# Jointer clean-up



## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

*Cleaning up the bed*

It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.

One of the tools I wasn't originally set on buying but ended up getting was a jointer. I didn't want to shell out hundreds of dollars on one so I went for the used route looking for something on the cheap. I checked out an old Rockwell/Delta 37-220 but decided not to go for it because the jointer needed a lot of work just to get it into serviceable shape. The cutterhead keyway was damaged, the motor pulley was warped, there was rust on the bed, etc. I ended up getting a used Delta X5 6" jointer instead but I didn't exactly get it cheaply. But I bought it knowing that my heart was still set on getting a 37-220-type of jointer. The main reason for my preference (aside from wanting to own a piece of Canadian history) is that the fence assemblies of newer jointers takes up substantially more space than the quaint old jointer. My workshop is so small that I can't afford to have the rack and pinion assembly eating up an extra 6-8" of width. So…I told myself that I would use the X5 in the garage for now to tide me over until I get myself a usable 37-220 and then sell it at a later date. Well, today, I decided to pick up the old 37-220 jointer that I initially decided to reject. I felt bad that the venerable jointer was "homeless" and longing for a new owner so I bought it and brought it home today.

I've never restored a machine before and I doubt I'll have the ability to do a thorough enough job to warrant calling this process a "restoration" so I've dubbed this my jointer clean-up project. Fortunately, with the X5, it means I can take a bit of time to restore this little jointer. Nevertheless, this jointer project will further slow down my already slow start. But I guess, in the end, it's all part of the learning process anyway.

I would love to get advice on restoring this little guy. I'm considering the electrolysis route to get rid of some of the rust but tonight I decided to do the scouring thing first to see how bad the rust really was. Here are the results.

I actually didn't think about taking photos of the jointer until I had already sprayed RustOff on it. I quickly ran into the house to get the camera. In my haste to take a few snaps, I failed to realize that my camera was on manual focus and manual exposure so the quality of the first two shots aren't great (not that the rest of the shots are any better).

Here's a shot of the jointer with the rusty bed. You can see the X5 jointer in the background.


















Here's the jointer bed after cleaning with a scouring pad, steel wool, and sandpaper. Most of the time, I used WD40 as the lubricant:









I can't get the black rust (I presume that's what it is) out and I don't want to be grinding the top needlessly so for now, I've left the stains:







I wish I could get the top as shiny bright as some of the restoration experts seem to be able to do. Will electrolysis do the trick for me?

Here's another shot at the end of the session:









My next plan is to take the entire thing apart and clean all the individual components one by one. The handwheel for the infeed table is really stiff (yes, the table is unlocked). While I do that, I'm trying to find a machinist to take care of the pulleys or the cutterhead shaft for me. I may still go the electrolysis route to clean up all the rusted components (including the tables--though I'm not sure it's worth it. The tables are quite smooth now so going that one step further would be for cosmetic reasons, I think). Hopefully, once everything is cleaned and the waxed, things will adjust a little more freely.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

charlton said:


> *Cleaning up the bed*
> 
> It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.
> 
> ...


Charlton, to answer your question about the electrolysis the process will not get the top shiny. The process will remove the rust and leave a grey/black residue on the surface. This can be removed with a scrubbing pad or wire brush.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Cleaning up the bed*
> 
> It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.
> 
> ...


nice job compared to what you started with. Automotive shops have navel jelly. It's pink and thick and can be painted on with a brush. It's not meant for soaking things in but for this type of thing. Let it set for awhile then you'll have to wash it off so plenty of water needed. It's not as good as Evaporust but it can be applied to an object.

For the other parts I highly, highly, recommend evaporust. Available online and at Autozone stores. Drop your parts in it and with an hour to a day.. all rust is off. All of it. Washes off in the sink and safe for hands, septic, and environment. And it is reusable to a point. But this stuff works the best of all of them. I've restored a lot of tools after a 30 year hiatus in woodworking. Evaporust just made it all possible otherwise I might have had to throw away the tools as small parts are hard to clean.


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## marcb (May 5, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Cleaning up the bed*
> 
> It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.
> 
> ...


1 word. Bearings. The cutter head bearings will be in bad shape, and not in an easy to detect way. Does the head spin for a really long time when you spin it? That's bad, it means the grease is dried up and gone. Or the bearings could bind a tiny bit, probably feel able if you rotate things by hand. That means something in there isn't smooth.

Since you're tearing into it anyways stick new bearings in there now.


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Cleaning up the bed*
> 
> It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Scott, would the electrolysis "loosen" up the black rust that's on there and allow me to scrub it off?

Daniel, I'll try to find some evaporust and soak the parts. Thanks. 

Marc, someone else I talked to in person mentioned the exact same thing as you. I have to check it again but if memory serves me correctly, it seems like the bearings are actually in okay shape. As you say, though, it's definitely something to check (and fix) while everything is disassembled anyway.

Thanks for the feedback, all!


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## marcb (May 5, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Cleaning up the bed*
> 
> It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.
> 
> ...


Unless the previous owner has changed them (recently) they're bad. sealed bearings have a life span of 20 years. After that the grease turns bad.

