Customer Reviews

Woodstock W1210 Polycarbonate Jointer Pal

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just changed my jointer blades today with this on my Jet jointer and it was a breeze. The blades are perfectly aligned with the outfeed. The picture for the polycarb. pal should be black (plastic), not gold. I see no need for the steel body since it really doesn't need that kind of strength IMHO. You set it on the outfeed table with the heavy duty magnets, and the magnet over the blade raises the blade to level w/the outfeed table. Just tighten down the bolts... it's that easy. This is great, cheap, and easy!!!

I could not properly adjust the knives on my 6" Jet jointer. I spent hours trying to use the straight edge method outlined in the Jet owner's manual. Then I found this little gadget. 30 min from package opening to my jointer cutting like a champ ... all the way across the knives. After initial setup, which involves marking the fence, subsequent alignments will be a snap. Well worth the price. Instructions were easy to follow. Must use care in storing this tool. It will not work right if it gets beat up and bent. You will need a good square and a scibe suitable for marking metal for initial setup.

I recently found myself faced with replacing my jointer knives and soon discovered that this task is about as enjoyable as dental work, and twice as frustrating. I eventally gave up and ordered this knife setting jig to help me do the job. All I can say is that this tool did make it possible for me to eventually get the knives set properly, but I still had to endure a couple of hours of trial and error attempts before I got it just right.

The main problems I have with this jig are that the two plastic parts that ride on the steel rods tend to "rack", and the magnets holding the jig to the outfeed table are not strong enough. These problems coupled with the fact that my jointer provides no ability to lock the cutterhead all but require you to work with a helper (which I did not have). Thus I had to make several less than perfect attempts before finally getting the new knives square and locked into place. It was a terrible ordeal.

I would like to say that I would not buy this jig again, but the only alternative is to buy a high end jig costing nearly a third of what I paid for the whole jointer!

I own a Harbor Freight jointer (Paid $165 for it). No features. Just a motor, bed, fence and cutter head with three blades. Murder to set the blades accurately. I've spent hours trying to get them close to being in the right position. Since I chanaged the original blades, I've never had more than one knife cutting the wood. Very frustrating.

Less than 20 minutes after I pulled this little jewell out of the packaging, it was perfectly aligned. The outfeed table is at exactly the same height as the blades. The blades are nearly perfectly aligned. All three blades cut now.

Incredibly happy with the jig. Does exactly what it claims to do. Just follow the instructions and you can't miss.

First, a little about me: I'm a mechanical engineer that develops equipment for manufacturing, so I have experience designing and building jigs and fixtures, 12 years worth. I tried this jig and found the following problems with using the jig on a Jet 6" jointer. 1) The cutter head does not lock 2) Tightening the blade lock can cause the blade to squirrel around because of the turning motion on the screw. These two issues are strictly with the Jet jointer. However, the jig first pulls the blade tight against a metal magnet, potentially causing the sharp edge of the blade to roll over slightly, what's the point of putting new blades in if they are going to get dinged during installation. The jig should cover the magnet with a material softer than the blade to prevent this. Second, the jig gets in the way of one of the blade lock screws, so the screw closest to the fence has to be left loose until the end. Because of the direction that the screws are turned, the end closest to the fence tends to move up. It works better when this screw is lightly snug before the others are fully tightened. Third, the plastic jig isn't quite square. In the end, the jig sat on my work bench and I used a sheet of paper and a 6" machinist ruler. The blade was made slightly snug and then raised until the paper was lightly pinched between the ruler (held on the out feed table) and the blade located at top dead center. If you don't own a machinist ruler, buy that instead of the jig. Did I also mention that one of the magnets came un-glued while trying to use the jig? If anyone wants this jig, they can have mine, I'll never use it again.

I finally decided to change my jointer blades (after changing my planer blades and seeing the amount of tear out go to virtually zero). Without this jig the process would have taken a lot longer and may not have been as accurate. I do pretty high end furniture work but I'm not convinced that you actually need a dial gage. . . we'll see after I get a few hours in on the new blades.
I'd buy this again in a second.

The molded plastic parts on the Jointer Pal I received were warped, not allowing the jig to lay dead flat on my jointer table. I returned this item and made myself a set of these instead:
[...]

Simple, inexpensive, heavy duty and dead flat.

This knife-setting jig is a must have for replacing knives in a jointer. It's very affordable and it worked perfectly.

I don't know what the bad reviews are about because this thing is precise and easy to use. I spent too much money on mine but supported my local woodworking shop and it was money well spent. I have a Jet jointer and found the guys review who complained that the devise obscured his tightening bolts to be irrelevant because you can move the Jointer Pal by moving your fence. If you keep your blade at TDC you can easily move the jig and tighten all the bolts. And mine does no rack on the rods at all. Took me about 20 minutes to complete and I will do it in 10 minutes the next time.

This thing saved me a lot of frustration as I had tried replacing the blades using a sharp edge and failed miserably. I about broke some stuff in anger before I realized that I my jointing sucked because my blades were crooked. After using the Jointer Pal my jointer is no longer my most feared tool.

Woodstock International G3360 Jointer Pal®, Polycarbonate Body - Up to 8" The Jointer Pal is a very handy tool for what it is designed for. The magnets are strong, holding the tool in place on the out-feed table and the blade magnets snap the blade up and hold it in position for securing. It is compact making it easy to store when not being used.