# 103.23900 Jointer



## B4B (Sep 6, 2014)

*"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*

You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.

Here's the catch, it was partially dis-assembled. I don't really know why, since it's in overall good shape, with some minor surface rust.

Here's a picture of it from when I got it home: 









It's just sitting on the mobile stand (it's not actually bolted) and the out feed table is just resting on the base of the jointer (again no bolts).

I spent about 45-minutes or so sanding the rust off the top that night and it cleaned up pretty well. Washed off the WD-40 with mineral spirits and coated it with a lubricant and sealer to prevent rust.










Picture of fence and outfeed table on the ground:









I Took a look at the manual and took inventory of what was there and what was missing, and what needed replacing.

Missing parts: 
- Nuts, washers, and a couple of bolts. I picked these up today, and was just under $10 at the hardware store. 
- Blade Guard: I'm not sure what I'm going to do here, I want something to keep my hand or any foreign objects from hitting the blade

Questionable: 
- The manual calls for a 3450 or 4400 rpm 3/4 HP motor. It looks to have been used with a 1/3 HP 1750 RPM motor with a larger 4" pully on the end (the manual calls for a 2"). So I'm debating whether or not to swap the motor with the one from my 4" jointer (3450 RPM) which I'll sell once I get this one up and running.










- Blades look to be a bit rusty, but a few test passes with some wood seems to indicate they are sharper than they appear. I may see if I can get them sharpened and order an extra set.

The awesome: 
- It came with a green (Harbor freight) link belt.

Today, the first real inspection:

I lubed up some of the moving parts with some dry-lube and that helped free up the adjustment mechanism a bit, it wasn't bad before, but now it's really smooth. I figured if it was already partially dis-assembled I might as well try.

After a quick trip to the local hardware store, I spent some time today re-assembling the jointer. 









I assembled everything, and got the tables roughly co-planar (I really need a longer straight edge to do this) and ran a scrap piece of poplar though it. The blades seemed sharp(er) than I though, and the whole thing ran very smoothly.

Now I know I'm good and the free puppy runs without any major mechanical concerns.

Current State: 


















Electrical: 
It was wired with some 12 gauge flexible cord, which is good, but I didn't like the rust and sawdust in the electrical box. I also don't like the household switch, so I pulled all that apart.

Paint/rust: 
As I mentioned earlier, the whole unit is in pretty good shape with some minor surface rust.

What's next: 
- Order a new switch
- Swap out the motor (either a rebuilt or with the one from my current jointer)
- Order new blades
- Get the existing blades sharpened
- Clean up the rust, and carefully re-paint the body, stand. 
- Enjoy my "free puppy".

What I've spent: 
$8.11 for nuts, bolts, and washers ( I still need to get 4 nuts and 1 more bolt, probably another $1).

My next move, when I have time: 
- Order a new paddle switch - estimate up to $20 +tax
- Carefully dis-assemble and remove as much rust as I can, wire brush & evaporarust sounds like a good option
- Prime & paint


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


Hmmmm, just 14 days here and *ALREADY *you're posting a tool gloat… and for FREE?

Ok then, if you been here 14 days, you *SURELY *have been lurking for longer than that. so you know what I mean when I give you the first big

*YOU SUCK *!

Oh, and WELCOME to LJs!


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## B4B (Sep 6, 2014)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


http://lumberjocks.com/topics/63992


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


Oh wait… I already gave you that???

Well, in that case I rescind this one! LOL


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## B4B (Sep 6, 2014)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


It'd be really cool if the forum had a "you suck" tag to see.who has found the most deals.

I'm using this blog to chronicle the resurrection of this free puppy.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


Awesome at this price and amount of work, congrats


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


are you planning on a cover for the belt?


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## CharlesA (Jun 24, 2013)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


HokieMojo,

Is there a significant safety issue with the exposed belt? It seems pretty out of the way. (asking because I just bought a 1965 Davis Wells with an exposed belt).


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## B4B (Sep 6, 2014)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


On my craftsman the belt is on the back which will likely be towards a wall. If it is an issue I could build some sort of backing or enclosure for it.

