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I picked up my first jointer on Saturday. It's a 1983 ENCO 150-5100 6" jointer. Solid cast steel construction, adjustments work, 1 hp motor runs great, and got it for less than $100 because the knives were missing (already ordered replacements). It cleaned up very well. Light surface rust only, and only one *tiny* little pit on the outfeed table. I painted the guard to improve the visibility, but otherwise it's ready to go (once it has cutters).
The 150-5100 model was discontinued a few years back; however, my research indicated that there was a Harbor Freight model that was a near clone of this machine which enjoyed above-average quality. There's also an older Grizzy Jointer that's almost identical to this model.
The difference that I can see is that the 1983 model has a different fence setup from the later models and clones. The fence is secured and adjusted in the middle of the machine (rather than on the in-feed side).
The only problem so far is this - in my clean up and tune up, I noticed that the fence is slightly bowed on the longitudinal axis.
Laying a straight-edge along the fence, I can see that the center is bowed between 1/32nd and 1/16th of an inch. This measure is approximate, as the framing square is shorter than the fence and that ruler's marks have about had it. Regardless you can see the the fence is bowed.
Initially I though about taking the fence to a machine shop and having it planed smooth. I was a little concerned about loss of rigidity if too much metal was removed.
Here's where I'd really appreciate some advice... After squaring up fence to the table, I recalled that the really important thing about any jointer (aside from the cutter blade setup) is that the infeed and outfeed are parallel and that the fence stays 90 (or 45) degrees perpendicular to the table. The fence doesn't necessarily have to be perfectly straight, and long as it's perfectly square to the table. Unless I'm making a dado or rabbet on the edge of the board.
Am I thinking right here? It's been about 20 years since I've had regular access to a jointer, so I might be missing something here...
Note that the tables checked out as parallel during cleanup and adjustment. The fence locks at 90 (or 45) degrees along the entire length.

The 150-5100 model was discontinued a few years back; however, my research indicated that there was a Harbor Freight model that was a near clone of this machine which enjoyed above-average quality. There's also an older Grizzy Jointer that's almost identical to this model.
The difference that I can see is that the 1983 model has a different fence setup from the later models and clones. The fence is secured and adjusted in the middle of the machine (rather than on the in-feed side).
The only problem so far is this - in my clean up and tune up, I noticed that the fence is slightly bowed on the longitudinal axis.
Laying a straight-edge along the fence, I can see that the center is bowed between 1/32nd and 1/16th of an inch. This measure is approximate, as the framing square is shorter than the fence and that ruler's marks have about had it. Regardless you can see the the fence is bowed.

Initially I though about taking the fence to a machine shop and having it planed smooth. I was a little concerned about loss of rigidity if too much metal was removed.
Here's where I'd really appreciate some advice... After squaring up fence to the table, I recalled that the really important thing about any jointer (aside from the cutter blade setup) is that the infeed and outfeed are parallel and that the fence stays 90 (or 45) degrees perpendicular to the table. The fence doesn't necessarily have to be perfectly straight, and long as it's perfectly square to the table. Unless I'm making a dado or rabbet on the edge of the board.
Am I thinking right here? It's been about 20 years since I've had regular access to a jointer, so I might be missing something here...
Note that the tables checked out as parallel during cleanup and adjustment. The fence locks at 90 (or 45) degrees along the entire length.