# Home Built 13" Jointer



## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Design*

This project started two years ago, when I sold my 6" Jet jointer to pay some bills, with the intention of replacing it with an 8" Grizzly. Due to other projects, two years went by without setting foot in my shop, so I never got around to replacing the old Jet.
Ever since I saw Matthias Wandel's homemade jointer project, I would periodically think about building one. While it was very intriguing, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a jointer.
About 6 months ago, on another woodworking forum, someone was selling a 13" Shelix cutterhead for a Delta 22-580 planer. For $200, I couldn't pass it up, so the jointer project was on.

I purchased the plans from Matthias (along with bandsaw plans for a future project), with the intention of using them for reference, as I design something that will be more useful to me.
There were several changes that I wanted to make:

Longer infeed and outfeed tables.
Induction motor, for more power and less noise.
Built in dust collection.

I also want to make it bit more solid, and come up with a stronger method of mounting the cutterhead.

I also decided to start learning a new CAD program, AutoDesk's Fusion 360. Due to the learning curve, design is taken a little longer than expected.

Here are some of the details.

The infeed and outfeed tables will be 36" long. It thought about longer tables, but just don't have the room. Tables will be 3 layers of 1/2" baltic birch, laminated in my vacuum press, with top and bottom skins of 12 gauge steel. Matthias uses "floating" plates on his table, to accommodate wood movement. My belief is that if I bond and screw identical plates to the top and bottom, the tables should remain flat, and movement won't be an issue. The ply and steel will be bonded with epoxy, and all exposed plywood edges will be sealed with 2 coats of epoxy prior to painting.

The front and back main beams will be cut from 1-3/4" LVL's, CNC cut for straightness. These will cost about the same as good plywood, and will be strong and rigid.
I'm using the same methods Matthias used to mount the tables, but am adding additional mounting points to help keep the tables flat. The parallelogram system will use large 1/2" steel rods. I though about using bronze bushings, but was concerned about the fit, unless I spent a lot of money for precision ground shafts. What I'll do is CNC the holes for the bars slightly undersized, for a very snug press fit.

Motor is 2HP, 220V 3450 RPM. In the planer, the cutterhead spins at about 10,000 rpm. I was having trouble finding a suitable pulley for the motor. Looking at videos of this machine on Youtube, I found out that power steering and alternator pulleys were cheap, and would fit.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/168866

These are 6 groove pulleys, but are a larger size than the stock 6 groove pulley. Both pulleys and the belt were just over $30. Not too bad. I need to add some keyways to the pulleys, which I'll do with a small file.
The pulleys should give me about a 2.5:1 ratio, which should give a cutterhead speed of around 8600rpm.

The scariest thing about this jointer, is mounting the cutterhead. I just don't like the idea of a few small blocks of plywood holding it in place. I wanted something that was strong, and also a method of mounting it solidly to the frame of the machine. I purchased a pair of 1"x3" aluminum blocks on Ebay, and will use my CNC router to cut the bearing pockets. Each block will bolt to a 1/2"x1-1/2" steel mounting block. Each steel block will be permanently bonded and screwed to the LVL with six long 1/4" screws.

I have the cutterhead motor, and the majority of the hardware right now. I'm hoping to start construction after the holidays.
It looks like the total cost of this will be around $700-$800.

Here's a rough breakdown:
Shelix cuterhead - $200
2HP motor - $200 (Ebay - A 1-1/2HP motor was only $10 cheaper, so I just went with the 2HP)
Pulleys and Belts - $30 (Ebay & Amazon)
Aluminum blocks - $17 (Ebay)
Misc hardware - $100 (McMaster Carr)
Steel for tables - $75 + shipping (Online Metals)
LVL's and baltic birch - $120 (Menards)

Here are a few CAD images, and a pic of the cutterhead.




























Still need to add the motor, and dust collection chutes.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Design*
> 
> This project started two years ago, when I sold my 6" Jet jointer to pay some bills, with the intention of replacing it with an 8" Grizzly. Due to other projects, two years went by without setting foot in my shop, so I never got around to replacing the old Jet.
> Ever since I saw Matthias Wandel's homemade jointer project, I would periodically think about building one. While it was very intriguing, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a jointer.
> ...


Go Gerry!
This looks like it will be fun to watch go together.

Steve


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## kaerlighedsbamsen (Sep 16, 2013)

Ger21 said:


> *Design*
> 
> This project started two years ago, when I sold my 6" Jet jointer to pay some bills, with the intention of replacing it with an 8" Grizzly. Due to other projects, two years went by without setting foot in my shop, so I never got around to replacing the old Jet.
> Ever since I saw Matthias Wandel's homemade jointer project, I would periodically think about building one. While it was very intriguing, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a jointer.
> ...


Great start of a blog. Like any true inventors you take what exist and make it to better fit your needs. Ambitious and rewarding.
Is 2 hp enough for a planer that big? The ones that i have tryed used a 3-5hp

Looking forward to follow this build!


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

Ger21 said:


> *Design*
> 
> This project started two years ago, when I sold my 6" Jet jointer to pay some bills, with the intention of replacing it with an 8" Grizzly. Due to other projects, two years went by without setting foot in my shop, so I never got around to replacing the old Jet.
> Ever since I saw Matthias Wandel's homemade jointer project, I would periodically think about building one. While it was very intriguing, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a jointer.
> ...


2 HP is a little more power than the machine that the cutterhead came from had.

Yes, similar sized commercial machines do have larger motors, but they also have larger cutterheads, typically close to 4" diamter. This one is only 2" diameter.
This will be a lighter duty machine. I won't ever be taking heavy cuts, and most of the time will be using boards much narrower than 13".
My old 6" Jet only had a 1 HP motor, and never struggled at all. I think the 2HP will be fine for my needs.


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## geekwoodworker (May 27, 2014)

Ger21 said:


> *Design*
> 
> This project started two years ago, when I sold my 6" Jet jointer to pay some bills, with the intention of replacing it with an 8" Grizzly. Due to other projects, two years went by without setting foot in my shop, so I never got around to replacing the old Jet.
> Ever since I saw Matthias Wandel's homemade jointer project, I would periodically think about building one. While it was very intriguing, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a jointer.
> ...


Very interesting and I am looking forward to following this build. I built the Matthias jointer and it works awesome. You will enjoy using it.

Good luck and enjoy the build.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

Ger21 said:


> *Design*
> 
> This project started two years ago, when I sold my 6" Jet jointer to pay some bills, with the intention of replacing it with an 8" Grizzly. Due to other projects, two years went by without setting foot in my shop, so I never got around to replacing the old Jet.
> Ever since I saw Matthias Wandel's homemade jointer project, I would periodically think about building one. While it was very intriguing, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a jointer.
> ...