If they're not sealed you can have a look at them, but in all seriousness they don't cost that much and you already have it apart. It can be tricky to detect bad bearings, might be as subtle as a few .001 inch divots in the outer race caused by a shock load applied to the bearing that will tear it up over the course of a year.


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Cleaning up the bed*
> 
> It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Marc. I will heed your advice and have the bearings replaced.


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Cleaning up the bed*
> 
> It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.
> 
> ...


 I just noticed your avatar on the OWWM forums and saw that it was you.


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Cleaning up the bed*
> 
> It seems that my woodworking career is getting off to a slow start. I've been meaning to build some Thien separators for my shopvac and dust collector before embarking on building various stands for tools in my tiny workshop. The other day, I had a friend come over to help me lug the SteelCity 14" bandsaw into the basement. We assembled it and had to buy a few extra tools in order to get everything assembled. Unfortunately, it seems as though the saw is suffering from very uncontrollable vibration. So SteelCity has agreed to take care of me but it means I'll have to disassemble the saw and bring it back up again.
> 
> ...


Oxalic acid will remove rust and some of the stains. It is the same stuff used to strip and refinish wood decking and clean up teak on boats. It comes in liquid and powder form. While not very strong it is a good idea to wear protective gloves and scrub in with synthetic brushes or scrub pads.
It looks like you have it pretty clean already.


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

*Teardown---sort of*

I began removing individual components of the jointer. The paint on the jointer looks to be in good shape though I'm a bit concerned about it having lead content (call me paranoid). The biggest hurdle at this point has to do with the shaft of the cutterhead. The keyway is worn and the pulley and shaft have a huge gap so it's not clear to me whether or not the pulley bore was made bigger somehow or if the shaft was turned down.

Here are shots of the worn keyway on the shaft:


















Here's the pulley:










This shot shows the gap:










At this point, I'm a little confused about this jointer because it seems it's a bit of a misfit. According to owwm.com, the bearing housings should either have different part numbers (ending in 0001 and 0002) or should have the same part numbers (ending in 0003). My bearing housings have the same part number with both ending in 0002. I was hoping to use that to determine whether I had a "newer" jointer or the "early model" which would dictate what the cutterhead shaft size is supposed to be. I seem to have lost my calipers so I can't take accurate measurements but based on my crude measurement, it would seem as though the shaft is 9/16" (which would be a newer model). But there's also a bit of a taper that can be seen in the shaft so maybe it was 5/8" but turned down to 9/16". The bore in the pulley certainly looks like it could be 5/8" though I haven't measured it just yet.

Here are parts of the fence after diassembly:

































The housing that accepts the fence at the front of the infeed table has quite a bit of corrosion:








I'm hoping that it will clean right up with a bit of elbow grease just like the top.

The motor pulley is a lost cause. I think it's warped (better that then having the shaft of the motor be bent):









The motor is a Leeson motor (pleasant surprise for me):








I couldn't get a photo of the motor plate since the camera wouldn't fit in there so I'll have to take another shot using some sort of point and shoot.

The cutterhead is pretty rusted:

















but the handwheels are in good shape:









The roller pin of the infeed crank looks like it was broken:









Flipping the jointer over, I was planning on removing the infeed and outfeed tables as well as the height adjustment assembly.








but I couldn't do it because I didn't have any pin punches to knock the pins out. The threads look like they're in good shape with just a bit of rust and lots of wood shavings. However, they didn't turn too smoothly so maybe the parts just need a good cleaning and waxing (at least that's what I'm hoping).

I can't wait to dunk all this stuff into EvapoRust and see it work its magic. Of course, I've never used EvapoRust so maybe my expectations are a bit unreal. 

Assuming I can get the table height adjustment assembly off today, I'll start to clean the parts.


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Teardown---sort of*
> 
> I began removing individual components of the jointer. The paint on the jointer looks to be in good shape though I'm a bit concerned about it having lead content (call me paranoid). The biggest hurdle at this point has to do with the shaft of the cutterhead. The keyway is worn and the pulley and shaft have a huge gap so it's not clear to me whether or not the pulley bore was made bigger somehow or if the shaft was turned down.
> 
> ...


i consider myself handy, but when I see guys like you taking on projects like this, I change my mind quickly. Best of luck and thanks for posting. I'll be following along to learn what I can.


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## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Teardown---sort of*
> 
> I began removing individual components of the jointer. The paint on the jointer looks to be in good shape though I'm a bit concerned about it having lead content (call me paranoid). The biggest hurdle at this point has to do with the shaft of the cutterhead. The keyway is worn and the pulley and shaft have a huge gap so it's not clear to me whether or not the pulley bore was made bigger somehow or if the shaft was turned down.
> 
> ...


You will not be disappointed with Evapo-Rust. It is a product that does what it says it does and does it impressively. Looking forward to seeing the cleaned up parts.


