Powerfeeder size for 12" jointer

alan gage · July 20, 2020, 01:13:40 PM

Was going to buy a 1/4hp powerfeeder for my shaper and now I'm thinking it might be nice to have a powerfeeder for my soon-to-be 12" jointer as well. Any chance I can get by with sharing a 1/4hp between the two of them or do I just need to bite the bullet and get a 1/2hp (more money and more weight when switching machines)?

This won't be a production environment by any means. Will be processing hardwood boards off the sawmill for mainly my own use. I read through old posts here and found one where @Larry was using a 1/4hp on his 12" jointer but I'm not sure how that worked out long term.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=91133.0

Alan

muggs · July 20, 2020, 01:53:24 PM

Consider buying another mount, so you don't have to unbolt it from the different machines when you switch it from one machine to the other. My feeder is 1 hp, so I don't know how good is the 1/4 hp.

scsmith42 · July 20, 2020, 02:21:56 PM

1/4 hp is fine for light duty work such as quarter round, etc, but if you're planning to run any significant board sizes across that jointer I'd suggest a 1 hp feeder.

firefighter ontheside · July 20, 2020, 03:04:15 PM

How are you going to use a power feed on a jointer?

alan gage · July 20, 2020, 03:28:14 PM

Quote from: firefighter ontheside on July 20, 2020, 03:04:15 PM
How are you going to use a power feed on a jointer?

Effectively, I hope.

I was a bit dubious but have seen quite a few other people doing it with success on the majority of boards, so they say. I might not have enough use to justify buying one for just the jointer but if I'm going to get one for the shaper anyway it would be nice for it to pull double duty. Most people seem to have a 1hp but then, in that post linked above, I saw Larry saying he was using a 1/4hp which he said was little marginal when facing but great for edge jointing. So I was hoping I could get by with a 1/2hp at the most.
Alan

Larry · July 20, 2020, 05:45:53 PM

I ran 200 board foot of walnut on the jointer Saturday for stair treads with the 1/4 HP feeder. Board width was 6"+. Couple of 12" boards. Those were a little sticky, should have waxed the bed before starting. Facing, I was probably taking 3/32". Edging was 1/4".

1/4 HP feeders have short horizontal arms which make setup a little tricky, especially on the shaper.

The best solution is putting the jointer back to the shaper back. Mount the feeder on a floor mounted post (make it heavy) between the two. This way they can share a feeder. You will have to use a 1 HP to get a longer arm.

scsmith42 · July 21, 2020, 08:51:21 AM

I have a 1 hp power feeder mounted to a 5 hp shaper.

For years I had a 16" jointer placed adjacent to the shaper so that I could use the feeder on both. The power feeder was positioned so that it worked on the outfeed table of the jointer.

It worked well (but I did have to bolt the shaper to the floor so that it wouldn't shift around when the power feeder was working with the jointer.

Prior to that I had a 1/4 hp power feeder on a 2 hp shaper.

busenitzcww · July 21, 2020, 10:14:42 PM

I have a 1hp track feeder(grizzly) that I have mounted on my 16" jointer and it works great! Don't know if I'd go smaller though.

RussMaGuss · July 21, 2020, 10:40:56 PM

Anybody use a 1/4 hp feeder? I'm thinking of getting a 12" grizzly jointer. I would be using it probably once a month or so to edge a load from my kiln for my projects (ballpark of 5-800 bdft, average widths between 6-8") I don't really do enough woodworking right now to really justify a 1HP feeder, but for jointing all my boards right out of my kiln, some mechanical assistance would be nice! Has anybody used one of these to make a SLR jig on a table saw?

alan gage · July 22, 2020, 09:31:22 AM

Quote from: RussMaGuss on July 21, 2020, 10:40:56 PMHas anybody used one of these to make a SLR jig on a table saw?

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=110097.20
Alan

alan gage · July 22, 2020, 03:20:43 PM

Ordered the jointer today (GULP!). Am holding off on the power feeder for the time being. They couldn't combine shipping charges anyway so I'll get a feel for hand jointing the larger boards before I make a decision.

I got the Grizzly G9860ZX.

Alan

scsmith42 · July 22, 2020, 03:24:57 PM

Alan, I think that you will like that machine.

My advice would be to hold off on the 1/4 hp power feeder until you realize that you really need a 1 hp feeder :D

Enjoy!

