18 Inch Jointer

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Wow...thanks for adding this forum. I am a huge fan of old woodworking tools. Some of that come from my enjoyment of working in the Machinist Craft, while some of it comes from being frugal. A final enjoyment comes from the long line of history some of these tools have.

One such tool that has that lineage is my Witherby, Ruggs and Richardson 18 inch jointer. Its pretty impressive, and for 100 bucks, was almost a steal. Made in 1865 or so, this Jointer was used in one of the many ship yards they had in Maine and is extremely heavy to hold up against the giant timbers they used to use in ship construction. In any case here is a link to my website regarding this interesting piece of machinery.

18 Inch Jointer
 
Understatement to say that is really sumptin' else. Not only a good job of restoration but a neat old thing saved. I have to wonder about the blades. Were they salvagable or did you have to replace? If you replaced, where did you get them?
 
nice ol` jointer travis......did you have to repour the babbits? i read where you said they where last poured in the 30`s and needed new seals...tod
 
WOW Travis, that is reaaly great. Thanks very much for posting. Have you been to http://www.owwm.com/ ? It's the site that I see everyone who asks about old machines get directed to.

Please forgive me for questioning your choices but it is just a sincere question; I was under the impression that the basic horsepower requirement guideline was 1hp per every 3" or 4". Are you sure that a 3hp motor will be enough?

Thanks again for posting your story.
 
Understatement to say that is really sumptin' else. Not only a good job of restoration but a neat old thing saved. I have to wonder about the blades. Were they salvagable or did you have to replace? If you replaced, where did you get them?

I have not replaced them yet, but I have too. The cutting edges have been ground down so many times the slots the bolts ride in, are showing on the bevel. No matter how I drive this machine, its got way to much power to be trying to chew through a board with just a few fractions of an inch holding the whole thing together.

As for replacing them, I work in a Machine Shop/ Fab Shop and have the ability to order personal steel under the company's discount. I'll order up some A2 Steel and make them myself. Nothing to it actually...well except for the heat treatment.
 
WOW Travis, that is reaaly great. Thanks very much for posting. Have you been to http://www.owwm.com/ ? It's the site that I see everyone who asks about old machines get directed to.

Please forgive me for questioning your choices but it is just a sincere question; I was under the impression that the basic horsepower requirement guideline was 1hp per every 3" or 4". Are you sure that a 3hp motor will be enough?

Thanks again for posting your story.

Mark you may be right, and by all means never feel compelled to dilute your question on my account. I can take questions and constructive critisism. What I mean is, you may be right, 3 HP was something I pulled out of the air.

Right now my father and I are working on obtaining another sawmill, and if that happens, I plan on putting this jointer in the same building. I talked it over with him and we think it will be pretty easy to hook this thing up to my 25 HP Kubota Tractor, rather than dealing with the expense of the electrical motor. We already got the belts and pulley for the power take off, and a crap load of old pulley and gearing to get this geared up. I don't think it will be hard to do, but then again, many a hard projected started out with those words.

By the way, I am very familiar with the Owwm website. What a great place huh?
 
travis, if you can get m2 steel it really makes good knifes, i use m2 for my moulder and shaper knifes and run m42 in my planer....sumthin` to think about...tod
 
Let me check into it. I have not actually ordered A2 steel with these guys, but we do order some strange exotic iron. Have you ever heard of Red Brass, also called Naval Brass? I am making a handrail out of that stuff now. We also stock copper sheets, aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium, but surprisingly very, very little mild steel.
 
Now that's a nice sized jointer, something I strive to have in my shop!

Nice resto, looks wonderful.
 
There are not many tools I lust over. I typically don't buy something unless I really need it. However a big jointer is an exception! I lust over these! But yours ... well thats bigger than even I want! But it's still one cool machine. :thumb:

I have found a 12" jointer if I could just figure out how to get it home. May just have to give in and drive to Texas/Arkansas area.

hbjointeranglevm0.jpg


Oh yea. Anyone wanting jointer knives. This place has them or can make themGlobal Tooling
 
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Here ya go Jeff...

Even gets an impressive 5 mpg (better if there's no hills), and about 50 mpg on the engine oil :thumb:

I moved all my machines from AZ single handedly with this truck, I figure the savings on liftgate rental paid for the crane.
 
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