Jointer-Planer Introduction

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This is the content required for an introduction to our jointer-planer combination machine - reading this does NOT replace the mandatory session with a tutor! It will make it a lot quicker though ;-)

Let's begin! First off, make sure you have read the machine's manual (felder-gruppe.at (DE), (EN))

This is one of those machines that can cause very serious injuries when something goes wrong, so do not use if you are alone in the Space.

Safety for usage in jointer and planer mode

Personal protection:

Additional protection for toxic or allergic hardwoods (specifically beech and oak) or for certain surface finishes or chemicals:

Dangers	Precautions
Risk of serious injury	This is a dangerous machine with a risk of serious injury. NEVER use this machine when you are alone in the space!
rapidly revolving knives	you MUST NOT wear gloves, loose clothes, dangling jewellery or open long hair
loud machine (>90db)	you MUST wear ear protection
flying splinters	you MUST wear eye protection
toxic dust (beech, oak, surface finishes)	if your workpiece is contaminated with chemicals or is made from beech (dt. Buche), oak (Eiche) or other hard woods, you SHOULD use a dust mask of P2 or higher. ALWAYS use the dust extraction system.

Additional Security when using as a jointer

Dangers	Precautions
rapidly revolving knives - exposed at the top: draw-in and cutting danger	you MUST use the blade guard - only expose as much of the blade as needed you MUST use push blocks on any workpiece that is not large enough for your to hold down with your hands without any part of your hand overhanging the workpiece you SHOULD use push blocks - ONLY IF you are unable to use a push block: you are risking your fingers being pulled into the rotating blades and dismembering them you MUST keep your hands flat and fingers together you MUST keep your hands ON the workpiece - NEVER hold or push the workpiece from the sides, NEVER let your hands move over any part of the workpiece
kickback: the jointer may grab the workpiece and throw it back to the infeed side	you MUST stand firmly on the long side of the machine, light downward pressure on the whole workpiece, and without walking during operation you MUST ensure that the infeed side is clear of people you MUST stop immediately if other people step into the infeed area you MUST inspect your workpiece for difficult areas in advance - knots are tricky enough but loose knots MUST be removed beforehand! you MUST start with a low cutting depth of <=1mm you MAY increase the depth to <=2mm - the higher the cutting depth, the higher the force, the more violent a possible kickback you MUST check the anti-kickback teeth for free movement before using the jointer

Additional Security when using as a planer

Dangers	Precautions
rapidly revolving knives	you MUST NOT put your hands near the top planer housing during operation
kickback: the transport mechanism may fail and fire the workpiece out	you MUST ensure, that no one can be hit should this occur

Demonstration

The tutor will show you these steps in detail.

Preparation

all sides of your workpiece must have a width of at most 300mm - while the jointer can take a few millimeters more, the planer won't.
inspect your workpiece for loose parts - especially knots
check yourself for anything that might be catched in the machine - wrist watch, finger rings, bracelets, jewellery, cables, sleeves, hair, ...
check that the surroundings of the machine are clear of debris and no one is in danger of being hit by a kickback
switch to jointer mode, if it's currently in planer mode - cf. manual: 8.8

Planning the joint

Identify the wood grain for the proper feed direction - you MUST work with the grain (trying to joint 90° to the grain will always result in chipout at the end)
Choose the correct large face for the first planing (the hollow / concave side, not the arched / convex side) - mark side as 1)
Choose one of the connected smaller sides to make 90° to side 1) in the same way - mark as side 2)
The side opposed to side 2) is side 3) - this side will be made parallel on the table saw (for more rectangular parts like boards) or by planing (for square-shaped parts)
Last, the side opposite to side 1) is side 4 and will be made parallel by planing

So, the correct order is: (1) large face, (2) 90° of first small face, (3) parallelize the second small face, (4) parallelize the second large face

(1) Plane the first large face

adjust the jointer chipload (Spanabnahme) to 1mm - manual: 8.2
adjusting the jointer blade guard (Brückenschutz/Schutzbrücke)
- the guard should be covering the full width of the blade and just above the workpiece
stand centered, ensure no one is in risk of getting hit by kickback, activate machine
workpiece is moved with even pressure over the table, hands slide over the guard and "walk" on the outfeed table
check face and repeat until plane
cf. manual: 9.4.4 & 9.4.5

(2) Straighten the first small face

check the fence for 90° against the table - cf. manual 8.4
adjust the guard to be directly on the table (no height)
adjust the guard to leave a small gap for the workpiece to ride through
stand centered, ensure no one is in risk of getting hit by kickback, activate machine
workpiece is moved with even pressure over the table, pressure against the fence and downwards on the table - fingers together, hands stay clear of the blades
repeat until face is plane and right-angled to side 1 (check the whole face with a square)
cf. manual: 9.4.6

(3) Parallelize the second small face

If your workpiece is more rectangular-shaped than square-shaped, you SHOULD use the table saw instead of the planer. The table saw is much quicker, you can adjust the width to the desired measurement (without creating tons of wood dust), it's much cleaner (because the suction does not work when the planed edge is too small and the table is too far away).

The planer also has a maximum height of 22.5cm - if your workpiece is broader, you MUST use the table saw instead.

If your workpiece is too narrow to be safely inserted with a 90° angle to side 2, you MUST use the table saw instead.

switch machine to planer mode - cf. manual: 8.7
measure the wood piece's width broadest point
adjust the table height to the measured width (open table lock, use wheel to adjust height, close lock) - cf. manual: 8.5
activate the transport, if necessary
stand beside the planer infeed, ensure no one is in risk of getting hit by kickback, activate machine
push the workpiece in, until it's gripped from the transport - let go and move to the other side and take over the workpiece. Stay clear of the jointer system with your hands at all times!
- The first transport roll is a bit hard to overcome, if you try to take away more than 1mm.
- If the workpiece feels stuck and does not move forward or back (due to the automatic kickback protection), deactivate the machine and lower the table to unstuck it.
- avoid the edges of the small grooves in the side - your workpiece might bump upwards or get stuck, if it reaches over the grooves.
lower the height by <=2mm for smaller faces and <=1mm for larger faces
repeat, until the side is flat

(4) Parallelize the second large face

Repeat everything as seen in the third step for the last side - remember to take off <=1mm in each pass.

(5) Cleanup

clean the whole machine and surroundings from wood splinters and dust
clean the tables from wood resin with alcohol
check the vacuum: if the bag is more than 3/4th full, replace vacuum bag. Close full bag with garn (located at the measuring station) and move to the central box for wood collection. A new bag is on top of the measuring station.
switch machine to jointer mode

Advanced Usage / topics

adjusting the jointer Fuge - manual: 8.3
- rarely needed! return to original (described) setting if altered?
- a very slight Hohlfuge is desirable for many glue-ups: you'll need fewer clamps and the ends of your boards will always connect in a panel^[1]
- to test the result: let two jointed boards face each other - you will thus amplify the extent of curve (x2) to make it more visible^[2]
angling two sides to another angle than 90°

helpful links besides the manual:

BGHM Arbeitsschutz kompakt: Arbeiten an Abrichthobelmaschinen
BGHM Arbeitsschutz kompakt: Arbeiten an Dickenhobelmaschinen
video by Heiko Rech (DE) with important safety information we can use to define the introduction
video by MHM (DE) longer safety and usage instruction