Now I have a reason to be….,
Anxiously awaiting the new year.

I really want to see this come together!!!


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Ger21 said:


> *Design*
> 
> This project started two years ago, when I sold my 6" Jet jointer to pay some bills, with the intention of replacing it with an 8" Grizzly. Due to other projects, two years went by without setting foot in my shop, so I never got around to replacing the old Jet.
> Ever since I saw Matthias Wandel's homemade jointer project, I would periodically think about building one. While it was very intriguing, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a jointer.
> ...


Very very nice. I like that you've upgraded it. Those renderings from the CAD are very nice quality too. You should consider selling your plans or contributing your improvements back to Mattias if it works out as well as it looks like it's going to.


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Bearing Mounts*

It's been a little while since the first entry. Hopefully, things will start moving a little faster. Maybe.

Not a lot done, but I've finished one of the more difficult parts of the build. The bearing mounts that will hold the cutterhead.

I started with 2 blocks of aluminum, 1"x3"x5".
I first drilled 2 holes in each, so that I could bolt them to my CNC router. The first thing I did was route the pockets for the bearings. I started a little under size, then snuck up on the size until I could just push them in with my fingers, but too tight to pull them out. After I got the size figured out, I trimmed the perimeter to the final size.
Then, it was a lot of work on the drill press, drilling a lot of 3" deep holes.
I first drilled the 4 mounting holes 3/16" diameter. I then attached the steel base plates to the aluminum with double sided tape, and used the drill press to mark the hole locations in the steel plates. Then drill and tap the steel for the 1/4-20 threads, and enlarge all the 3/16" holes to 1/4" 
I countersunk the center holes, and then flipped the block upside down and enlarged the bottom 2/3 of the holes to 5/16" for a little clearance.
I then enlarged the outer holes to 5/16" for clearance.
After what seemed like 4-5 hours at the drill press, I was finally done drilling the aluminum.

Next step was to cut the 45° corners on the table saw. I left them square until the drilling was done to make the drilling easier.
I set up a stop block on my cutoff sled, and cut all 4 corners off. Cutting aluminum on the table saw with the blade at 45° throws chips everywhere.

The last step was to counterbore the outer mounting holes on the beveled edges.
I clamped the blocks to a fixture block mounted to my CNC router, then used a probing routine to find the center of each hole. I used a 3/8" 2 flute spiral bit to counterbore the hole to .65", to allow a little clearance around the 5/8" washers.

Final step was about an hour of wet sanding to give them a finished look. They're not perfect, but not too bad. I was able to get almost all of the milling marks off. There's just one bad spot. I tend to pay a lot of attention to detail at the start of my projects, and not so much at the end when I just want them finished. But I really want to try and make this look as good as possible.

So right now, the steel base plates are drilled and tapped to accept the bearing blocks. When the side rails are ready, I need to drill the mounting holes in the steel base plate, and transfer the holes to the side rails. Then I'll epoxy and screw the base plates to the rails, giving me a solid mounting point for the bearing blocks. Much better than a small piece of baltic birch.

Tomorrow I start working on the LVL side rails.

Here's a CAD screenshot showing the bearing block, mounting plate and hardware.









And here are the finished bearing blocks. Right now, the back block is closed on the back side, but I may open it up, so that I can get the bearing out if I need to change it.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Bearing Mounts*
> 
> It's been a little while since the first entry. Hopefully, things will start moving a little faster. Maybe.
> 
> ...


Wow, nice. 
You don't mess around. Great work.

Steve


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

Ger21 said:


> *Bearing Mounts*
> 
> It's been a little while since the first entry. Hopefully, things will start moving a little faster. Maybe.
> 
> ...


A 13" cutterhead spinning at 9000 rpm isn't something I really want to mess around with.


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Frame Rails with Cutterhed Mounts Installed*

I started working on the frame on Saturday.
I've never used LVL's before, and was expecting a more finished product than I received. But a few passes through the planer and they cleaned up pretty nicely. I used a straightedge and flush trim bit in the router to get one straight edge, then ripped to width on the table saw.










I rough cut the tapered edges on the bandsaw, and cleaned them up with a straightedge and router.
There are some notches in the rails for wrench clearance on the outfeed table mounts. I rough cut these with a table saw sled, and finished with a router and template.









Once the frame rails were cut and machined to size, I drilled the mounting holes for the steel mounting plates, and epoxied them in place. Each plate is held in place with six 3" long 1/4-20 screws. 1/4-20 screws will screw into 3/16" holes in wood without the need to tap them. These actually hold incredibly well just being screwed into the wood. But for a permanent bond, the 3/16" holes were counterbored 1" deep to 5/16".
I first coated the holes with thin epoxy, and ran the screws in and out to get it down into the threaded portion. I then added West System high density filler, and filled the counterbores with the thickened epoxy. The epoxy penetrates into the end grain, and the larger diameter plug around the screw really anchors everything in place. No way these will ever come out.
Before the epoxy cured, I inserted some oiled screws into the threaded holes to keep them clear of epoxy.










After the epoxy cured, I checked to make sure everything bolted into place properly.










The new pulley and belt are much wider than the stock pulley. However, the hub is much thinner. I bought some 1/8" aluminum washers to take up the space left by the smaller hub. I needed one washer behind the pulley, and four under the nut. I hand filed the keyway into the pulley and one of the washers.




























With the rails ready for the cutterhead, I pressed on the bearings, and bolted the cutterhead in place.



















I routed a pair of dadoes in the side rails to accept a baltic birch panel that will direct the chips into a dust chute. There will be a 3 piece deflector panel on the other side. Here's a CAD image that shows the internals.










Once the cutterhead was in place, I was able to measure and cut the crossmembers for the ends of the rails. I thought I was cutting them 1/16" long to start, but they ended up about 1/32 short. :-( They'll be glued and screwed in place, so I'll shim them with some veneer scraps.

A few more pics of the installed cutterhead.



















This weekend, I hope to start building the base, but I'm probably going to make some small changes before I start.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Frame Rails with Cutterhed Mounts Installed*
> 
> I started working on the frame on Saturday.
> I've never used LVL's before, and was expecting a more finished product than I received. But a few passes through the planer and they cleaned up pretty nicely. I used a straightedge and flush trim bit in the router to get one straight edge, then ripped to width on the table saw.
> ...


Nice work Gerry. 
This is fun to just sit and watch it come together.

Steve


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

Ger21 said:


> *Frame Rails with Cutterhed Mounts Installed*
> 
> I started working on the frame on Saturday.
> I've never used LVL's before, and was expecting a more finished product than I received. But a few passes through the planer and they cleaned up pretty nicely. I used a straightedge and flush trim bit in the router to get one straight edge, then ripped to width on the table saw.
> ...