Any thoughts on the motor? Is 1/3 hp.enough, the book suggests 3/4.

Its geard up for ~4000 rpm on a 1700 rpm motor.


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## Jack2050 (Jun 11, 2020)

B4B said:


> *"Free" 103.23900 Craftsman Jointer*
> 
> You've probably heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a free puppy". In this case my "free puppy" is an older 6" craftsman jointer someone posted on Craigslist. I guess they were moving and didn't have the time or desire to take it with them.
> 
> ...


I have this same jointer! If you know where to find a guard for it please let me know. Thank you.


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## B4B (Sep 6, 2014)

*Together again*

I finally got back to this today. I already picked up some nuts and bolts. I bolted the whole thing back together. I also ordered a Grizzly H8243 paddle switch for it which came in today.

Total parts cost is nearing $35, and I'm not quite done yet.

I got the tables aligned so they are coplanar, and passed the paper test (no feeler gauges, just a sheet of paper).

For those wondering, there are three height adjustment "screws" on the outfeed table. Two near the cutterhead in the corners, and one at the end, in the middle back edge of the table. Getting them aligned wasn't difficult, just time consuming, especially when I'm on my knees trying to reach under the bed to adjust these awkwardly placed adjustment screws.

I tried to use the 3/4 HP motor from my other jointer but that motor ground to a halt after installing it. So it's back to the 1/3 HP motor it came with.

I put the belt back on, bolted the jointer to the stand, wired in the new switch (still need to attach it to the frame) and fired it up. I grabbed a piece of 2×4 material I had kicking around and . . .

...

...

...

The 2×4 hit the edge of the outfeed table. Doh!

Looks like I need to pull the gibb screws and adjust the knives so they are at the right height for the table, or adjust the cutterhead assembly up about 1/16th-ish of an inch.

So it's back to the hardware store to pickup 6 magnets to build a knife setting jig. The knives are somewhat rusty, but they seem to be sharp. I'll probably order a new set and see if I can't send these out for sharpening. I may try to use electrolysis to remove the rust.

BTW, it looks like the stand I have was built for a rockwell jointer, and would have come with a belt cover (I saw one for sale on CL recently). So that's also on my list of to-dos.

Next up, 
- Knife setting jig 
- New knives.

Question for anyone watching this about motors.

Is a 1/3 HP motor plenty of power for a 6" jointer, or should I go with a 3/4? The original manual suggests that a 3/4 HP motor would work best. I may very well use the full capacity to face joint wood that I'm working on. Right now I have some hard maple just begging to be turned into something that I need to face joint.

If I do buy new, I may do some horse trading. Buy a new motor for the tablesaw, take the 1 HP from the TS and move it to the jointer. Take the one from the jointer and hold onto it, just in case.

I'm contemplating a new 1.5 or 2 HP motor for my table saw (70's craftsman contractor) for just a few $$ more than a 3/4 HP motor. If I'm going to upgrade, I might as well upgrade.

For the jointer, is 1 HP overkill, is 1/3 going to work, should I just stick to a 3/4?

For the TS, I've seen folks add up to 1.5 to 2 HP motors, so I think I'm ok there, but any thoughts? This is likely going to be the only TS I'll have for the time being, so I need to make it work. I'm not seeing any slowdowns, I have a 20 tooth blade for cutting 8/4 maple and it does a reasonable job. A little more HP couldn't hurt (or could it?).

Thanks for watching!


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## robscastle (May 13, 2012)

B4B said:


> *Together again*
> 
> I finally got back to this today. I already picked up some nuts and bolts. I bolted the whole thing back together. I also ordered a Grizzly H8243 paddle switch for it which came in today.
> 
> ...


I think your pictures and video have gone on holidays !!

Or maybe the dog ate them !!


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## B4B (Sep 6, 2014)

*Resetting the knives*

I almost have this ready for full time use.

Today it took about 20 minutes to reset the blades, there are three of them, and 4 gibb screws per blade. I loosened one set at a time, and re-aligned them. I didn't really need a jig or anything, I just used a straight edge, left enough clamping pressure on the blade so that I could move it with my hand, but not so loose that it would fall out. Set the height, re-tightened the screws, and move on to the next knife.

