8" jointer but very high shipping costs
I'm wanting an 8" jointer and live up in rural Alaska where shipping is by jet or by barge in summertime. If I want to buy a 500 lb. jointer, say from Seattle and ship to here in Nome, then a rough Alaska Air calculator gives something like $650 for shipping. Barge would be somewhat cheaper but it is a 3 week journey and first barge won't leave for a few months yet. I doubt I could get it much below $1/pound.. even shipping from Anchorage.
So curious what kind of jointer people might try to get based on weight. I've looked at Matthias's homemade jointer using an old planer (I have an old Ryobi 10" that snipes so bad I want to get rid of it) and could try that, but that is a lot of work for questionable results (in my hands). Or I've seen other cutterheads advertised here and there. I've seen that little $350 (or whatever) Jet benchtop unit but it doesn't look all that practical for my needs. I do like to do a bit of boat building and being able to joint longer pieces would be beneficial.
I've googled around a lot looking at weights of various brands but curious if anyone here has ideas?
cheers, Jim