Lookin' good….


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Ger21 said:


> *Frame Rails with Cutterhed Mounts Installed*
> 
> I started working on the frame on Saturday.
> I've never used LVL's before, and was expecting a more finished product than I received. But a few passes through the planer and they cleaned up pretty nicely. I used a straightedge and flush trim bit in the router to get one straight edge, then ripped to width on the table saw.
> ...


It looks nice Gerry.


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Base Cabinet*

As with most of my projects, this is going to take much longer than I thought.
I started the base by cutting the front and back panels on my CNC router. They're not square, and they had odd shaped cutouts, so this was the best method. I even drilled holes to accept t-nuts to mount the blade guard.










The side panels were cut on the table saw, and then I used the CNC for the cutout for the dust hose.
I wanted a chamfer on the outside corners, which didn't leave much room to screw the base together, so I cut a 1/8" x 3/4" rabbet on both sides of the front and back panels, to accept the side panels, and glued the four base panels together. Once I get the motor mount installed, I'll go back and add some corner reinforcement to the insides.










Dust collection is a bit tricky, due to limited space. I looked at plastic dust fittings for a few hours, and decided on this one. Rather than build a duct that extended down into the base, the fitting will mount into the upper frame. The hose will attach inside the base, and exit through a hole in the side.










Next step was to fabricate the "Feet" and their reinforcements. The leveling feet will be hockey pucks attached to carriage bolts, and mount in t-nuts that are encased in the feet on each end. I used the CNC to router the pocket for the hockey pucks and t-nuts. I inserted the t-nuts, and then glued the two halves together , then trimmed to clean them up.

For the supports, I glued up the baltic birch first, then cut them to shape. Lots of angles. I cut the first one wrong, so I glues it back together and re-cut it. Fortunately, I hadn't cut it to length yet, so it worked out fine.

All these parts get a chamfered edge, which I do on the table saw. This is an excellent way to cut chamfers, if you have a right tilt saw. With a sharp blade, it's fast, and you get really nice, crisp chamfers. It's very safe, too, because very little of the blade is exposed.

I clamp a piece of scrap MDF to the fence, then tilt the blade 45°, and raise it into the sacrificial fence. I draw a line where I want the blade to end up, and then move the fence to sneak up on the line.










For longer parts, I just slide them along the fence. For some of the smaller edges, I used the miter gauge, set at various angles.



















I then ended up with these.




























To mount the frame to the base, I used some of the scrap LVL material to make some top rails, and glued and screwed them into the base.

The end result is a mostly finished base cabinet. Not really a cabinet, though, as there's no bottom.


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Motor Mount*

With a 50lb motor, I needed a way to mount it securely, and also have a way to adjust the belt tension.

I came up with the motor mounted to a block, that would key into another securely mounted block. Two carriage bolts hold the motor in place, and the keyed slot keeps the motor parallel to the ground.

I started by gluing up two blocks of baltic birch, to get 1-1/2" thick. I did a lot of measuring to make sure the pulleys would line up, as my CAD model was off a little (5/16"). 
Using a forstner bit, I drilled the counterbores for the four carriage bolts to mount the motor. Then followed those with 5/16" through holes.
I then drilled the holes for the bolts that would hold the motor in place, and used the CNC to route the slots that would provide the belt adjustment.

Once that was done, I used a dado set in the table saw to cut the slot for the sliding key, and then cut some dadoes on the backside for mounting brackets. Then glued and screwed the 4 mounting brackets into the dadoes.




























Calculating the belt length was a bit of an issue. I used a calculator I found, and ordered a belt. It ended up being about 18" too long. So next, I did the math, and ordered another one. This one was what I was expecting. I didn't do the CAD work until I had the belt and pulleys, so I could actually measure the center to center distance.

I didn't want to glue the mounting bracket in until I was sure it would be in the right place, so I used some double faced tape to hold it in place, and added two screws to support the weight of the motor.
I then put the motor in, and put on the belt. Success! The mount was almost perfectly centered in the adjustment slot, so I can get it loose enough to put the belt on, and then still tension it properly. The motor itself also has slotted holes, so I have an additional ±1/2" if I ever need it.

I Ran out of time tonight to glue the mount in, but I did get it all back apart. The motor mount will now be glued to the front panel, with about 10 screws to keep it from going anywhere.

I still need a few little items before I can wire up the motor and test it. I bought a 10ft cord, but I think I'm going to get a longer one, as I'll need about 3-4ft of the cord to reach the motor and switch. I'll probably end up with a 15ft cord, which should work well in my current shop, as I have a 220 outlet on each wall. My plan right now is to get the motor running on Saturday. Then I'll start working on the tables.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Motor Mount*
> 
> With a 50lb motor, I needed a way to mount it securely, and also have a way to adjust the belt tension.
> 
> ...


What a beast!

Fantastic job Gerry,
Steve


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Tested the motor*

I had to make an unexpected 2500 mile trip last week, so wasn't able to do anything. Still feeling the jet lag, I wasn't really up to doing anything this weekend, so all I did was wire up the motor, and permanently attach the motor mount.

Here's a few pics.



























I didn't want to wire up the switch and have to pull everything back apart for paint, so I wired the cord to the motor, and just put a plug on the other end for testing. Luckily, I wired it right the first try so it spun in the correct direction. I was a little concerned with that cutterhead out in the open, but it actually runs pretty smoothly.
One minor issue is with the pulley on the motor. It's only held on by two clamp on collars, with the keyway keeping it from spinning. The problem is that the bore in the pulley is a little loose, so it makes a minor rattle when it's running. I'll see if I can get some shim material in there to tighten up, or maybe some loctite bearing retaining compound. My one concern with that is if the pulley fails (it's plastic with a steel hub), it might be a mess to clean up.
I've spent a lot of time looking for better pulleys, but all I can find are $80 aluminum power steering pulleys. Hopefully I can shim the plastic one, and it'll last a long time.

Here's a short video showing the motor running.





Today I ordered the stainless steel for the tables. I was able to find a pretty good deal on Ebay. 4 pieces cut to size, 14 gauge stainless for $90 delivered. I was going to pay almost that much for regular steel.
Next weekend I'll be laminating the tables from 1/2" baltic birch in my vacuum press. It was way to cold in the garage this weekend for the epoxy to cure, being around -5° at night. Next weekend, it's supposed to be close to 50°. Much better.


