Hey Eric Old ARN (NDR)

[Gregg Kurz]

Here is a link to a slide show of the jointer I've decided to make my first restoration attempt on after seeing some of Eric's machines come back to life.

Jointer Restoration

I decided I didn't want to go with just plain old gray and the blue was the only color that intrigued me when I was at the store. I've only done the stand so far and will be starting the actual jointer later this week. I doubt it will turn out as nice as Eric's restorations have but it will certainly look and perform a lot better than it has in many many years.

 

[tod osier]

Good fun! Nice collection of vintage lead shells too, those federals premiums were my first top shelf shells, I still have them, a box of #2, 4 and 6.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Gregg

Now why on earth would any sane person buy old machinery and put a whole lot of time and energy into cleaning it up and getting it to run when they can head to the closest harbor freight and pick up something brand spanking new and all shiny.........

The first time you power it up and put a clean edge on a board you will know exactly why and be glad that you did. Running tools that you restored yourself makes the whole process of building things even more enjoyable and satisfying.

I've heard of Heston and Anderson but don't know that much about them. Have you looked them up on owwm.com? (http://www.owwm.com/mfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=443) There are photos of several jointers on there but none of them look to have as nice of a stand as yours. During your restoration remember wire wheels are your friend. I like to completely take thing apart, brush parts clean with a wire weel chucked in the drill press, lathe, or on a loose motor with a cheapy arbor for attaching things to the shaft. You could even use the motor on the jointer in this capacity to clean up parts. Just mount it to a board and clamp it to your workbench. The other thing you will probably want to do is replace the bearings on the cutterhead and possibly the motor. If they are sealed bearings the grease dries out in about 40 years leaving a paste behind that doesn't lubricate. If they are open bearings you can clean and repack as long as they are run smooth at full speed. Typically I replace all bearings whenever I do a teardown. Might as well while you are already in there logic. If you want a cheap but very effective way of removing paint try boiling parts in water with lye (red devil drain cleaner). I spent the weekend doing this on the planer I'm restoring and it works amazingly well. I use a stainless steel turkey cooker. Lye will eat through aluminum. Use care when doing this. You don't need a real strong solution but lye can do bad things were it spilled or got in your eyes. Some people sandblast but that means you have to steer clear of machined surfaces (there are a lot of those on a jointer). Hot tanking doesn't affect the machined surfaces attacking only paint and grime.

I can think of a lot of tips but will end my post here. If you have any questions or need some help just let me know. I'd be more than happy to lend a cyber hand.

Thanks for posting and letting me know you've got a cool little project underway. Looks to be the makings of a very nice jointer. You'll really like that long bed when you start using it.

 

[Wispete]

Gregg Thanks for posting the joiner. The stand has given me some ideas. Mine is made out of wood and has served its purpose but needs replacing. I would also like to put the base on wheels.