I had everything tightened down adequately (or so I thought). I took that 2×4 I was using earlier this week and passed it though. I have yet to check it with a straight edge, but eyeballing it, it seemed to be straight. The surface wasn't glass smooth, but was fairly smooth, such that a light sanding would probably do the trick. It could also just be technique, I haven't used jointers extensively, so I will need to hone in on my technique.

One minor snag, while I was testing this one of the blades flew out of the cutter head while I was running the 2×4 over it, and the blade got knicked when it was ejected from the cutter head.

I'm not to discounting the fact that a blade shot out of this jointer while spinning close to 4400 RPMs and it could have seriously injured me. Fortunately the 2×4 blocked the ejection from the top (was running it on edge in the middle of the table), and the knife hit the floor. *I'm really glad I have that paddle switch*, I was able to hit it with my knee while holding the 2×4 over the cutter head. It happened so fast that I didn't even know what happened until the jointer was off and I could inspect what happened.

Tip for anyone else (should be common sense, but somehow I missed this one): When changing your blades or bits on any power tool, even if you think the mechanism holding it is secure, try to get it tighter (within the tool's tolerances) with an extra 1/8 to 1/4 turn. Also use a quality tool that has with a good grip to tighten down the clamping mechanism.

So, now what's left: 
- Time to order a new set of blades, these should work
- Find someone to sharpen/hone the current set (I'll check at a local place near me to see if they know of someone)
- Purchase/find a better hex wrench to get these screws nice and tight (taking suggestions, something like this would be able to get adequate tork/leverage). 
- Build/find a blade guard (before next use)
- Build a belt guard
- Order 2 more paddle switches for my TS and RAS

I'm just going to run with the 1/3 HP motor for now. If I run into performance problems, I'll re-evaluate at that time.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

B4B said:


> *Resetting the knives*
> 
> I almost have this ready for full time use.
> 
> ...


That was a startling image!! Glad you didn't catch that missile.

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len
Work Safely and have Fun.


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## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

B4B said:


> *Resetting the knives*
> 
> I almost have this ready for full time use.
> 
> ...


Main point; Don't use the joiner WITHOUT THE GUARDS IN PLACE!!!


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## B4B (Sep 6, 2014)

*Jointer Works*

So after the last incident the knives were well chipped and I recently ordered a new set and had not gotten around to installing them and testing the jointer. Well this weekend I had a project I wanted to get done and I needed to joint some wood.

So, I pulled out the jointer, a hex wrench, and my steel square and installed the new blades, tested the tables for parallel pulled the jointer way out into the driveway and draped an old carpet that we are trashing over it in case something decided to go flying.

Well nothing did this time. I also think that I installed the spacer backwards which allowed the blade to fly out of the cutterhead before.

I tested using a 2×4 I had kicking around and it turned out to be square. If anything was off, it wan't enough to register on my steel square.

For the cost of some nuts and bolts, gas, and my time, I have a working tool that I can use.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

B4B said:


> *Jointer Works*
> 
> So after the last incident the knives were well chipped and I recently ordered a new set and had not gotten around to installing them and testing the jointer. Well this weekend I had a project I wanted to get done and I needed to joint some wood.
> 
> ...


Throwing knives is bad.


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## B4B (Sep 6, 2014)

B4B said:


> *Jointer Works*
> 
> So after the last incident the knives were well chipped and I recently ordered a new set and had not gotten around to installing them and testing the jointer. Well this weekend I had a project I wanted to get done and I needed to joint some wood.
> 
> ...





> Throwing knives is bad.
> 
> - TheFridge


Agreed. Part of the reason why it took me so long to circle back to this project.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

B4B said:


> *Jointer Works*
> 
> So after the last incident the knives were well chipped and I recently ordered a new set and had not gotten around to installing them and testing the jointer. Well this weekend I had a project I wanted to get done and I needed to joint some wood.
> 
> ...


Wow, that sounds like a scary mishap. Glad you are back up and running.


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