How to Use and Maintain a Woodworking Jointer

A woodworking jointer is a tool that all woodworking shops must have. Without them many woodworking projects can not be done. The primary use for a planer is to straighten edges on boards. In most cases the straightened edges will be used to glue up panels for projects like tables and doors so the joints must be hidden. Or you might just want to make one wide board out of two smaller boards. That said there are many other uses for a woodworking planer. The face of a board can also be trued with a planer.

A planer can also be used to do tapers. One example of this would be the taper in a table leg. With a couple of calculated passes you can make the desired taper easily and repeatable on the jointer. To start put a mark at the center point of your taper. If you want a half inch taper you set the jointer height at half that number which would be one quarter inch. Now run your piece through the jointer until you get to your half way line. Next turn your piece around end for end. Hold the back end down. The front end will now be sticking up in the air. Now run it through the jointer this way. Be sure to use the proper push and holding sticks. You will see the 1/2" taper appear. That's it. With two passes through the jointer you have a perfect taper that probably needs very little if any sanding.

A jointer is a woodworking machine that demands periodic attention to maintain good performance. The main issue to address is the blades. Most planers have 3 knives. These must be kept sharp at all times otherwise the quality of cut will suffer. Sharpening of the blades is a bit tricky and if you don't have the correct tools to sharpen them you should bring them to a shop that specializes in sharpening. Just be sure they take off the same amount of material from each knife. The equal weight will keep the jointers cutter head running true and balanced. Normally the knives are sharpened with a wet wheel grinder. A wet wheel is preferable to reduce heat while sharpening. Again be careful to take the same amount of material off each knife.

When reinstalling the knives care must be taken to get them mounted all at the same height. They should be even with the outfeed (stationary) table. A special tool is available which is magnetic which holds the knife in position while it's tightened up. Even if you do use this tool it's a good idea to double check that your knives are even with the outfeed table.

Once you learn to use a woodworking jointer you will wonder how you got along without it.