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I about broke some stuff in anger before I realized that I my jointing sucked because my blades were crooked. Took me about 20 minutes to complete and I will do it in 10 minutes the next time.
I spent too much money on mine but supported my local woodworking shop and it was money well spent. I don't know what the bad reviews are about because this thing is precise and easy to use.
And mine does no rack on the rods at all. 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. This thing saved me a lot of frustration as I had tried replacing the blades using a sharp edge and failed miserably.
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.
This makes the jointer blade adjustment very easy. Don't forget to mark the fence before you take out the blades or you will have to take longer to put them back right.
I own a Harbor Freight jointer (Paid $165 for it). Very frustrating.Less than 20 minutes after I pulled this little jewell out of the packaging, it was perfectly aligned. The blades are nearly perfectly aligned. Just a motor, bed, fence and cutter head with three blades. Does exactly what it claims to do. Murder to set the blades accurately. No features. The outfeed table is at exactly the same height as the blades.
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. All three blades cut now.Incredibly happy with the jig. Just follow the instructions and you can't miss.
These two issues are strictly with the Jet jointer. Third, the plastic jig isn't quite square. 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. 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. Did I also mention that one of the magnets came un-glued while trying to use the jig. It works better when this screw is lightly snug before the others are fully tightened.
Because of the direction that the screws are turned, the end closest to the fence tends to move up.
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 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.
I tried this jig and found the following problems with using the jig on a Jet 6" jointer.
In the end, the jig sat on my work bench and I used a sheet of paper and a 6" machinist ruler.
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.
If you don't own a machinist ruler, buy that instead of the jig.
If anyone wants this jig, they can have mine, I'll never use it again.
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