts that were around 1/4" long was actually a bit challenging, the biggest ones I could find were M5... so that's what I bought.

So it turns out the pulleys on the jointer were appropriately sized to run around 4000-4500 rpm. I did the math thinking the belt was riding at the bottom of the pulley instead of at the "pitch diameter".

And the co-planar table stuff turned out to be a bump in the infeed table. I flattened it out with a diamond plate, and all of a sudden the two tables are almost in perfect alignment.

I reinstalled the gibs and blades (what a fun process that is), and the whole thing works pretty well. I also matched the blades and gibs according to their weight (thanks again Bruce). I haven't changed the belt yet, but it seems to be spinning more quietly already. I was able to flatten out some mildly wavy birch without tear-out, so that's good enough for me.

Thanks for the help.

That's all good news, Phil! It's especially satisfying to use a machine that you saved from the scrapyard. And usually, the problems they have, which caused them to be abandoned by previous owners, are not that great and can be fixed. Now you have a nice jointer that will be a loyal tool to you forever...because you know and understand its little details, and how to keep it tuned up.