Project Update: Band Saw Out, Jointer In

Because I realized the Delta 16" band saw I had purchased did not quite provide the clearance to accommodate the wood I wanted to resaw, I decided it needed to go to a new, caring home; more specifically, one that is not mine. I posted it on Craigslist and it went to a dude just starting to put his shop together. We installed a blade, cut some wood, loaded it in his truck and it was gone. I emailed him the manual and the websites for the missing parts. Goodbye, old/new friend.

In its place, I now have a "new" Delta 6" jointer. I had sold my previous Delta jointer to Mark Roberts of Mark Roberts Guitars and Ukuleles. Mark is a great guy who builds beautiful instruments. Meeting Mark has been a wonderful experience - he's a jig wizard and master luthier and it's been an honor to visit his shop and learn from him. My esteem for Mark notwithstanding, as soon as I sold the jointer to him, I found I needed a jointer.

One of the reasons I sold Mark the jointer was that I wanted a larger, floor-stand model, one with a bigger bed for when I start work on the instrument soundboard and case. Of course, I can still use it to joint smaller pieces, yet it was the larger pieces of the harpsichord that prompted me to seek out a floor model. I ended up finding a Delta (37-280) 6" jointer on a nice stand for $80 on Craigslist. The sale of the 16" band saw covered me on this one.

This photo above is of the underside of the machine after I've schlepped it onto my workbench. I took it off the stand at the place where I bought it so I could load it into my Kia Rio for transport. You'd be amazed what you can fit into one of those little buggers. The guy I purchased it from had been keeping it in a non-weatherized shop, so the bed was completely rusted. It was superficial, but it still amazes me how some guys treat their tools and machines. In this case, it was to my benefit - this jointer would have cost me one heckuva lot more had it been in decent shape. Here's a shot of the bed as I started cleaning it up with a wire brush wheel on my cordless drill.

I was able to get most of the rust off, yet there still remains some oxidation that I will remove with 320-grit sandpaper once I get it mounted back onto the stand.  Here's a shot of the bed after a couple of hours of grinding away.

Night and day, eh? I hit it with some 3-in-1 oil so it wouldn't start oxydizing again while I work on the stand. Speaking of the stand, it's a rusted mess, as well.

You can see where I hit the bolt heads with the drill brush. I found an $80 bench grinder for $30 on Craigslist, still in the box and ready to go. I'm going to pick it up this afternoon and disassemble the stand so I can grind away on it using a wire brush wheel. Doing it by hand using the drill would prove to be too much for my delicate little fingies. Besides, I've had occasion to use a grinder in the last couple of months, yet held off on the purchase. It's time.

Once I get the stand brushed down, I'll repaint it with black Rustoleum, remount the jointer and call it good. This is a slight diversion from progress on the instrument, but it needs to be done and I don't have the luxury of assigning it to one of my apprentices, so it gets completed during evening and weekend shop time. Ah, the rigors of working alone (I'll take it over working with others any day).

Until next time...