Power feeder for jointer

[Stephen]

Can anyone recommend a particular power feeder for the table of my jointer?
I want to run 30' lengths of 2"x4" fir thru the machine with consistent square stock in the end.
What should I look for in a power feeder? Some better than others?

Stephen

[Ron Williamson]

We just bought a 4 wheel "powermatic"(It's Taiwanese) for $1200 or so and it seems alright so far,and the 125v is far easier to deal with than the oldschool 208v /600v three phase.It weighs about 75# but is pretty awkward with the support arm.
I'd worry about trashing the jointer with bolt holes and loading,then still not getting the straight square material desired.
IMHO light and willowy powerfeeds are for making cove and bead on router table.
Thirty foot 2x4 will sag enough that you will press a bow into it with a power feed.I think you'd be as far ahead with three guys.One infeed support,one outfeed support and a guy in the middle doing the actual jointing.

When we have a pile of custom hardwood floor to make,the rough planed stock gets power jointed on a shaper,then ripped.
The shaper fence has a 3/16" or so offset,right to left,like a jointer on its side.
R

[katiedobe]

Isn't there a large sawmill that sells S4S lumber that you could take your Doug fir to and have them mill it square and true for you? If I was in Portland, OR I could go to any number of shops with a Weinig four or six or eight head molder that could mill those for you quickly. And cheaper than purcashing a powerfeeder. I have never seen powerfeeders on a jointer. Tablesaw yes, shaper of course but where would you attach the powerfeed base on a jointer table.

Look for a cabinet shop or a sawmill that sells millwork and see if you can get them to do it on their molder.

[David G]

Isn't there a large sawmill that sells S4S lumber that you could take your Doug fir to and have them mill it square and true for you? If I was in Portland, OR I could go to any number of shops with a Weinig four or six or eight head molder that could mill those for you quickly. And cheaper than purcashing a powerfeeder. I have never seen powerfeeders on a jointer. Tablesaw yes, shaper of course but where would you attach the powerfeed base on a jointer table.

Look for a cabinet shop or a sawmill that sells millwork and see if you can get them to do it on their molder.

Have to agree. In 30+ years in various shops, I've never seen a power feed on a jointer.

[Stephen]

I'm looking at Gary Maynard's article on laying a deck - WB #163 p.39.
He dresses 2 sides of the stock in the thickness planer , then runs a side thru the jointer with a power feeder.
Sending the stock back to a mill is not an option. I'm doing it all myself.

[David G]

Stephen - I'm handicapped by not having access to the article, so perhaps I'm misunderstanding. I'm intrigued though. More details might help. Can anyone suggest a way to post or link to this WB article?

Are you also making up decking stock? What finished thickness & width? Are you aiming for the faces to be flat (or as flat as possible), or just parallel? How about the sides - straight or just parallel? Sounds like you have a jointer and a planer. How about a table saw? How about a shaper or router table?

In woodworking, there are frequently a variety of ways to skin the cat, depending upon your circumstances. Some are technically correct, or even optimum. Some are jackleg but serviceable. Some are just plain wrongheaded - or even dangerous. What you've described so far strikes me as perhaps falling into the "wrongheaded" category, or perhaps "jackleg" - hard to tell without a bit more info.

"As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the one who has the best information" -- Benjamin Disraeli

[PeterSibley]

Stephen , I've given this a bit of thought (as a result of Gary Maynard's article ).If I go this way ,(I'm still debating the sanity of a laid deck ! ) how about using your thicknesser ? It would be relatively simple to set up a jig on the bed to hold the 2x4s vertical on edge or even at a slight angle for a bevel .No requirement to set up an autofeed .

[Jim Ledger]

This is a 220V, single phase Delta feeder, about 20 years old, and a fine machine all around. Never had a problem with it.

I agree with the comments above, as it's an expensive solution to a one-time problem. however, if you have a possible further use for the machine it might make sense. They are handy, after all.

What you can't see in this picture is the shaper that the feeder is mounted on, permanently. The shaper is on a rolling base and can be parked next to another machine while the feeder is swung over. In this case a tablesaw. The same technique would work with a jointer, although I've never had a reason to do so.

In any case, the jointer needs to be of sufficient weight or securely fastened down to prevent the slightest movement during the feed.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/searover1916/P1010141-1.jpg

[StevenBauer]

He dresses 2 sides of the stock in the thickness planer , then runs a side thru the jointer with a power feeder.



This seems backwards to me. If you finish two adjacent sides with the planer(thicknesser to some of you) they might not be square. Then after jointing the cross section is a trapezoid, not a square. If you plane two opposite sides on the planer then joint them they might not be exactly the same width, ie rectangle not square cross sections. Wouldn't it be best to joint two adjacent sides ensuring a right angle, then run the opposite sides through the planer?

Steven

[S/V Laura Ellen]

I thought that using a feeder on a jointer would be counter productive. The downward force exerted by the feeder would tend to straighten the board before it passes over the blades. Once the board is free of the feeder the warp, twist, cupping would return and nothing would have been accomplished (except the board would be thinner).

