Woodstock SHOP FOX W1755 - Manual (Page 31)

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W1755 6" Parallelogram Jointer
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Setting the knives correctly is crucial to the proper oper-
ation of the jointer and is very important in keeping the
knives sharp. If one knife is higher than the others, it will
do the majority of the work, and thus, dull much faster
than the others.
There are two options for setting the knives—the straight-
edge method and the knife setting jig method. Each
option has advantages and disadvantages and the correct
one for you will become a matter of personal preference.
The tables must be parallel with each other ( Checking/
Adjusting Table Parallelism on Page 33) and the outfeed
table height must be properly set ( Setting Outfeed Table
Height on Page 35).
Straightedge Method
A high quality straightedge is held flat against the outfeed
table and the knife heights are set to the bottom of the
straightedge, as shown in Figure 44. Because the knife
projection height from the cutterhead is dependent on
the outfeed table height, the outfeed table must be set
as described in Setting Outfeed Table Height on Page 35
for this method to work correctly.
When using a straightedge to set the knives, you will not
need to move the outfeed table once it is set and you
will always be assured that the knives are even with the
outfeed table in their highest point of rotation—even if
the cutterhead is not parallel with the outfeed table.
Knife Setting Jig Method
Both tables are lowered to fit the jig on the cutterhead,
as shown in Figure 45, and the knife heights are set to
just touch the middle pad of the jig.
The knife setting jig makes it easy to ensure that the
knives project out of the cutterhead evenly. After using
the knife setting jig to set the knives, you have to re-
adjust the outfeed table height to ensure that it is even
with the knives at their highest point of rotation. If you
are using the positive stops on the tables, they will need
to also be reset before operation. Also, for the knife set-
ting jig to work correctly, the outfeed table must be par-
allel with the cutterhead.
Adjusting/Replacing
Knives
Figure 45. Using knife setting jig to set
knife height.