Christmas/birthday present came early

[Cutting Cathy]

Christmas came early for me this year!! Actually we sold the table saw so we took that money, added some and got this:

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That pretty much takes care of my Christmas and birthday presents!! So much of my wood seems a bit "off". Since I "try" to make intarsia it's so important to have flat wood and this is just the thing!! It's so cooool! I have read all the safety info and watched several you tube videos but I still have trouble telling which direction the grain of the wood runs. Any one know of an easy way to determine this?? Also any tips or secrets on the use of a jointer??

[lucky788scroller]

That fat dude in the red suit really hauls some nice stuff to you??? Youve got to tell me your secret!! Congrats on a top of the line jointer, its a beauty. As for the grain direction, it really can be a hard thing to determine sometimes, sometimes with grain going in both directions depending on how the log was cut. If i remember right, when you look at the grain it should be "smiling at you", and you feed it across the jointer with the top of the smiley first. Sorry I dont know how to explain it any better than that.a tip... hook up your dust collector to it, or your quickly going to have a mountain of shavings on the floor. And, dont let the shavings pile up inside the machine, that can happen real quickly without a collector attached, especially with that dust shoot installed on it.

[Fretnot]

Hi Cathy. Well done on the new machine. It is a wonderful piece of kit. You can have your wood any thickness you like now. Here where I live in the UK is so difficult buying wood that has been planed. I do not have room for a machine like yours as I work in a spare room but I am buying a thicknesser which is portable and can live under my bench when not in use and I take it outside when I need planed wood. Be careful if you want your wood less that a 1/4 inch, if you need it thinner yo need to fix it to another plank.

[Sally]

Lucky you!

[Hawaiilad]

Nice Christmas/birthday gift Cathy. I have the Rigid joiner and only use it for edges...I use the Delta planner for the thickness. I guess you can use the joiner if the wood is no wider than the machine.

[Rolf]

Santa must have been working out. What a great tool, lucky you, enjoy. Powermatic is a well made tool. But no table saw?
Regarding the grain direction, you can see it on the side of the wood you are jointing. If all else fails if I joint in one direction and it comes out a bit rough then try the other direction.

[Danny]

Congratulations on being one the "good list" this year. Nice jointer for sure.

[fireglass]

Gongratulations Cathy, So how do you feel abount having a brithday in Dec? Don't tell me, I know...Happy b-day...Lance

[Cutting Cathy]

Thanks for the jointer and grain direction tips!! Yes Rolf, no table saw. I really didn't like to use... well I never used it. Was pretty intimidated by it.

I researched several jointers and for the money this was the best choice. There were several places having black Friday sales and got it pretty reasonable with free shipping.

Dale no secret... I think I'm spoiled and I love it!!

Lance actually my birthday is in January, so it's really early!!

[KarlB]

A couple of tips for you:

Don't take off too much wood at one time. Depending on the species, probably no more than 1/16" or less at a time. Consult the manual for specifics.

Be careful with some hardwoods and exotics. When you join maple (and other woods) you can get chip out which goes below the thickness you may want to be at. In this case stop when you get close and sand down to your desired thickness.

Use push sticks. The kind with a rubber bottom to push your stock through the blades.

Inspect all your wood for any nails. (Bad for the blades.)

When you do end up changing blades, take a fine tip sharpie and write the size of screws and nuts near where they are so you'll know for the future.

Wear goggles and ear protection.

Keep focused on what you're doing and make sure no children are in the shop when you're using it. (Lock out the switch or unplug if children visit your shop.)

Have fun, but be careful.

Karl

addendum: I didn't look at your photo bigger so I see you have the push sticks already. I do see, however, a major trip hazard with the cord (from another machine) running under the joiner. Put this on an extension cord or unplug altogether. Plus lock the door on the right so no one startles you or hits longer wood you might be joining.

[Wood Dog]

Holi cow Cathy that is one heafty machine, guess you won't be moving that puppy around too often. Good luck with it.