Photo Index - Beaver Power Tools, Callander Foundry - 3800

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Beaver Power Tools, Callander Foundry
Guelph, ON

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Jointer
Machine Size:	6"
Submitted By:	Garrick Neal

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	3800
Date of Manufacturer:	1952-1953
Serial Number:	11786
Last Updated	4/10/2009 10:55:01 AM

Comments:

This is my Beaver 3800 Jointer finished and ready for using. There was no guard when I bought it, so I made one from 5/8 aluminum rod and cedar. (Copied form Craig Morley's steel and plywood detailed instructions he sent me.) The post had to be filed down a bit to fit the the sleeve. I glued in a 1-1/2" peice of hardwood dowel, where the post hole goes to give better perch for the aluminum post. The post I made some verticle grooves in for good registartion, and epoxied it into the dowel. I also added a steel pin through the cedar, the dowel and the post. I used 3/32" shims on the tables, to set the guard plate on while the epoxy dried. This left the guard exactly 3/32" off the table. I also routed a 1/16" slot on the bottom to clear the knives, in case the guard somehow got pushed down onto the cutter head.

I leveled the whole table to about 3 thousands of an inch, which is the best I could do because there is a dip in the infeed table about 1/4 the way from the cutter head. There was a 5 thou tilt between the the two tables across the 6 inch width, and a slight droop at the beginning of the infeed table. Interestingly, the extension rollers were parrallel to their respective tables. I decided to shim the front edge of the infeed table instead of the back edge of the outfeed table, so I could keep an eye on the shims. A slightly thicker shim is on the bottom than on the top, to make up for the droop. I used peices of a $2 (Canadian) feeler gauge set for this. The knives I managed to get within about 1 thou. I can still feel the difference when I turn the blades over a straight edge, but a little wear on the knives might even that out. There is some kind of relgion setting knives in jointers.

Woodgears.ca has a page: http://woodgears.ca/jointer/knives.html
that uses Pythagorean Theorem to get the knives the same height. Basically it says that if you get the knive (as it turns) to move a ruler from the outfeed table towards the infeed table 1/10 of an inch or less, you have the knives all within one-thousand of an inch. This set-up also sets the outfeed table a thou or less lower than the knives, which is critical for good jointing. The outfeed table should never be higher than the top of the knives. Watch for wear on the knives, as this will reduce their height.

The fence was the bear. It had a severe twist in it...about 16 thou at the infeed end. Cast iron can be bent! but carefully. I made up a torsion system, locked the anti-twist in place, and tested again, then again, then again. I wasn't getting the movement I wanted with the most I dared to bend it, so I applied a little heat, not enough that I could not touch the metal, then let it cool while in torsion....and that worked. My guess was very close. I over torqued it by less than a thou. It now has a twist of 0.15 degrees.

I thought I had sealed the chip chute/drawer very well but it seems no matter how much duct tape I use, some does still escape. I am thinking about adding a small vacuum to the cavity, not to suck up the chips, but to create negative air pressure to prevent woodchip leakage. I would have to put a screen on it to prevent the chips from getting in what will be a small vacuum canister. I would be happy if it took up any dust though.

The little history I know, I wrote about in the photo index under Callander Foundry and Manufacturing, though the nameplate indicates that Rockwell had purchased the company by the time this one came out.

Photo 1:

Comments: The Jointer on my stand
Source: My Digital Camera

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Photo 2:

Comments: Chip Drawer with some chips
Source: My Digital Camera

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Photo 3:

Comments: Serial Number 11786
Source: My Digital Camera

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Photo 4:

Comments: Note the custom made handle for the fence tilt. It requires a light touch
Source: My Digital Camera

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Photo 5:

Comments: Showing the Stand
Source: My Digital Camera

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Photo 6:

Comments: Rockwell Manufacturing Co. of Canada Ltd.
Source: My Digital Camera

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