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## ratchet (Jan 12, 2008)

Ger21 said:


> *Tested the motor*
> 
> I had to make an unexpected 2500 mile trip last week, so wasn't able to do anything. Still feeling the jet lag, I wasn't really up to doing anything this weekend, so all I did was wire up the motor, and permanently attach the motor mount.
> 
> ...


Great test video. I am loving this.


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Tables - Part 1*

Got a little bit done this weekend. It's getting late, so I'll make it quick.

Each table started as 3 layers of 1/2" (12mm) baltic birch, laminated with epoxy in my vacuum frame press.










I laminate them face down so that the top face would be flattest.
Once I pulled them from the press, I noticed that there were some thickness variations in the plywood that left the backside less than flat. So, I put them on the CNC and machined about 1/32" off the back side to flatten it out. I then flipped it over and took .01" off the face to get rid of some minor high and low spots.










While the tables were in the press, I cut the links for the parallelogram on the CNC. I drilled 1/8" holes in one of them to mark where the rods were to go for a template. I want to drill the holes on the drill press, because my flimsy cnc can't cut perfectly round holes, which I really need here. The steel rods need to fit very tightly into the holes, so that the table is firmly mounted. I did a test cut with my 1/2" forstner bit, and it was close, but just a little too loose. Since it's an old cheap Black and Decker forstner bit, I chucked it into my drill, and ground the diameter down a little on my 6×48 belt sander. Another test hole, a little more grinding, and it was ready to go. At the drill press, I located the part with an 1/8 drill bit, clamped it to the table, and swapped out the forstner bit to drill the hole. Repeat two more times, and I have my master template.










Once the tables were machine flat, about an hour of creative table saw work got them to their finished state.




























Next step was to start drilling the stainless steel. I ended up with 14 gauge, for both the top and bottom, because I got a really great deal on it. Both bottom plates were drilled and countersunk, and then the top plates were notched with an angle grinder. I'll drill the top plates tomorrow.

Bottom plates were then epoxied and screwed to the bottom of the tables. The original plans used aluminum foil on the bottom to keep out moisture, but I wanted the same thing on the top and bottom so the steel could be permanently glued and screwed in place.

Installation of the top plates will be a little more difficult. I noticed that when I screwed the bottom plates on, that the screws created a roughly 3" dimple in the stainless, almost 1/32" deep. I knew this would happen, but I didn't think it would be so severe. It's not a problem on the bottom, though, as it's just a balance sheet to help keep the tables flat.

The top sheets need to be glued in place with no screws, with the screws added after the epoxy has cured. This will prevent the dimples that I got on the back. To do this, and keep the stainless flat, I'm going to clamp the two tables together face to face. In order to hold the steel in place, I'll attempt to use two screws at the outside ends of each table only, with light pressure, just to hold them in place. If I see any dimples in my dry run, I'll revert to holding them in place with duct tape. I'll drill and coutersink tomorrow, and probably glue them on Wednesday.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Ger21 said:


> *Tables - Part 1*
> 
> Got a little bit done this weekend. It's getting late, so I'll make it quick.
> 
> ...


Moving right along with your build. Great job, I bet it will perform well thanks to all your advanced planning


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Tables - Part 2*

Got the top stainless steel attached.

I ended up holding them in place with two screws each, carefully tightened to hold them tight without distorting them. (It's really amazing how much force a screw can exert)

Then clamped the the two tables together face to face.










After clamping, I was a bit concerned that the epoxy would get trapped in the middle and leave me with "domed" tables. But they ended up pretty good. They are very stiff, with the steel on both sides. 
Checking the tables across their width, they are perfectly flat except for a few thousandths of a dip in some spots near the front edges. This won't have any effect on face jointing, and as long as I don't edge joint using the first inch of the cutterhead, it's not an issue. Most edge jointing is done near the back anyway.
Along their length, there's a slight concave bow, which should easily be adjusted flat when installed. The outfeed is mounted with threaded rods, and is easy to adjust. The infeed table will need to be shimmed to get it perfect.
All in all, I think they are as flat as they could be, given the tools I had to work with.

I cleaned up the epoxy squeeze out on the surfaces with an ROS, and then used the countersink to clean the epoxy out of the previously countersunk holes.
I pre-drilled the remaining holes with a vix bit, and epoxied the screws in place with very light pressure. There purpose is to just minimize any chance of the epoxy bond braking, which should never happen. We'll see how it deals with the temperature extremes in my garage.

There's a lot of epoxy on the sides of the steel which I'll clean up with a router and straightedge, then I can get them ready for paint.

Here's a few more pics. I'll be working on the parallelogram today.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Tables - Part 2*
> 
> Got the top stainless steel attached.
> 
> ...


Wow, nice. 
I wide jointer… what fun that will be.

Steve


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

Ger21 said:


> *Tables - Part 2*
> 
> Got the top stainless steel attached.
> 
> ...


And not just wide, but 6ft long.


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## ratchet (Jan 12, 2008)

Ger21 said:


> *Tables - Part 2*
> 
> Got the top stainless steel attached.
> 
> ...


Its starting to really look like a finished jointer!


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Tables - Part 3, & First Cut!*

One the table surfaces were attached, the next step was of course, mounting the tables.

The outfeed table is mounted with threaded studs. On the original plan, the studs were just threaded into the wood.
To make this a bit stronger, I used a method I saw on the West System website for bonding fasteners into wood.
I started with some 5/16" threaded rod, and cut it into the lengths I needed. I attached the crossmembers that the table would mount to to the bottom of the table with double sided tape and spacers. I then drilled 1/4" holes into the bottom of the table, through the crossmembers so that everything would line up properly later.
I counterbored the holes in the table so that I could embed a nut into the table for extra strength.
I put the nut on the threaded rod, and added another nut and washer. The washer would be my stop when I installed the threaded rod. I added two jamb nuts at the other end so that I could drive them in with my impact driver.










I mixed up some thick epoxy, filled the holes, and drove the studs in.










After all 6 were in, I wiped up the excess epoxy that had squeezed out.










I don't like to bolt any metal parts directly to wood, as the wood will always get crushed, which can cause several problems, from alignment, to nuts coming loose. So where the studs attach to the crossmembers, I reinforced the holes with aluminum tubing, so that the nuts are actually tightened against the tube, rather than the wood. Unfortunately, I didn't have the 5/8" forstner bit I needed, so I had to use a spade bit with a guide, as I was drilling into an existing 1/4" hole. It didn't turn out very well, but the epoxy filled the gaps.



















Once cleaned up, I set the crossmembers in place on the frame, and then set the table on them, to mark their location.
I had to set the table height even with the cutterhead, and get it as close to the cutterhead as I could without it hitting the steel or the wooden portion of the table.

I marked the first one, and used the spacers I had used to drill them originally to locate the other two.










