# Vintage Craftsman jointer restoration



## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

I'm new to the site. So a few details about me, I'm from Rochester NY (upstate NY) and have been collecting some tools and doing woodworking for a few years now. I have been visiting this site off and on for awhile now, thought I would share a jointer project.

It is a Craftsman model 103.23340, my father in law had it sitting in his garage for a number of years. I guess it could be in worse shape than it already is.

I'm going to add some pictures to the site as soon as they upload to photobucket.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

I found the original manual, looks like late 50s or early 60s. It is rusted up badly, but the blades, and hopefully the bearings are in good shape. I should be able to remove the rust and stone the table. I'll put a fresh coat of paint on the sides. I found a small motor, but has less HP than what Craftsman specifies.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)




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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

Disassembly:

































Its been disassembled. As old and rusted as it is, the bolts came out somewhat easy. The tables however, being the only unpainted surface, were in bad shape and pitted. I finished the smaller table, took me a couple hours to get it down to bare metal. Using a ruler and feeler gages (best I have at home) I figure the table is flat to less than 0.003 inch. More than good enough for wood. The best I can mill on the router is usually 0.010 inch.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)




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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

I pulled the main shaft, bearings and the blade assembly apart. One bearing is shot. I found a couple new bearings for $3 each. 

The three blades were actually in good shape, I used a knife sharpening stone and was able to get a nice edge on one of them. They are shaped like a chisel, so one side is stoned flat. The other side I have to stone parallel to the table, so I will have to wait on that.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

I painted some of the parts, flat grey. The main shaft was gouged and rusted, had a heck of a time getting one of the bearings off of it. Its a 0.500 inch shaft, but measured + 0.015 inch in some spots. After an hour, the best I could get the shaft to is about + 0.0005 inch, enough that I could force the bearing on or off. The bearings should have a tight fit anyway.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

I have a temporary motor, 1/6 HP. Craftsman specifies a 1/3 HP motor for normal work, 1/2 HP for heavy work. I am guessing this may still work for doing light edge work.

Thats all for now, let me know what you think! :smile:


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## pianoman (Jan 16, 2008)

Hi, I`ve got the same jointer...except...the carrage plates that hold the cutter head are adjustable...I think your`s is newer than mine. Nice job restoring the machine! Rick


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

pianoman said:


> Hi, I`ve got the same jointer...except...the carrage plates that hold the cutter head are adjustable...I think your`s is newer than mine. Nice job restoring the machine! Rick


Thanks! How well does your jointer work, does it do well with hardwoods?


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## pianoman (Jan 16, 2008)

Mine does really well with hardwoods...which is about all I use. I`ve never tried jointing Birdseye Maple...I use my hand planes for that. But I`ll try it on my next tune-up. Rick


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

Well its all done! The place I ordered the bearings from kept screwing up my address. All the knobs and adjustments work extremely well. The blade (chuck?) spins around with no effort.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

Kinda odd, but it worked out well. I had trouble locating a motor. I found one, but it really lacked power. I got an idea to take a motor off of another appliance. I found a throw away bench grinder at the store. Coincidently, it had the exact recommended HP rating, the same shaft size as my jointer, and was exactly the correct height to directly couple the grinder to the jointer. So now I have both a grinder and a jointer. The only downsize is that it spins a little slower than Craftsman suggests, but it cuts well anyway. I just need to fix the table, I didn't anticipate it being used this way.

So let me know what you guys think! :smile:


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## jlhaslip (Jan 16, 2010)

As long as it works and nobody gets hurt...


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

Its no better or worse safety wise....although there is no belt to deal with. Just looks kinda funny with a grinder sticking out the back.


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

Cheese, you did a great job restoring that old Craftsman!! You saved something that might have gotten the heave-ho from somebody else, and I enjoyed following along during your restoration project. Just a thought, but if it's spinning too slowly you could bump it up with an appropriate size pulley and belt system off the grinder's arbor instead of a direct coupling. What speed is the grinder rated for and what speed does Craftsman recommend?


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks for the compliment! 

The grinder runs at 3500 rpm, Craftsman recommends 4500 rpm. I do have the pulleys to bump up the speed, but it was just sheer luck that the grinder was the exact height and shaft size to couple the two together. I think I may still save up and buy a 1/2 HP universal motor instead of the little squirrel cage (real motor type) motors that most of the smaller tools use. That way it looks a little more professional too. I have been shopping around, but to find a heavy duty motor that uses brushes are hard to find.


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## johnjf0622 (Feb 8, 2008)

well you can grind also when you find the need


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

I dropped some cash on a heavy duty 1/2 HP motor. I ran a four inch piece of pine across it, the motor didn't even flinch. I'll have to try that with a some maple. :shifty:

A am going to reinforce the cheapy table a little more and I should be able to enjoy my new tool.

