I cannot level the tables on my jointer. When I place a level on my tables,the front of the in table is about 1/4" low. how do adjust it? Or better yet where can I geta manual?

Fill feed table with water and measure water level at all corners and adjust until all corners have the same water depth. Then then drain and fill with feed. The fence should be near the feed table.

I assume you mean that the two tables are not in parallel planes. No, I don't think adjusting the gibs is going to buy you anything unless they are so loose that the tables don't seat flat on the ways. If this is a very old jointer, and the ways are worn so they are no longer flat, then might have to regrind them - but that would be difficult. I would measure the amount of "out of parallel" that the tables are at different depth setting after tightening the gibs so that the tables are just a little harder to move. If they are out of paralell by the same amount at different table heights, then I would put the whole jointer (not the base of course) on a surface grinder and grind both table tops. Of course you would need a pretty big surface grinder, depending on the size of your jointer. Good luck!

The most important part of the jointer is that the cutting edge is perfectly level with the out feed table, then, bring up the infeed table, with straight edge on rear, make all adj necessary to get these things lined up flat, not level, but flat, straight, even. Then it will cut perfectly flat and even. no snipes,. Hope this helps.

Hello,
Adjusting a jointer to relieve snipe can be trickey but here are a few procedures that will help.

-The two tables on the jointer are adjustable, the front (infeed) is what you adjust for cut depth.
- The back (outfeed) needs to be the exact hieght as your knives

The outfeed needs to be adjusted first
-unplug jointer
-using a straight edge on the outfeed table adjust it so that when you turn the head (counter clockwise) the knives just touch the staight edge (NOTE** all the knives should touch the straight edge the same, if not your knives are not set correctly) This is your most important adjustment, if the outfeed is to high or to low it will cause inconsistant jointing.
-Now that the outfeed is trued up to the head you can adjust the infeed table, using the straight edge align it so that it is perfectly lined up with the outfeed table (not touching the kinives) Your jointer is now at ZERO

You can now adjust the infeed for depth of cut, Start by lowering the infeed a very small amount (1/16 of a inch to start)

The biggest problem I have seen is that people try to cut to much at one time, it will work alot better if you take several small cuts instead of one deep cut.

Also- getting the knives set perfectly in the head is a key to success, if this is not happening you WILL have jointing problems. ALSO if the knives are not sharp they will pull the material down causing snipe.

I really hope this helps and if you need a visual aid try looking it up on you tube.

I have used my jointer for numerous different projects, Here is a cool one for tapered table legs.
Take a piece of square stock (like 2x2 ) about 3 feet long, make a mark about 2 foot up and wrap a piece of tape around it at the mark.
now make a mark (we will call it a stop mark) on the fence of the jointer by the head.
with a pencil and number the edges on the 2x2 (above the tape so you dont joint them off)

turn on jointer and run side 1 until your tape is at the fence mark, carefully lift 2x2 and do the same to the 2 side.
only joint the #1 & #2 sides, run several more times and you will have a perfect tapered leg.

SHOP DOG

There is an adjustment knob under the outfeed table.
The adjustment it gives is quite small.
Good luck

Handy Andie

I usually adjust the knives slightly above the outfeed table. I use an aluminum straight edge & adjust them using a sheet of printer paper on the outfeed table so that they are about the thickness of the paper above the table. I place the paper on the outfeed table put the straightedge on the paper & rotate & adjust each knife so they just slightly hit the straightedge when I rotate the cutterhead by hand.

Needless to say the jointer needs to be unplugged while doing this.

The knives could be dull, you would have to be the judge of that. If the bevel & face are rusty they are probably dull. They can be honed or taken to a sharpening shop.

The outfeed table could also be too high. I usually adjust the knives above the outfeed table. I use an aluminum straight edge & adjust them using a sheet of printer paper on the outfeed table so that they are about the thickness of the paper above the table. I place the paper on the outfeed table put the straightedge on the paper & rotate & adjust each knife so they just slightly hit the straightedge when I rotate the cutterhead by hand. Needless to say the jointer needs to be unplugged while doing this.

The board could also be convex to start with. To fix that problerm start jointing at the start of the convex part and not at the end of the board.

Good luck,
Frank

Instruction manual is here.

Exploded diagram is here.

I'm pretty sure you're saying your planer tables are not coplanar.

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/jointer-setup/ is worth watching. Despite his comments about a level, a decent level works fine for making sure your tables are flat and coplanar on smaller units like this.

On more expensive planers there are gibs that can be adjusted to fix this issue. Your part list doesn't list any gibs, so it looks like you will have to loosen the screws holding the infeed or outfeed table in place and shim it. You can use a metal feeler gauge to figure out how much need to shim it.

Also, if you're still in warranty, Delta may be able to replace your unit. If you're going down this route, I'd recommend you take a level and your unit into a service center so you can show them the problem.

Be aware that the replacement "could" be worse than the original. Be sure to check it. I recently waited 6 weeks for a replacement fence for my jointer (mine developed a twist) and the new one had a 3/8" bow in that was ridiculous.

Unfortunately the Shopmaster line wasn't Delta's greatest and there have been a lot of problems with them. It might be worth keeping an eye on craigslist in your area, as decent prices can be had on jointers fairly regularly.

Please vote if this answer was useful.

I'm not familiar with hobby type machines like craftsman, but good shop jointers have levers or hand wheels for the infeed and out,either on the sides or the front. I hope your outfeed is the higher one. When jointing, the amount of stock material removed should be compensated by the hight of the outfeed table, otherwise you will produce a taper near the end of the board your jointing. Check and see if raising or lowering the knives moves the outfeed if you still can't find separate adjusters.

Well, the infeed table is supposed to be lower than the outfeed table. This is how the jointer actually removes material to flatten a face or board edge. What is important is that the the outfeed table is level with the top of the cutterhead blades, so as you push material through the cutterhead, the outfeed table fully supports the workpiece.

The infeed table is supposed to be adjustable up and down to remove different amounts of material.

If both infeed and outfeed tables were aligned, no material would be cut (assuming the outfeed was aligned with top of the blades).