I drilled two holes, and used two screws to hold everything in place while I drilled the other holes. The crossmembers will be mounted with 1/4" x 3" machine screws, threaded into the wood. I use a 3/16" hole for a 1/4" screw.










I only installed half of the screws to temporarily mount the table for a quick test.










The Infeed Table.

When I was doing the CAD work, I didn't put much thought into the parallelogram links. I took the basic dimensions from the original plans, and quickly sketched them up.

When it cam time to fabricate the assembly, I made some changes on the fly to extend it a little, for additional support. 
On the original design, the top of the links extend into the bottom side of the table a small amount. Not wanting to cut notches in the bottom steel sheet, I made another minor change, adjusting the heights of the mounting rails, and moving the rods down a bit so the links would clear the table.

I wanted to wax the holes for the rods to slide through, so I decided to paint the links before assembly, so any wax wouldn't cause issues with painting later.










The bottom parallelogram rails are just screwed to the frame rails with wood screws. I partially assembled it so that I could get it aligned before drilling for the screws.










On the original plans, the infeed table was attached from the bottom, which was rather difficult. I decided to use T-Nuts in the upper rail, so that I could bolt the infeed table on from the top. This will make it easy for me to shim the table if needed to make sure it's parallel with the cutterhead, and to straighten it out if needed.

Since the table is 2" wider than the steel, I had an inch of room to counterbore for socket head screw. I drilled the counterbores first, and then followed with a 5/16" bit for the 1/4-20 screws, since the T-Nut requires a 5/16" hole as well.
I set the table in place, and used it as a guide to partially drill the T-Nut holes.
I drilled them through on the drill press, and flipped them to counterbore for the T-Nuts so they wouldn't be visible.



















I then set the table in place and put 4 screws in to hold it in place.










At this point, I realized that I had a serious problem. With my table at proper cutting height, the parallelogram links are rotated quite a bit. In this picture, the line on the frame is where a panel is supposed to go to direct chips into the dust chute.
So, it looks like I'll be making new links. It figures, that the only parts that I painted will get thrown away.










As soon as I finish posting this, I'm going to take some measurements and draw up some new links. I'll get them done later this week, as well as a few other parts for the parallelogram that I haven't made yet. The new ones will be much more vertical when installed.

So, after all this, I quickly bolted down the table, and roughly adjusted the outfeed table even with the cutterhead.
I cut some spacers to hold the infeed table in place (gravity pulls it down and away from the cutterhead).
Then I set up the camera, plugged it in and ran a board over it.






And it looks like this thing is going to work pretty well !!!!!



















While it's mostly complete, there's still a lot of work left to be done. I need to make the screw lift for the table, redo the parallelogram, make a belt guard, and a fence. I also want to add two wheel that will fold underneath so that I can lift one end and roll it around. This takes up a lot of space in my crowded garage.

Fortunately, the weather is starting to warm up this week, so I'll be able to clean up all the scraps I've been piling in front of the door, and get ready to start painting. Hammered paint has a very strong smell, so I don't like to paint with the garage doors closed.

It'll probably be another 2-3 months before this is complete, as I'm now at a point where I can start working on other projects alongside this one.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Tables - Part 3, & First Cut!*
> 
> One the table surfaces were attached, the next step was of course, mounting the tables.
> 
> ...


That is looking really sweet.
Sorry about the links not fitting. Such is life.
I am surprised that you have a red table saw insert. I thought you had made custom ones 

Steve


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

Ger21 said:


> *Tables - Part 3, & First Cut!*
> 
> One the table surfaces were attached, the next step was of course, mounting the tables.
> 
> ...


I have a box full of zero clearance inserts, but I've been cutting a lot of angles on this project, so I leave the metal one on. I actually popped one of them in when I was cutting the aluminum tube, so the small pieces didn't get caught.

Good news - bad news - good news.

While measuring for the new links, I held up one of the ones that wasn't installed to get a reference, and I realized that they are installed backwards. ;-)










So I took it apart and started turning them around.
And when I got to the ones at the end of the table, it looked like they weren't going to fit. (I never checked for clearance when I drilled the holes in the rails.)
Fortunately, when I moved it around a bit, it looked like it would barely slide on.

This is where it's at with the table all the way up, about 1/16" above the cutterhead.










At the position it was in in the video, about 1/16" depth of cut, it's here.










And if I wanted to do something stupid and try to take a 3/8" deep cut, it looks like this.










So, I got really lucky, and don't have to remake the links.
Now, there's a long link that ties the bottoms together, and it's really close to the bolts that attache the jointer to the base, but I think if I use 1/2" baltic birch, it should just clear it. Whew.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Tables - Part 3, & First Cut!*
> 
> One the table surfaces were attached, the next step was of course, mounting the tables.
> 
> ...


(Smiles)


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## ratchet (Jan 12, 2008)

Ger21 said:


> *Tables - Part 3, & First Cut!*
> 
> One the table surfaces were attached, the next step was of course, mounting the tables.
> 
> ...


Looks like its a user. Nice works. Glad the links worked out for you.


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Parallelogram*

While it's been a while since I last posted, I'm still working on this a couple days a week. Painting takes a lot of time.
All the baltic birch plywood gets a coat of epoxy on the edges to seal them. This keeps the paint from soaking into the end grain, and lets you get away with 2 coats from the rattle can.

I've been painting most of the small parts for the last few weeks. It's really a week long process.
Seal edges with epoxy, led cure for 2 days before painting.
Sand epoxy. paint back side.
Next day, paint front side.
Next day, lightly sand, and finish coat back side.
Next day, finish coat face.

Cutting the parts that fit between the rods and stabilized them was a little tricky, as they needed to be a pretty tight fit. Actually, assembling them was even trickier, as they were pretty tight.



















The most difficult part to assemble was the panel on the bottom. The table raising screw will mount to this panel. It was probably a little tight, and after painting, it was even tighter. I had to make some clamping blocks to pull the rods together, and had to chuck the rods in my drill and spin them to get them to slide through all the holes. And while doing this, the entire assembly wants to spin around as the rod is spinning. But I got it together. I used some nylon washers between all the sliding parts, to keep them from rubbing. Not really needed, but they look like they belong there. 





































Then another pic showing the assembly resting in the frame. The frame has a brushed on coat of hammered silver as a primer. Hammered paint is a lot thicker in quart cans than spray cans, so I used it to seal everything up. I'm letting it dry for a week or so before sanding and spraying on the top coats. I'm trying to get as nice of a finish as I can, so I'm filling all the little spots that will be visible. The inside is kinda hard to get too, so I'm not worried too much about that.










I'm hoping to have the frame painted by the end of the week. The tables are partially painted, but I'll try to squeeze those in too.