Anyway, here is a video of it up and running, enjoy!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*A few observations*

Your rate of feed seems painfully slow. I know you're making a video so 
that may be the reason. I generally joint about twice that fast. Your 1/2HP motor will certainly not "flinch" at that rate and on an edge joint, but I wonder how it would work on a full face joint on a 6" maple board?
You may find it's a bit underpowered, but if it works for you then that's fine. :thumbsup:
Your hand position should shift to downward pressure on the outfeed table as soon as possible, again maybe it's to show in the video. But you will open yourself to "observations" such as mine. 
I would have liked to have seen more of the jointer itself on the video, but I realize you're trying to cram it all in the time limit. 
Thanks for being courageous enough to post this. And nice work on the restoration! :yes: bill
You may want to search jointer operation here for more suggestions on straightening an edge by "eyeing" the board first, then removing some from each end to speed up the process in a bowed board, etc.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

woodnthings said:


> Your rate of feed seems painfully slow. I know you're making a video so
> that may be the reason. I generally joint about twice that fast. Your 1/2HP motor will certainly not "flinch" at that rate and on an edge joint, but I wonder how it would work on a full face joint on a 6" maple board?
> You may find it's a bit underpowered, but if it works for you then that's fine. :thumbsup:
> Your hand position should shift to downward pressure on the outfeed table as soon as possible, again maybe it's to show in the video. But you will open yourself to "observations" such as mine.
> ...


Thanks for the advise, it is actually one of the first times I have used a jointer....as you can see. The table is just over 4 inch, so I can't do 6 inch maple on it. Craftsman recommended a 1/3 HP motor, and a 1/2 HP motor for large work. I choose the latter. I can see what it will do if I up the speed, it is in no way bogging down. I'm just playing with some practice wood. But my results are good thus far. The first board I cut is within 0.010 inch, so my results came out good, even if by accident. :smile: I'm open to advise any time.


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## chestnut905 (Apr 13, 2010)

I just picked up the same joiner from my dad last month (March 2010). It also is rusty and needs to be reconditioned. The screw (used to adjust the blade depth) is rusted and will not turn. How did you remove this when you restored your unit? I plan on tearing the entire thing down to clean and rebuild it. Also I will replace the bearing. What tool did you use to remove the bearing. Can I call you for further information?


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

chestnut905 said:


> I just picked up the same joiner from my dad last month (March 2010). It also is rusty and needs to be reconditioned. The screw (used to adjust the blade depth) is rusted and will not turn. How did you remove this when you restored your unit? I plan on tearing the entire thing down to clean and rebuild it. Also I will replace the bearing. What tool did you use to remove the bearing. Can I call you for further information?


That screw adjusts the right table height. I would hit it with wd40 and a wire brush. Then work the hand crank back and forth until it moves. Then remove all the parts. There are a number a v shaped slides that also could be dirty from dust. Make sure you clean those good.

The two bearings are held in by c clips. Just squeeze them and pull strait out. The bearings should pop right out if they are clean. Hit them with a hammer if they are rusted. Clean the opening with steel wool. The shaft the blade chuck rides on can be trickey to remove. Leave the c clips on the bearings. Remove all of the bolts on the chuck with an Allen key. Use a piece of soft metal or wood to hit against, tap the shaft out. Be very carfull not to knick or make that shaft blunt at the end. The shaft has a tight tolerance.


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

I have a 6" craftsman jointer, and that thing is a POS. I have tried setting it up several times, and it always yields unsatisfactory results. I am glad you got yours up and running properly.


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## dsm (Jan 6, 2010)

Colt W. Knight said:


> I have a 6" craftsman jointer, and that thing is a POS. I have tried setting it up several times, and it always yields unsatisfactory results. I am glad you got yours up and running properly.


Stuff sold in the 50's by Sears and Montgomery Ward was generally quite good. I have the same jointer, very well kept by my 91 year old father who has (thankfully) given up woodworking. Next to it is a Montgomery Ward band saw from the same era. Not fancy, but works like a charm.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

Colt W. Knight said:


> I have a 6" craftsman jointer, and that thing is a POS. I have tried setting it up several times, and it always yields unsatisfactory results. I am glad you got yours up and running properly.


Are the two tables parallel, are the blades parallel to the out table, are the blades still sharp? I do not have the best technique, but I generally have good results. On small boards I can straiten to 0.010 to 0.015 inch, I have had success straitening 8 foot boards to 0.050 inch. I have seen some wood shops that can do better on long pieces, but for what I do, I think I'm doing ok.


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## Just-a-Guy (Apr 13, 2010)

This is a good thread, I enjoyed the pics and narrative and have learned a couple of things from it. I had an old Rockwell jointer about the same size. Wish I still had it. I have a couple of Craftsman tools from the same era (small table saw, belt/disc sander), and I want to restore them one of these days. 

What do you think of the question of "restoring" vs "making useful again"? I mean, for example, do people put any stock in using the same paint (or at least color)? My own view is, I tend to care more about just continuing the useful life of the tool.


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

cheese9988 said:


> Are the two tables parallel, are the blades parallel to the out table, are the blades still sharp? I do not have the best technique, but I generally have good results. On small boards I can straiten to 0.010 to 0.015 inch, I have had success straitening 8 foot boards to 0.050 inch. I have seen some wood shops that can do better on long pieces, but for what I do, I think I'm doing ok.


 
Everything on my jointer is as square as I can make it. I have spoken to a few others who have the same model, and they also get poor results. I think this particular model is just junk. 

Now that I have my 8" parallelogram jointer, my boards all come out just as flat as the beds on my jointer. I love it. I ussually only joint pieces less than 36" inches though. I still haven't tried any long boards, but this jointer is massive, it should probably handle them with ease. 

The refurbished jointer looks great though.


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## terrible timmy (Jun 19, 2018)

*parts for old craftsman jointer*

looking for parts craftsman jointer model 10320670


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