[Jim Ledger]

The best sequence is to joint one face, plane to thickness, joint one edge square and straight and then rip to width.

[Jim Ledger]

I thought that using a feeder on a jointer would be counter productive. The downward force exerted by the feeder would tend to straighten the board before it passes over the blades. Once the board is free of the feeder the warp, twist, cupping would return and nothing would have been accomplished (except the board would be thinner).

The feeder would have to be positioned over the outfeed table, while taking repeated light cuts for the best result.. But, yes, you have a good point. On the other hand, with long lengths the feeder will give a better result than hand feeding

[Stephen]

thanks for the replies - I will re-think my plan.

[PeterSibley]

Stephen ,tell us what you decide to do ...I'm interested .

[David G]

Stephen ,tell us what you decide to do ...I'm interested .

Stephen - as I suggested in a prior post, tell us more about precisely what you're trying to do, and what tools you have to work with. You'd likely get some good ideas about an appropriate approach or two.

"Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do" -- Voltaire

[Paul Girouard]

I want to run 30' lengths of 2"x4" fir thru the machine with consistent square stock in the end.



So 30 foot 2x4's , is that right? Where will you get 30 foot 2x4's , that would be special milling / material to begin with.

But IF you could locate it , transport it , etc . A surface planer would be the way to go , and a long shop :eek:. If one could get there hands on 30 foot 2x4's they'd be flexible enought to lay to a string or laser line , at least the ones laid at that length.


Maybe I don't under stand the question. Or the length is wrong in your post? :o

[PeterSibley]

What's the problem with 30 foot ,you go to the mill and ask .Then you pay .It's quite simple .:D

All my planking stock is 28 or 30 feet .

I really do think I could do a first class job using my thickness planer with a specially made bed jig .

[coelacanth2]

How big is your jointer? I have a 6" wooodtek, of which I am rather fond. It does, however, have rather short tables - total length is about66". The observations concerning sag and feeding are correct. I have made supports for my longer bits (although they are NOTHING like as long as yours), and a power feeder or the outfeed table might be a good ides. Mr Sibley's observation re having it done with pro equipment is probably the easiest. That would depend upon your circumstances...are you close enough to a good shop such that the hassle factor is not too great.
I look forward to your solution

[Paul Girouard]

[quote=PeterSibley;1731240]

What's the problem with 30 foot ,you go to the mill and ask .Then you pay .It's quite simple .:D

All my planking stock is 28 or 30 feet .

quote]

Peter I did NOT say it couldn't be found , maybe "IF" means something else in Australian:D

One thing I have learned around this WBF is nothing , pretty much, is impossible. I generally try to factor in , or leave wiggle room with words like , IF , or More Than Likely, ( which I some times shorten to , MTL, and no one understands what MTL stands for:rolleyes:, ) or , could you, YUP there almost always is another way , a different system , custom , way around a issue.

MTL some one will tell me all that is wrong and there is only one way :DLike I say at work " It's my way , or the highway boys, it doesn't really matter to me , you make the call!" :D

[emichaels]

If the jointer is fairly stout, there is no reason this could not be done. Iwould weld an auxillary table/mount to the back edge of the infeed casting and mount the feeder there. Face joint all the boards and keep them close at hand then adjust the feeder and edge joint the same pile with the face jointed face against the fence (duh...) Then on to the table saw to get the final width using the feeder again obviously. Then on to the planer for the final facing of the remaining dimension. In my mind there would be no better way or more accurate way to do this task.

When I got my feeder, similar to Jims, above, though it seems to weigh about 100 lbs., for my shaper I ended up using it a lot on the TS. It makes running 2000 bd-ft thru.......easy. Very consistent and safe.

So Stephen I would not hesitate a second on going forward with your idea.

Edited to add: If your shop allows room enough I would have the planer on the outfeed end of the TS and as the bds came off the saw blade they would go into the infeed zone and with a little push go into the planer. I would not feed the planer via the feeder on the TS directly, a little assistance from you or an assistant would be smart there.

Eric

[Ron Williamson]

I'd be pretty concerned about the leverage of a 30' 2x4 weighing down the outboard ends of the tables.
It would also render the power feed ineffective,from an accuracy standpoint,because the load would overcome the springs on the feed wheels and make the support arm flex more than I would want.
A 16' pine 1x8 will do this to the four wheel Univer that is on my shaper, unless I use a long (8') fence.

IMHO it's like driving tacks with a sledge hammer,when you consider that he really only wants smooth material of a consistent dimension that is pretty straight to start with.
Flatness and straightness will be impermanent with 30' lumber,especially used as boat parts.
R

[emichaels]

Well Ron I would just use an outfeed roller stand, infeed also. None of this is rocket science.

Eric

[Ron Williamson]

An infeed roller stand will probably be the wrong height for a lot of the length of the lumber,especially if it's crooked enough to make jointing neccesary.
I suggested a couple of helpers because they can self-adjust for height.
R