The base needs an epoxy seal coat before I can paint it. I made the access door and have the first coat of paint on that. I'll probably seal it this week some time so that I can maybe paint it next week.

I also made the belt guard this week.
The sides are 2 layers of MDF cut on the CNC, with 1/4" MDF for the face. I had a small mishap on the CNC, so I ended up cutting a 1/4" rabbet on each side of the guard, and added 1/4" MDF side panels. This limited the MDF endgrain to just the rounded bottom. I sealed the entire guard inside and out with epoxy, which then makes painting the edges of MDF very easy.


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## cutmantom (Feb 2, 2010)

Ger21 said:


> *Parallelogram*
> 
> While it's been a while since I last posted, I'm still working on this a couple days a week. Painting takes a lot of time.
> All the baltic birch plywood gets a coat of epoxy on the edges to seal them. This keeps the paint from soaking into the end grain, and lets you get away with 2 coats from the rattle can.
> ...


Nice finish work


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

Ger21 said:


> *Parallelogram*
> 
> While it's been a while since I last posted, I'm still working on this a couple days a week. Painting takes a lot of time.
> All the baltic birch plywood gets a coat of epoxy on the edges to seal them. This keeps the paint from soaking into the end grain, and lets you get away with 2 coats from the rattle can.
> ...


Coming along splendidly!!!


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Parallelogram*
> 
> While it's been a while since I last posted, I'm still working on this a couple days a week. Painting takes a lot of time.
> All the baltic birch plywood gets a coat of epoxy on the edges to seal them. This keeps the paint from soaking into the end grain, and lets you get away with 2 coats from the rattle can.
> ...


Wow
That is impressive

Steve


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## geekwoodworker (May 27, 2014)

Ger21 said:


> *Parallelogram*
> 
> While it's been a while since I last posted, I'm still working on this a couple days a week. Painting takes a lot of time.
> All the baltic birch plywood gets a coat of epoxy on the edges to seal them. This keeps the paint from soaking into the end grain, and lets you get away with 2 coats from the rattle can.
> ...


you are doing a great job. You will love using this machine as I love mine.


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Getting Ready for Assembly*

Been working away at painting for the last few weeks.
Had another near catastrophe. When I started, I had 5-1/2 spray cans of Rustoleum Deep Blue Hammered paint. I've been using silver as a base/primer, as it's readily available locally. After I finished the frame, I was down to 1-1/2 cans, and thought I should probably order another case. That's when I discovered that this color is no longer available.. :-(
I had thought about painting the base a different color, and did some renderings to see if I liked them. I liked a white base the most, and almost ordered a case of hammered white.
But I like the blue better, and thought I could finish with what I have. It takes two coats when I go over the silver, as the first seems to "fisheye" a little and show silver dots, so I use a light first coat, followed by a heavy 2nd coat an hour later.
So I used up my 1/2 can for most of the first coat, and grabbed the last full can. Pushed the button, and…. nothing.
Tried again, and got a few small drops. As a last resort, I replaced the nozzle with the one from the empty can. A few more drops. I think the tube inside the can was slightly clogged, as it eventually started spraying. What a relief. I got the base painted with 1/2 can to spare. Hopefully that 1/2 can will be enough to do the fence when I make it.
Painting large surfaces with hammered paint is very tricky. And even harder with spray cans. if the thickness varies, the texture and color will vary slightly. Ideally, rolling it quickly gives the most uniform look, but this blue was only available in spray cans. Ideally, you want to spray the surfaces horizontally, where you can lay on a nice thick coat. But that's not an option when you have to do 4 sides of a box.
Most of it came out pretty even, but the front (of course) is a little streaky. Oh well, I did what I could.
Here's the frame and base before I get ready to start assembly.










Before assembly, I needed to make the leveling feet. I found this tip years ago on a CNC website, and it's simple and works great. Get some hockey pucks, and counterbore a 3/4" hole 1/4" deep in the center. Then drill a 3/8" through hole, and insert a carriage bolt. Add washer, nut (with a little loctite) and you have soft, non slip, anti-vibration leveling feet for a total cost of under $10.



















This machine is rather large, and I have a small garage, so I originally had designed two wheel into the base, to make it mobile. But I never liked the way it looked, and was unsure how stable it would be, so I went with the 4 pucks at the corners. 
I then came up with an idea for some hidden wheels on one end. I picked up some hinges, and used a scrap piece of walnut to mount the wheel to the bottom.










When not in use, they fold up inside the base.










While the jointer will probably weight about 250lbs, it's pretty easy to lift one end to let the wheels drop down, then move it around like a wheelbarrow.

Wheels down:









Wheels Up.









I installed the dust chute with some silicone. It was a snug fit, so a few dabs of silicone should hold it just fine. But I think I'll screw two small scrap blocks to hold the side spacers, as it'll be very difficult to do later if it comes loose.










To make the table raising mechanism a little smoother, I'm mounting the screw in bearings. I bought a small piece of 1/2" phenolic, and cut it in half. Then counterbored with a 22mm boring bit for the bearings, and drilled a 9/16" through hole. Using an 8mm nut and bolt for clamping, I epoxied the two pieces together.




























Some fine tuning on the disc sander got me a nice fit into the pocket that I had routed on the CNC a looong time ago.










Here's the plan for mounting the handwheel and screw.
I need to cut the screw and turn down the end to fit in the 8mm bearings. I've done this before for my CNC, so I have a jig to hold the screw like a lathe, and I use an angle grinder and files to "turn" it down. It doesn't need to be that critical here.
The hand wheel has a 12mm bore. So my plan is to take a 1/2" bolt, chuck it in my lathe, and file about 1/32" off of the threads until the wheel fits. Then I'll bore an 8mm hole in the end, and epoxy it onto the end of the screw. I'll epoxy the handwheel onto the threaded portion of the screw, and hold it in place with an acorn nut.
The bearing block will be permanently captured in this assembly. Not sure how I'll clamp this up right now. I may add threads to the 8mm screw, and tap the 1/2" bolt so that it screws on. Or I just may wrap some tape on it to hold it in place.
Today I put the motor in, wire up the switch, and start assembling.
Getting closer.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Getting Ready for Assembly*
> 
> Been working away at painting for the last few weeks.
> Had another near catastrophe. When I started, I had 5-1/2 spray cans of Rustoleum Deep Blue Hammered paint. I've been using silver as a base/primer, as it's readily available locally. After I finished the frame, I was down to 1-1/2 cans, and thought I should probably order another case. That's when I discovered that this color is no longer available.. :-(
> ...


Dang Gerry, that is looking sweet.
Thanks for all the bow by blow.

