This is the jointer that I was forced to haul home with the afore mentioned band saw. 
A fellow I know owns a commercial building in Port Townsend. When I told him I’d been looking at a used planer he offered me the band saw and what he said was a planer that were collecting dust in the basement storage/maintenance room. Well it didn’t turn out to be a planer but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings and knowing my wife would be oh so happy to have another chunk of iron sitting in her parking space, I brought it home.
The infeed table has a little pitting. I suppose if a guy were really anal about it that could be resurfaced but I think it will be good enough for the girls I go out with. Aside from that the tables are flat and parallel. The crank for the outfeed adjustment has part of the handle broken off but, thanks to years of strength training with twist top bottle caps, is easily mastered.
The knives were in dire need of attention.
It used to be, when there were crummies full of hung over loggers on the road at 4am and scores of seven fingered saw mill operators around these parts, there was a burgeoning cottage industry of hunch backed saw filers and gimpy legged ex-logger knife grinders around here. Now there is one shop in the neighboring town and a call to my local lumber yard reveals that they’ve got a guy that travels up once a week to pick up work and returns it the following week (“and he just left 15 minutes ago”). So I’m left with the decision of whether to drive 20 miles to the filer’s shop and back in “three or four days” or drop them at the lumber yard and wait two weeks for their return. Needless to say, I choose wrong.
After 18 days and a couple of legitimate but “that’s really no way to run a business” excuses I made the return trip to the filer’s shop and returned with my wayward knives.
There is a good thread on the power tools forum ( http://lumberjocks.com/topics/30898 ) about the acquisition of an fine old jointer. Mr. Gaskins leaves off with the comment that he is now intent on cleaning and painting his new toy. I can only wish I had Jacks restraint and attention to detail but screw that… I want to make some sawdust.
-- Visualize whirled peas
5 comments so far
chrisstef
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5208 posts in 1173 days
#1 posted 579 days ago
How much work will go into a jointer of that size and in that state. Ive got a serious hankerin for some new tools but i dont need another 3 week project on my hands so im just curious.
-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty
dbol
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135 posts in 1164 days
#2 posted 578 days ago
Good story, and nice planer! Or is it a jointer?
muleskinner
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552 posts in 603 days
#3 posted 578 days ago
Well Chris, I’m pretty much finished changing it’s ‘state’. Polished the tables. Checked the geometry (it was nuts on). Got the knives sharpened. I’m pretty much done. Aside from waiting for the knife grinder and not counting the time to haul it home, I probably have an hour and a half into it.
dbol, don’t worry about hurting my feelings – it’s a shitty planer. But I think it will give me decent service as a jointer.
-- Visualize whirled peas
Paul David Soto
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141 posts in 773 days
#4 posted 487 days ago
LOL! Great story…Isn’t it the stories “behind the scenes” that make woodworking fun. Great Planer/Jointer/Story!
-- - As a woodworker, it could be interesting sometimes waking up in the morning and asking, "Lord, what will you have me do today?" -Noah
a1Jim
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86979 posts in 1743 days
#5 posted 487 days ago
I think there are a great number folks on Ljs who would love to be forced to take some equipment home. LOl
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
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