Hand Placement, Edge Jointing, Surfacing

Hand Placement

At the start of the cut, the left hand holds the workpiece firmly against the infeed table and fence, while the right hand pushes the workpiece toward the knives. After the cut is under way, the jointed surface of the workpiece rests firmly on the outfeed table. The left hand should press down on this part, at the same time maintaining flat contact of the workpiece with the fence. The right hand pushes the workpiece forward and before the right hand reaches the cutterhead, the right hand should be moved to the workpiece on the outfeed table. The workpiece is then pushed on through to complete the cut. Follow the 3-inch rule (see page 5). Never pass hands directly over the cutterhead.

Edge Jointing

This is the most common operation for the jointer. Set the fence to the 90-degree stop and thus square with the table. Depth of cut should be the minimum required to obtain a straight edge. Do not make cuts deeper than 1/8” in a single pass. Hold the best face of the workpiece firmly against the fence throughout the feed. See Figure 26.

Surfacing

Jointing the face of stock, or surfacing is shown in Figure 27. Adjust the infeed table for depth of cut. Cuts of approximately 1/16” at a time are recommended, as this allows better control over the material being surfaced. More passes can then be made to reach the desired depth.

Always use a hold-down or push block when surfacing short stock or stock less than 3 inches thick. Figure 26 shows push blocks being used for surfacing.

Rabbeting

A rabbet is a groove cut along the edge of a workpiece. See Figure 28. The width and thickness of the workpiece used will be dependent upon the desired width and length of the rabbet. However, never rabbet a workpiece less than 12 inches long.

A rabbet cut requires removal of the cutterhead guard. Use extreme caution and keep hands clear of cutterhead. Always replace guard immediately after rabbeting operation is completed.

Figure 26

Figure 27

Figure 28