Steve


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## CharlieK (Jan 6, 2008)

Ger21 said:


> *Getting Ready for Assembly*
> 
> Been working away at painting for the last few weeks.
> Had another near catastrophe. When I started, I had 5-1/2 spray cans of Rustoleum Deep Blue Hammered paint. I've been using silver as a base/primer, as it's readily available locally. After I finished the frame, I was down to 1-1/2 cans, and thought I should probably order another case. That's when I discovered that this color is no longer available.. :-(
> ...


Wow! I am interested to see how it works for you!


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Assembly - Part 1*

Started out Sunday morning with mounting and wiring the switch. I wasn't sure if it would fit in the location that I had originally planned, but I managed to squeeze it in there.










I ran into a little problem when installing the belt guard. The screws that go into the cabinet go into t-nuts. I didn't want to use 4" long screws at the top, so I was just going to drill an undersize hole and thread the machine screws into the wood (This actually holds surprisingly well if you have enough threads engaged). Sure enough, while drilling the last hole, I hit one of the screws for the bearing mounting plates.
My first thought was to just cut the screw down, and epoxy it into the guard, making it a "dummy" screw. But after seeing that is was almost perfectly aligned with the interfering screw, I tried drilling through it. Simple. Just had to order a tap from Ebay ($4) to finish the job.










View of the dust chute below the cutterhead.










I had drilled and countersunk the mounting screw holes in the motor cover before painting it. Shimmed it to center it in the opening, drilled through, installed t-nuts, and mounted the cover. Came out perfect.










View from the back with frame attaches to base.










Installed the mounting plates for the outfeed table…










Then installed the parallelogram….










I then set the infeed table onto the parallelogram, and the holes didn't line up???
Earlier in the build, I had assembled the parallelogram with the links backwards. I thought that I must have drilled the table mounting holes with the links backwards. And not only did the holes not line up, but the top rails of the parallelogram hit the bearing mounts when I lowered the table.
My first though was to cut about 1/2" off the front of the rails, to clear the bearing mounts. And redrill the mounting holes in the rails, and move the t-nuts. This would leave me with an extra hole in the table that I couldn't use, and I again thought of a "dummy" bolt to fill the hole.
I then called it a day and went in to watch the Masters.

Later that evening, I thought about making new top rails that would eliminate the "dummy" bolt. So I went out to mull over my options. After a few minutes, I noticed that when I lowered the table, it was moving into the cutterhead. 
I had assembled the parallelogram BACKWARDS!!

It took about an hour to take it all apart and reassemble it correctly, and what do you know, it works again 

The infeed table has a slight twist to it, but it flattens out nicely when bolted to the rails. I need to pick up some feeler gauges to check for flatness before I can shim it flat. 
It looks like the cutterhead is about 1/32" higher in the back than in the front, so I need to shim the parallelogram to get it even before I can shim the table flat. Not sure what to use, but I'm thinking that aluminum tape for ductwork would be a good choice, although it'll take maybe 5-6 layers?
I need to try to get a good measurement before I do this, so I'll be taking my time with this step.

Here's where it stands now, waiting for the screw assembly before I can actually mount the infeed table.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

Ger21 said:


> *Assembly - Part 1*
> 
> Started out Sunday morning with mounting and wiring the switch. I wasn't sure if it would fit in the location that I had originally planned, but I managed to squeeze it in there.
> 
> ...


Looking good….
Anxiously awaiting "first chips"....


----------



## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Table Lifting Screw*

Just spent 2 hours getting the lifting screw installed.

I'm using some 1/2-8 acme, so I don't have to turn it a million times to raise and lower the table.

After cutting it to length, I needed to turn it down to fit into the bearings. Since I don't have a metal lathe, I made a jig to do it by hand. I made this when building my CNC years ago, so didn't have to waste time building the jig this time.

The jig is a simple plywood box with a 1/2" bearing on each end for the screw to run through. I clamp it to my table saw to hold it in place.










Power is from a cheap 1/2" drill. I put a few clamps around it so it doesn't slide around, and use a spring clamp on the trigger to keep it running.










I use a grinder to remove the bulk of the material, and finish with a file, checking every minute or so. You get a feel for how much metal comes off in a minute, so you can get it pretty close.

Here's the finished end, roughly 5/16" to fit through the 8mm bearings.










And a bearing to test the fit. It doesn't need to be that precise for this application.










I picked up a handwheel on Ebay for $5, with a 12mm bore. I'm mounting it on a piece of 1/2" threaded rod. I actually cut the threaded portion from a carriage bolt I had in the garage.

I chucked it in my drill chuck on my wood lathe, and filed the 1/2" threads down to 12mm, just enough for the handwheel and about 1/4" of threads for a nut to hold it on. I then drilled the end 5/16" to slip over the screw.










Here are all of the parts.










The "adapter" screw in the handwheel, showing the hole that will slip over the turned end of the screw.










And the other side with the acorn nut.










With the screw slid into the bearings, about 3/8" of it sticks out to mount the adapter to.










Add a little JB Weld into the adapter, and carefully slide it on, without getting JB Weld on everything.



















The weight of the screw holds it in place, but I added some tape to be safe. And some tape to hold the adapter on the outside.










Tomorrow I can add the handwheel, and then move on to making the nut from a piece of Delrin rod.

Not sure how far I'll get as I have to work tomorrow morning, and have a lot of yard work on this 1st warm spring weekend here.


----------



## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

Ger21 said:


> *Table Lifting Screw*
> 
> Just spent 2 hours getting the lifting screw installed.
> 
> ...


Outstanding job for not having the proper machinery.


----------



## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Table Lifting Screw - Nut Assembly*

This morning I set out to build the nut assembly that raises and lowers the infeed table.
I started with a piece of Delrin rod that I thought was 1.5" diameter.
Holding it with a handscrew, I marked the center and drilled a 3/8" hole through it.










I then took a cutoff piece from the screw to make a tap. I chucked it in my drill and while spinning, ground a taper on the disc sander. Then used an angle grinder to cut a rather sloppy flute in it.










Then chucked the tap in the drill press, and tapped the delrin by turning the chuck by hand.
This was very difficult for 3 reasons.
1) Poor quality tap. 
2) Removing a lot of material with 1 flute.
3) Delrin is slippery, and it's hard to hold a round piece of it.

I could only do abnout 1/2 turn at a time, and had to back it all the way out to clear the chips.










Once tapped, checked the fit on the screw. Nice and snug. The reason I made it 1-1/2" long, was so that it would be on the tight side. The first 1/2"-3/4" of threads a bit loose, from running the tap in and out so many times.










I had some ideas in my head on how I was going to mount this, but thought of a better way this morning.

