Jointer + power feeder, love it or hate it?

Power feeder on jointer love it or hate it?


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Ryan Mooney

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I'm looking at adding a power feeder to my B3 since the Felder prices are now below Grizzly for similar units (due to the exchange rate) it seemed like a good time to buy. So I asked on the felder users group if anyone could help with some details (primarily the length of the usable distance between the mount and the feeder head on the two units - S308 and F-38 - I'm looking at; would still like to know that if anyone knows!).

While doing so I mentioned that I was looking at rolling the jointer in close and swinging the feeder over so I could also use the feeder on that as well.. and whooom! massive bucket of worms, no one was interested in talking power feeder specs anymore but boy they sure wanted to talk about how power feeders do or do not work on jointers! :rolleyes:

So I'll open it up here - anyone use a power feeder on the jointer - love it or hate it?
 
I'm just not sure how many hobby woodwookers use a power feeder. Seems like the kind of thing you need if you are really going to do a lot of something.
 
Well, I have one. I have only used it on one job ages ago. Had to make a mile of special molding for a church. Used it on a big router table with the Porter Cable behemoth 7218. Worked very well. Have found no use for it since.
 
Having worked in a molding factory at one point during a misspent summer of my youth, I can say that yes, they used automatic feeders there, but you still needed someone to feed the feeder and to pull the fed feed off the other end of the feeder and stack it nicely.
 
Wow seems like no opinions...Rather rare!

Indeed, we're in uncharted territory here :D


Mostly I wanted it for the shaper which frankly scares the pants off of me, but figured that if I'm doing the cash might as well get something that would do anything if want.

Looks like I'm going with the f38 with the extension tube since nothing less will apparently reach the saw even.

Hopefully I can convince l can convince loml to pull and stack of needed :D
 
In watching Jason Beam's videos on the guitar build it looks like he has a power feed in the back ground of some of the shots. Unless I mistook what I saw. can't tell what it is used on.

Power Feed.jpg
 
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I had a Steff 1/2 hp power feeder and finally sold it - it was always in the way.

I have two 5 hp shapers, and found it easier and safer to feed modest size pieces with a hold-down jig. Safer? Yes, one of my few woodworking accidents that produced blood was when the feeder took a board and didn't return it. I put another board in behind it, and it spit pieces out, one of which hit my thumb. I now have a scar that interferes with my right thumbprint. I never found either board, other than kindling.

If I have long pieces, like furniture crown moulding, I miss the power feeder, but I cut my door stiles to length first, and can easily manage them in the shaper without the power feeder.

You already have a power feeder for your jointer... it is called a planer. A power feeder pushes the board down, taking out any warp/curve, so there is little difference between a jointer with power feeder and a planer. I set up my feeder on the jointer just once, and resolved to just use the planer after that, for anything that required power feeding.
 
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I have a couple of power feeders that I use. A big 4 wheel delta on my shaper and a small 1/8 horse for my router table that sees occasional use. I have thought about the jointer option and feel it's not the best of ideas. The reason being is that the purpose of the jointer is to mill your stock absolutely flat and square. It cannot do this if something is forcing the stock down onto the table As a power feeder would have to do. the jointer is one power tool where you really have to let the machine do the work while you are the feeder. You need to feel and listen to the stock going over the blades and know where and when to place and use pressure.
with a power feeder a warped board going in will be a warped board coming out but with a prettier face.
Also, Use the shortest stock necessary for your project. rough cut and rip your stock close to size before jointing. This makes the operation go much quicker and results in a lot less waste.
Cabinet doors for instance, if I want a 2-1/4" finished stile and rail I will rough rip to 2-3/4" and cut them an inch or two long.
My process goes as follows. Cut board to rough length, edge pass or two over the jointer to get a straight edge. I don't care about square at this point jus need a straight edge to run against the fence. Then rough rip. Once all the stock has been cut I go back to the jointer and flatten it. This is where it's critical that you be mindful of any twists bows or cups in the board as each determines how you need to feed it. cupped is pretty obvious but twisted not so much. I start by resting the stock on the infeed and rocking it. If it's twisted it will rock on diagonally opposing corners. I'll place my hands on both ends and balance it on those corners then using a light cut, feed the stock through, keeping the pressure on the ends balanced. Once I've made the needed passes to bring down those corners then it's just a matter of feeding it until the face is completely flat. Feed speed isn't so critical here but certainly don't horse it through.
from there it's on to the planer. The jointer and planer work as a team here. As stock is being milled periodically check for flatness as internal stresses are being released with the removal of material. site down the board looking for distortion and returning to the jointer to correct them.
All of this can only be accomplished by feel and sound. A power feeder cannot accomplish this.

One other factor to consider, and this isn't powerfeeder related but worth metioning. If I have a lot of doors to make OR if I am making a counter. I will flatten and plane to about an 1/8" to 5/32" of final thickness. Then, placing stickers on the bench I will lay the boards out with a little space between each and if needs be stack them with stickers between each row. Then, lay plastic sheeting over the top. this helps even the exposure. Then I let them rest for a day or 2 to let any residual stresses release themselves. Also, do not do this in a sunny spot of the shop. Then after a day or so I will go back and check each piece as I run them through to final thickness. This time I set the jointer for about a 64th to a 32nd, and any bad boards go to the bin for possible repurpose.
I also do the same with glued up panels, stack and cover as often times just getting the panels made takes a period of days and when they get that thin they warp very quickly if not incorporated into a frame.
I know this part isn't related to the topic but thought it worth mentioning as part of my process when making cabinet parts and counters.
 
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Well, I have one. I have only used it on one job ages ago. Had to make a mile of special molding for a church. Used it on a big router table with the Porter Cable behemoth 7218. Worked very well. Have found no use for it since.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Seriously though, I hope I never have to mass produce enough of anything to make a power feeder make sense ;). As Rich pointed out, unless you are going for quantity over quality, there is too much technique involved in proper power jointing to hand it over to a feeder IMHO.
 
Thanks Alan, I've seen a couple other folks talking about those but hadn't actually looked them up. The variable pressure is a pretty neat design.

I've seen a few folks who say that for stuff that isn't twisted but just uneven putting a regular feeder on the outfeed table works pretty well but for twisted stuff it's a bust.

Haven't really decided what to do yet regards the shaper setup, we'll see...
 
For most home hobbyists I don't see them as being practical on a use vs. cost basis. Tod uses them in his professional shop with his large tools and they seem invaluable. Especially so with his HUGE shaper and large, almost mill sized, band saw.
 
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