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Teardown---sort of*
> 
> I began removing individual components of the jointer. The paint on the jointer looks to be in good shape though I'm a bit concerned about it having lead content (call me paranoid). The biggest hurdle at this point has to do with the shaft of the cutterhead. The keyway is worn and the pulley and shaft have a huge gap so it's not clear to me whether or not the pulley bore was made bigger somehow or if the shaft was turned down.
> 
> ...


sIKE, you were absolutely right. Evap-O-Rust is a miracle worker! Thanks for the suggestion.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Teardown---sort of*
> 
> I began removing individual components of the jointer. The paint on the jointer looks to be in good shape though I'm a bit concerned about it having lead content (call me paranoid). The biggest hurdle at this point has to do with the shaft of the cutterhead. The keyway is worn and the pulley and shaft have a huge gap so it's not clear to me whether or not the pulley bore was made bigger somehow or if the shaft was turned down.
> 
> ...


lots of work


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

*Completion!*

I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.

I've finished the jointer clean-up (or restoration). I bought new pulleys, had the spindle rekeyed, and the new pulley bore changed to 9/16". Tried my best to remove all the existing rust. I stripped off the paint from the stand and repainted it as well as repainting the actual jointer itself.

Evap-O-Rust really did work miracles. I'm thoroughly impressed!

The overall process was more time-consuming than I initially thought and was certainly quite labour-intensive. That said, I did learn a lot.

I haven't had a chance to actually use the jointer except running the front 2" of a small stick through it (as a preliminary test). So far so good.

Here are some pics:










































More photos can be found here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110604891667730947064/JointerRestoration

Thanks for tuning in!

Charlton


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## davidroberts (Nov 8, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Thanks Charlton for the update. Looks like you have really poured alot of work into the restoration. I know you're gonna love it. I bought a 1983 Powermatic Model 60 (8") and now getting ready to restore it. Mostly a rust problem and electrical hookup. Thanks for the evaporust suggestion. The question I have is does your Rockwell run on 3 phase and if so did you convert to single phase, and if so, how. Hey, a simple question, right!


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## davidroberts (Nov 8, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


One other item. I read on somewhere OWWM that break cleaning fluid is good to remove the black rust. Food for thought, I guess.


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## brianinpa (Mar 16, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Nice work. I really like to see old tools that are still alive and kicken.


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Charlton, 
You have done a really nice job on restoring this jointer. I have one of these that is brand new, never used. I bought a few years ago from an old rockwell dealer in Michigan. I hope you enjoy using it.

A friend and I are restoring an old Rockwell 28-300 metal/wood 14" bandsaw. I already have one and found this other one for him.

You can't beat these older well made tools.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Looks brand new well done


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Shazzam… this looks spanking beautiful. look at all that cast iron…. beats any of the newer stuff on the market… love that fence

did a really nice job on the rest. !


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Thanks, all. Some of you probably notice that the paint job looks dirty. The paint was actually smooth but when I was reassembling, I applied some grease to the dovetail ways and didn't bother to wash my hands so now I have grease fingerprints and dust over it again. It might be time for another restore.


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


David, this jointer has a small 3/4HP motor that runs off single phase 110V. I was looking at an old Powermatic Belt/Disc Sander that was running of 3-phase but decided it wasn't cost effective. I don't know enough about motor wiring (that computer engineering is really useful, huh?) to do the conversion myself so I'd probably just end up buying a new motor and trying to sell the 3-phase motor to salvage a bit of cost.

John, you are very fortunate to have a new one that was never used. That's absolutely remarkable. It's like having a blast from the past captured freeze frame.


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## Ottis (Apr 17, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


charlton,
Amazing job on the jointer…looks brand new !!!


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## marcb (May 5, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


charlton, if it didn't have grease on it all the other tools would make fun of it.

As for the motor wiring both changing motors and installing a VFD to use a 3 phase motor are incredibally easy. They sound daunting, but aren't (like many tasks in wood working)


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## Woodchuck1957 (Feb 4, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Nice job, gotta luv the old stuff.


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## Ottis (Apr 17, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Just went through your whole slide show. That has got to be the most documented jointer rebuild of all time. GOOD job again !!!!


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Don. Actually, it's not nearly as detailed as I would have liked. Someone on OWWM was meticulous with his photo documentation. When I asked for help about the orientation of the gib plates, he looked back at all the photos he took in the documentation process and could tell me exactly which way they were oriented.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


It looks prettier than new. Nice job!


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## Ottis (Apr 17, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Well charlton, you could easily have a new job restoring old tools. I now know who to call if I ever find a diamond in the rough !!!!


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Charlton, you did a great job on the jointer.


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## kmerkle (Jan 4, 2012)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


Very nice Charlton. I've begun to "clean up" an '80s Jet jointer and I've gotten some great tips from your posts-Thanks.

One thing, I was hoping to look at the pictures on your Flikr page, but the link is now blocked as private. could you open them back up to the public? Thanks


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

charlton said:


> *Completion!*
> 
> I have been without Internet for about a month due to a disagreement with my provider. I'm now back online so I'm posting the update.
> 
> ...


I just uploaded the album here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110604891667730947064/JointerRestoration

I'll update the block post with the proper link as well.

I lost my Flickr Pro status so I've stopped using it.

Cheers,
Charlton


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