Whipped up some toolpaths in AutoCAD and carved out a slot to accept the nut. Except it wouldn't fit. After a slight toolpath update and second run, I realized that the diameter was actually 1-3/4", not 1-1/2" 
Third time on the CNC was the charm, and I had a nice fit. Prior to routing the groove, I drilled 2 holes to locate T-nuts on the backside.










Then I clamped the nut to a block of wood on my CNC, and routed two flats, and drilled for the mounting holes that would line up with the t-nuts. I drilled a 1/8" hole, then countersunk with a countersink bit in a hand drill, followed by enlarging the holes by hand to 3/16" If I had a 3/16" collet for my cnc, I would have drilled them the right size to start with.










Screwed the nut to the base, and test fit on the screw.










Should work great. It's nice and solid.

A few coats of paint tonight, and it'll be ready to install tomorrow.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *Table Lifting Screw - Nut Assembly*
> 
> This morning I set out to build the nut assembly that raises and lowers the infeed table.
> I started with a piece of Delrin rod that I thought was 1.5" diameter.
> ...


Clever work sir.
That is some good stuff.

Steve


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## DonBroussard (Mar 27, 2012)

Ger21 said:


> *Table Lifting Screw - Nut Assembly*
> 
> This morning I set out to build the nut assembly that raises and lowers the infeed table.
> I started with a piece of Delrin rod that I thought was 1.5" diameter.
> ...


Gerry-I'm enjoying the jointer build, vicarious as it is. You are doing some really great work with this project, and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the shavings to start flying!


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Ger21 said:


> *Table Lifting Screw - Nut Assembly*
> 
> This morning I set out to build the nut assembly that raises and lowers the infeed table.
> I started with a piece of Delrin rod that I thought was 1.5" diameter.
> ...


Don't you need *two*? One for each side?

M


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

Ger21 said:


> *Table Lifting Screw - Nut Assembly*
> 
> This morning I set out to build the nut assembly that raises and lowers the infeed table.
> I started with a piece of Delrin rod that I thought was 1.5" diameter.
> ...


No. The outfeed table is fixed, and shouldn't need to be moved once it's set to the correct height.


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## kaerlighedsbamsen (Sep 16, 2013)

Ger21 said:


> *Table Lifting Screw - Nut Assembly*
> 
> This morning I set out to build the nut assembly that raises and lowers the infeed table.
> I started with a piece of Delrin rod that I thought was 1.5" diameter.
> ...


Wow this build sure is getting along! Super fine finish on things. Hope this machine will serve you well and make you proud


----------



## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

*It's running...*

I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.










Here's a view of the entire parallelogram assembly.










And a view from under the infeed table.










I was originally going to bring the cord out through the cabinet, but couldn't come up with a good clean method that was easy. So I ran it up under the outfeed table, and needed a way to secure it.
I picked up a cord grip and scrap piece of aluminum angle. I had to use the CNC to make the hole big enough, as It was a lot neater than using a hole saw.










And mounted it under the outfeed table.










Now it's nice and secure, and in a place where it hangs down naturally.

At this point, it was time to adjust the tables. 
I used a piece of aluminum laminate to shim one side of the infeed table, as the back side was about .025" lower than the front side. This got it parallel to the cutterhead.
The center of the infeed table had a slight concave bow, so I shimmed that with some paper. The tables are pretty stiff, with 14 gauge stainless epoxied onto both faces, so I actually needed thicker shims than the actual deflection, as there's a little flex in the parallelogram assembly when trying to straighten the table.
I got it as flat as I could with my 4ft level, which is not entirely straight, as the two edges are slightly different, by about .003".
Once I called the infeed side good, I set it even with the cutterhead, and adjusted the outfeed table to match. Again, a bit tricky with a 4ft level, especially since the jointer is 6ft long.

Once the table was tightened down, I fired it up and made some cuts. No trouble at all taking 1/16" cuts, and the dust collection worked great.

Here's a short video I did last night:





View on YouTube

This is the part of most projects where I really struggle…. finishing them.
I really need a fence, in order to get edged perpendicular to the faces. I also noticed that the Shelix head slightly pushes the boards towards the back while jointing, and the fence would be nice to steady them.

I thought of a novel idea that I hadn't seen before, and will play around with the CAD model to get a better idea of if it will work. 
The jointer right now is about 16" wide. If I made a fence that could reach to the front of the table, it would add at least another 12-15" to the width. I don't have 30" of space.
The nice thing about the Shelix head, is that I can do my edge jointing in the same place on the cutter, without worrying about knives wearing out in one spot. If they wear, I can simply rotate the knives. With that in mind, I'm thinking of a fixed fence at the back edge of the cutterhead, mounted to the frame of the jointer. This would only take up about 1-1/2"-2" of space, and give me a more rigid fence.

I also need a guard. I've played around with the design a bit, but need to spend a bit more time on it. I'll work on the design for the guard after the fence design is finalized.

I wouldn't be surprised if it takes me a few more months to get these last few things ready. Right now I have a usable jointer, which I didn't have a few months ago.
I probably will need to adjust the tables again to get them a little straighter, but I need to joint some longer stock to see what kind of flatness I'm getting.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with how this has turned out. I had quite a few concerns before I started, but in the end, everything turned out very well.
Here are two more pics of it's current state:


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Ger21 said:


> *It's running...*
> 
> I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.
> 
> ...


Very well done..impressive design and build


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Ger21 said:


> *It's running...*
> 
> I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.
> 
> ...


Bravo. 
I like it a lot. I agree with the fixed fence at the back, seems a lot easier to build to me.

Steve


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

Ger21 said:


> *It's running...*
> 
> I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.
> 
> ...


Impressive design….
Exceptional execution….
Inspirational results!!!!

Looking forward to seeing the fence and guard materialize….


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## builtinbkyn (Oct 29, 2015)

Ger21 said:


> *It's running...*
> 
> I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.
> 
> ...


That's certainly an amazing undertaking and really amazing results. Bravo!


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## GreaseMonkey2275 (Mar 30, 2015)

Ger21 said:


> *It's running...*
> 
> I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.
> 
> ...


WOW! Excellent work; she is definitely something you can be proud of!


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

Ger21 said:


> *It's running...*
> 
> I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.
> 
> ...


I think you should just give up on this Crazy Idea of yours and send that thing to me so I can Properly Dispose of it for you.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Ger21 said:


> *It's running...*
> 
> I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.
> 
> ...


VERY impressive!!! Fence should be a piece of cake now.


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## vcooney (Jan 4, 2009)

Ger21 said:


> *It's running...*
> 
> I finished painting the lifting nut assembly, and installed it.
> 
> ...


Awesome


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