Photo Index - Northfield Foundry & Machine Co. - HD 12" jointer

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Northfield Foundry & Machine Co.
Northfield, MN

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Jointer
Machine Size:	12"
Submitted By:	Jason Wood

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	HD 12" jointer
Date of Manufacturer:	1965
Serial Number:	654587 K
Last Updated	1/24/2009 2:54:46 PM

Comments:

I saw this jointer on an Ebay store site posted by a machine dealer in the Chicago area. I drove from the Twin Cites to look at it with a strong probability of purchasing it. When inspecting it I noticed that it had been repainted and new safety decals applied. I checked the tables and they were pretty much dead flat. The cutter head was 2 thousandths of an inch high on the side towards the operator, and the bearings were shot. Also, the elevating screw gears on the in feed table were very loose. I tried jointing a board, but the knives were so dull that I couldn’t get any idea of how good it could potentially cut. If I changed the knives and got rid of the Surty guard it would be an acceptable jointer, however I decided to go all out and take it to the Northfield foundry and have it rebuilt.

Jeff Mahacheck at Northfield was very kind and let me participate in the rebuild by doing some of the work at the Northfield Foundry. I am lucky enough to have Fridays off and live an hour and a half away from Northfield, so I did all the unskilled labor on the rebuild. John, the guy that builds jointers at Northfield, completely disassembled it, except for the feet and dust chute. I then sanded, filled in the defects with bondo, sanded again, and primed it. It was then reassembled, new electrical system installed, dynamically balanced, tested, and repainted.

This machine weighs 1650 lbs. I never realized how massive that is until I had to lift and move the tables to sand and prime them. Now that I have had it torn down and lifted some of its parts, it gives me a different view of how solid and sturdy these machines are.

The cutter head had years of grit, grime and rust built up on it, so it was put in a lathe and lightly buffed so it shined like new again. Also, when it was disassembled, there was a 2 thousandths shim under the yoke towards the operators side that housed the cutter head. It turns out that this shim was the reason that the cutter head was 2 thousandths high when I initially measured it. When they reassembled it, it was dead even with the out feed table all the way across. I figure that it had been taken apart and put together sometime in the past and was improperly measured and then given the shim. This is why I had Northfield do the rebuild and not me.

I had a great time working on my jointer and having them rebuild it. From talking with the employees at Northfield it is obvious that they take pride in and enjoy their work. These people are true craftsmen that care about the machines they build and it was evident the whole time they were working on this machine. Below are some pictures of my jointer in different stages of the rebuild. I will have finished pictures on a later posting.

Photo 1:

Comments: This is the jointer as I purchased it from the Machine Dealer.
Source: Machine Dealer

Direct Link
IMG Code

Photo 2:

Comments: Here it is torn down at the Northfield Foundry waiting for me to sand, bondo, resand, and prime it.
Source: Jason Wood

Direct Link
IMG Code

Photo 3:

Comments: Here is the infeed table and incline block after priming. In the background are 32" bandsaw wheel gaurds and a table saw base casting.
Source: Jason Wood

Direct Link
IMG Code

Photo 4:

Comments: The jointer is reassembled and I have applied bondo to the obvious casting defects to smooth it out.
Source: Jason Wood

Direct Link
IMG Code

Photo 5:

Comments: This is a back view after I sanded the bono down. John has attatched a new eletrical system and is waiting for the motor to be fixed before mounting.
Source: Jason Wood

Direct Link
IMG Code

Photo 6:

Comments: Here is the front view after final sanding.
Source: Jason Wood

Direct Link
IMG Code