RussMaGuss · July 22, 2020, 04:31:34 PM

Quote from: alan gage on July 22, 2020, 09:31:22 AM
Quote from: RussMaGuss on July 21, 2020, 10:40:56 PMHas anybody used one of these to make a SLR jig on a table saw?
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=110097.20
Alan

Now THAT's a jig! very cool! I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on the grizzly pretty soon as well. I may decide to go for spiral cutterheads in lieu of a power feeder for the moment. In the meantime, I may look into Matthias Wandel's power feeder made from plywood and a 20v drill. Would obviously have to use something besides a drill to get enough power, but the concept of making your own is very neat.

farmfromkansas · July 28, 2020, 01:53:31 PM

Is the Grizzly summer sale still in effect? The 1hp power feeder is 895, and the 1/2hp is the same price.

alan gage · January 25, 2021, 03:53:13 PM

Well I reluctantly took everyone's advice. I really wanted to get by with the 1/4hp but I just couldn't find enough people who happily went that route so I started looking at bigger feeders, which eventually led me to the Comatic line. Everyone seemed very happy with them and they looked like a more compact and easier to use design for not much more money so I ended up with the DC30.

Haven't mounted it to the jointer yet but happily got to use on the table saw and shaper. What a great piece of equipment!

And like everyone seems to find out after buying a power feeder I need to go tire shopping. Will be getting in touch with Western Roller this week.

Co-Matic Machinery | Power Feeders, Portable Edgebanders, and Accessories

Alan

samandothers · January 25, 2021, 08:58:52 PM

Alan how does your power feed mount to your shaper? Did you drill holes in the table and bolt it or clamp?

How will you connect the new power feed to the jointer also?

I have a a power feed that was on a router table. I was thinking about how could I set it up on other pieces of equipment such as shaper and jointer. I am not a production shop just a hobby shop and occasional use but would like to leverage the equipment.

alan gage · January 26, 2021, 11:19:09 AM

Quote from: samandothers on January 25, 2021, 08:58:52 PM

Alan how does your power feed mount to your shaper? Did you drill holes in the table and bolt it or clamp?

Both actually. I drilled and tapped holes for it but got them off a bit so only 3 bolt holes line up at a time. So it's three bolts and one clamp that hold it to the shaper.

QuoteHow will you connect the new power feed to the jointer also?

I plan on mounting it the same way Yellowhammer did in this thread (same jointer): https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=95233.0

QuoteI have a a power feed that was on a router table. I was thinking about how could I set it up on other pieces of equipment such as shaper and jointer. I am not a production shop just a hobby shop and occasional use but would like to leverage the equipment.

Same here, which is why I initially wanted to get a smaller/lighter one. It will come in handy for big projects but there will be a lot of time it will be idle as I'm mainly just working for myself. I don't think I'd want to do a lot of shaper work without it and since I've got it for that might as well put it to use on other tools as well.

It was really nice having it on the table saw for ripping a couple hundred boards, especially the longer ones. No worries trying to keep a 10' board tight against the fence and no burn marks or small divots from pausing mid-rip to change hand positions. Just smooth clean consistent cuts.

Same for the shaper. Really nice not having to rig up feather boards or other devices to keep the board flat to the table and fence. Gave really nice cuts.

Alan

samandothers · January 26, 2021, 11:45:49 AM

Thanks for the information on your mounting. I appreciate you adding the link too.

I had thought about clamping or a separate stand but was not sure that would be strong enough to hold the feed down for proper pressure.

Edit: I reread that thread. It is a good read and good info. Thanks again.

alan gage · January 26, 2021, 12:05:19 PM

Quote from: samandothers on January 26, 2021, 11:45:49 AM
Thanks for the information on your mounting. I appreciate you adding the link too.

I had thought about clamping or a separate stand but was not sure that would be strong enough to hold the feed down for proper pressure.

If the equipment has room I think it's better to drill and tap holes. It only takes a minute to remove the 4 bolts and I think it would be more secure. It only takes about 10 minutes per machine to drill and tap by hand. Takes a little more time to locate and mark the webbing under the top to make sure you drill into a clear area.

I think a separate base could work if it was bolted to the floor and thought about going that route but glad I didn't. Almost everything in my shop is setup on wheels so I can move it around wherever it works best. In this case I rolled the shaper out into the middle of the shop floor where it was close to the large stack of wood to eliminate much walking and carrying. Then I turned it around and moved it just a few feet for the 2nd pass which again made it a more efficient process.

Alan

samandothers · January 26, 2021, 12:35:14 PM

I did reread that posting and gleaned some good stuff from it. My jointer is an 8" and the base is sheet metal. I could do similar mounting and add some extra bolts and a backing plate.

Thanks again for the input.

woodworker9 · January 27, 2021, 11:53:06 PM

Unless you're running really skinny lightweight boards, you're going to find that anything less than a 1 hp feeder is not up to the task for very long. Many, many guys have tried and reported back the same findings on WW forums for decades. Just trying to prevent you from needing to upgrade. I have 2 feeders on 2 different pieces of equipment, and they are all 1 hp feeders. Rip saw and shaper. I tried running one on a 24" jointer I used to own, but it was more trouble than it was worth, constantly having to adjust the height after each pass.

I know a guy who has a digital readout for the height of his feeder on his 16" jointer. Slick set up, but I never wanted to go to the trouble.....it works well for him, though.