Jointer Safety and Operation

Rules and guidelines listed on this page are only reminders. Persons must read lab safety manual, machine manual, and be trained by WRL Manager.

Safety Glasses

Safety Rules

  • Safety glasses are required. Hearing protection advised.
  • Always run dust collection with jointer.
  • Keep hands 4” away from cutter head.
  • Never pass hands over cutter head.
  • Don’t place thumbs at end of piece. Use a push block.
  • Don’t remove guard.
  • Don’t adjust out-feed table.
  • Don’t try to remove more than 1/16” at a time.
  • Don’t joint stock less than 1/4” thick.
  • Don’t joint material shorter than 10”.
  • Don’t joint dirty material or material that has paint on it.
  • Always joint with the grain.
  • Be cautious of loose knots, splits and other defects in wood. These defects can cause piece to jerk and can result in injury.
  • Never run materials containing nails, screws or other metallic objects.
  • Always stand at the side of the jointer by the cutter head.
  • All setups other than edging and facing must be approved by supervisor.
  • If machine is malfunctioning stop immediately and report to supervisor.

 

Operation

  • Put on your safety glasses and hearing protection.
  • Clean stock with brush and check for defects and metal.
  • Set in-feed table so that no more than 1/16" will be removed.
  • Don’t adjust out-feed table.
  • Turn on dust collection and open blast gate.
  • Turn on jointer.
  • Make sure the cutter head is at full speed before running piece through jointer.
  • Run stock through jointer with slight even pressure against table and fence.
  • Once leading edge of piece is past 4" safety margin, place left hand on it. This provides more accurate cut and removes hand from danger zone.
  • On long pieces walk through with board. Don’t lean into work.
  • Severely warped stock may need to be to cut into shorter lengths and the in-feed table adjusted to reduce the amount of material being removed.
  • Turn cup of board concave down.
  • Move piece so that it is clear of the 4” safety margin and guard has returned over cutter head before picking up piece.
  • After enough passes to obtain clean edge, turn off jointer.
  • Shut blast gate and turn off dust collection unless you are proceeding to another machine or someone else is using it.
  • Once jointer has come to a complete stop, clean all debris from around jointer.