MagnaSet Jointer Jig

Darren Brown asked: I was just looking at the Magna Set jig for setting jointer knives. Does anyone have any experience or opinions about this jig? Is it a miracle or more useless trash designed to separate poor unsuspecting woodworkers from their hard-earned cash?

Marty: I use one of these to set mine. It doesn't take long at all. Just need to get a convex adapter for the dial gauge. It's quick and easy to set your knives to within a couple thousandths. Bob Vaughan did a really good video for Fine Woodworking on doing the setup.

Jim: I've used Magnaset since '92. Works great, accurate, really quick.

Mike Circo: I bought one. Spent over three hours trying to set the knives correctly. Never could get a good setup with this gadget. I found it useless. Finally I used the technique described in Harvey Smith's Jointer Knife Adjustment article (old Badger Pond article archived here on WoodCentral). I was done in 20 minutes and the results were perfect. Try the free technique first and if you can't do it that way for some reason, then try the Magnaset.

Tony in Memphis: I like mine. I've used it several times. I got the plastic model and it is a bit warped, but it still works. For me, it works as an extra hand. I set the outfeed with a dial indicator and also check to make sure all the knives are equal. As a matter of fact, I'll be going through this all very soon as I discovered a pretty nasty spot in all three knives…not sure what I hit with them.

Ray Newman: More often than not, I have a very low frustration level. I finally gave up trying to set the knives and I tried several jigs over the years. I now use the double edged replaceable blades from Dispoza-Knife. It now takes a matter of a few minutes to change each knife on my 8" Jet. The initial cost was about $275 USD, but the time saved and the ability to change knives and not be tied to the local sharpening service (which is hit or miss on quality control) justified the cost. Doubled edge 8" replacement knives go for approximately $28 USD and 6" are cheaper. The system really paid for itself one Sunday afternoon, when I had to replace the blades (both sides of the original set were dulled) to mill some lumber.