[Dandan111]

Untitled by [email protected], on Flickr
What's it worth? My buddy bought it for me at auction. Told him to not go over $100. Don't know what he paid. It looks nice and clean,hardly any rust. Right stand,right motor(1/2 hp rockwell). Should it have a belt guard from the factory? Can't see where it would have attached.
Cute little machine.

 

[Dandan111]

Anybody? A few more questions. Should I try to oil the bearings? Also I have read the out feed table should be level with the blade and left alone. Also read you can run the machine and run a stone on the out feed table to sharpen the blades? Any of you guys done this?

 

[Steve Neul]

A hundred bucks sounds about right to me. Just make sure it is in good working order when you buy it. Rockwell has pretty much closed their parts division so getting replacement parts especially for one that old may be impossible. I doubt if it was ever intended to have a belt guard. If that is a must I bet you will have to make one.

 

[evilrick]

. . . Also read you can run the machine and run a stone on the out feed table to sharpen the blades? Any of you guys done this?

I don't believe you're supposed to run the machine but just use a stone (wrapped in paper where the stone sits on the table) and you would just run it back-and-forth across the blade(s).

This is how it's written in the old Craftsman manuals and it almost looks like you do it with the machine running but I would not put a stone up to cutting blades running at 4000+ rpm.

 

[Dandan111]

^ I understood you run the machine?

 

[woodnthings]

Unplug the machine!

Do not "run" the machine when doing any honing or other work on a jointer!

First off, it's a hazard, second that won't work anyway.

It's possible that by rotating the cutters, backward by hand, with a stone in place, a small secondary bevel would be created, BUT I would want to test it out first before I recommended it.

There are ways to hone the edge with a stone by sliding it across the blade, keeping the blade securely in place at the correct angle which I have done:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/fwnpdf/011224046.pdf

The best procedure is to remove the blades and either have them professionally sharpened, I use a large, flat belt grinder, or hone them with a series of finer stones or wet dry paper. A second set of blades I what I recommend and they are reasonable from here:
http://www.holbren.com/jointer-planer-knives/

 

[Maylar]

Anybody? A few more questions. Should I try to oil the bearings? Also I have read the out feed table should be level with the blade and left alone. Also read you can run the machine and run a stone on the out feed table to sharpen the blades? Any of you guys done this?

Bearings should be lubed for life. Unless they have grease fittings I'd leave them alone.

The setup on any jointer is that the knives must be parallel to and exactly even with the outfeed table. Procedures differ for doing that depending on if the machine has a spindle lock or not.

^ I understood you run the machine?

No, never. You can hone knives in situ if the outfeed table can be lowered to allow the correct angle with a stone, but it's usually preferred to remove them and hone with a jig and stone on the bench. I would suggest treating the machine to a new set of knives once you get it cleaned up.

 

[Dandan111]

Great price on those knives wood. Here's some of what I ran across.

I've been fascinated by this thread, and some of the thought
experiments about why this will or will not work (particularly the
idea of why not just hone your plane blades the equivalent way). I
note that the page from the PM manual that was posted on abpw refers
to this technique as jointing the blades, not honing them. I found
another source that describes the same process. Feirer's Cabinetmaking
and Millwork, c 1970, follows a discussion of various alternative
methods for grinding jointer knives, and how to install them, with
this paragraph on page 258 (all typos mine):

**********
After the jointer knives have been sharpened and reset, it is wise to
joint the knives so they are exactly the same height. Cover all but
about one-fourth the length of a large abrasive stone with wax paper.
Place the stone on the rear table with the exposed section over the
knives. Clamp a wooden stop block to the front table to help guide
the stone. Lower the table until the stone barely touches the knives.
[reference to illustration] Turn on the poser. When the cutterhead is
revolving, move the stone slowly from one side to the other. A true
cutting circle will result. Be sure to joint the entire length of the
knives. The joint or land (sometimes called the heel) should not be
wider than 1/32". After jointing, replace the fence and guard.

 

[evilrick]

. . . When the cutterhead is
revolving, move the stone slowly from one side to the other . . .

I would have to have very little blood in my alcohol stream to attempt that.

 

[evilrick]

The manual for the Craftsman 103.23900 I'm looking at shows illustrations to what you describe with the stone.

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=2998

 

[Dandan111]

Go try it rick and tell me how it works.

 

[woodnthings]

Great price on those knives wood. Here's some of what I ran across.
**********
After the jointer knives have been sharpened and reset, it is wise to
joint the knives so they are exactly the same height. Cover all but
about one-fourth the length of a large abrasive stone with wax paper.
Place the stone on the rear table with the exposed section over the
knives. Clamp a wooden stop block to the front table to help guide
the stone. Lower the table until the stone barely touches the knives.
[reference to illustration] Turn on the poser. When the cutterhead is revolving, move the stone slowly from one side to the other. A true cutting circle will result. Be sure to joint the entire length of the
knives. The joint or land (sometimes called the heel) should not be
wider than 1/32". After jointing, replace the fence and guard.

What the hell is a poser?

If I were to do this :no: .... I would get a longer belt, twist it so the cutter is running in reverse/backwards/opposite rotation and lower the outfeed table so very slowly .... :yes:
It won't work on a fixed outfeed jointer, like the early 6 1/8" Craftsman's, in my opinion.
The PFD file from the Craftsman jointer does NOT say ....Turn on the poser/machine.
Yah, someone else should try it and have their spouse post the results. :boat:

 

[mdntrdr]

If your knives are set correctly, that process shouldn't even be needed. :thumbdown:

 

[Dandan111]

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1141/4448.pdf
Here's my style from 1950. Fig 6/7 talks about it.

 

[cabinetman]

I wouldn't put a stone on a running cutterhead no matter what a manual says to do. I remove the knives...sharpen them and reset them.

.