So I've gotten permission to spend about a grand on a Jointer. I'm looking at 8" ones because everyone seems to say that if you get a 6" you'll regret it, and a 12" would be to expensive, plus not really fit so well. I'm just a hobbiest, working in my basement. I plan on building a bedroom set, and maybe a couple other pieces of furniture in the not to distant future. I do use figured woods from time to time, but not all that frequently.
I'm trying to decide between a Grizzly G490X (8", 3hp, lever type, Spiral head), the Grizzly G0593 (8", 3HP, Wheel type, Spiral head), or a used Powermatic 60B (8" 2HP, Lever type, traditional blades)that appears to be in great condition.
The spiral heads on the grizzlys is a big draw for me, as I don't want to have to go get the whole set of blades sharpened each time I put a nick in it, and I'm not sure I will be able to do a good job aligning the blades. The better build qualilty of the Powermatic is very attractive though.
So anyone have any thoughts? And sorry about the yet another jointer thread=.