Yorkcraft vs. Sunhill: 8" Jointer & 15" Planer

[David Dixson]

Can you fellas help me discern where the best value is between the machines described below? Both companies seem to offer good value and while I'm not in a hurry, I'd like to get the most for my money.

I've been looking real hard at two products from Wilke Machinery, the Yorkcraft (Made in China) YC-8J 8" Jointer (1.5HP, 3 Knife cutterhead with built in wheels) and the YC-15P 15" Planer (3HP motor below table, Cast iron bed and feed tables, with built in wheels). Cost, shipping included with lift delivery for both to my location is $1687.00. I had about made the decision to purchase these two at the same time and save $30.00 by combining shipping costs (Shipping costs $300.00 to ship them separately and $239.00 combined.). Unfortunately, the jointer is out of stock presently and the website states the current prices are for "stock on hand" meaning the price is basically a closeout price and very likely to change when they get new stock in March, though I haven't yet asked what the price on the out of stock jointer will be when it comes in or if I go ahead and place an order now.

On the other hand, Sunhill (Made in Taiwan by Geetech.) is offering their CT-204L 8" Jointer (2HP 4 Knife cutterhead, no built in wheels) and their CT-204L 15" Planer (3HP motor above table, cast iron bed, infeed & outfeed tables are laminated MDF, with built in wheels) for $895.00 apiece, delivered. This brings their cost to my door to $1790.00. If I order these through their east coast distributor, I gain a $30.00 discount and get them delivered to me fro $1760.00 if I order before the 31st, after which their free shipping special goes away. Also, there is no lift included, so I'll likely have to pick them up at the local freight company (next town over).

What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Dave

[Ken Garlock]

Hi David. I bought the Sunhill 8" jointer a couple months ago. I finally got it set up recently, and it can joint a board to be as smooth as a babies bottom I compared the offerings from Wilke, Bridgewood and Yorkcraft, to the Sunhill jointer, and decided that the Sunhill is the better machine, 2 hp motor, 4 blade head.

Regarding the planer, I don't like the Sunhill planers because they look cheap -- Plastic infeed/outfeed tables. The Yorkcraft has steel infeed/outfeed and built in casters for moving it. To me the Yorkcraft is an easy winner

[John Miliunas]

David, take this FWIW. I'm not familiar with any of the products you're looking at. I am, however, familiar with another aspect of the purchase and that is Customer Service. No competition there: Wilke has it all over Sunhill. I've purchased three major products from Wilke and had minor issues with two of them. Wilke took care of me within 3 days! I purchased one product from Sunhill, had some major issues with it and it still did not get resolved properly. I first received the product a week and a half ago and still can't use it. They ship replacement or missing parts the cheapest, slowest way they can, even though you've already paid for the equipment up front and now can't use it. Currently, from Wilke, I still own the Yorkcraft lathe (they don't carry it any longer) and the BW10LTS cabinet saw. I used to have a 2HP dust collector from them until I moved and stepped up to a cyclone. I would not hesitate to go with Wilke. Give them a call and see if they won't honor today's price on the out of stock item for when they come in. Worth a try. Good luck whatever your decision.

[David Dixson]

Ken,

I think you hit the crux of the problem with the first shot. I know the Sunhill jointer is the better jointer and the Yorkcraft Planer is the better planer. But is the difference between the better tools worth the difference in additional shipping costs and added cost for a mobile base for the Sunhill jointer?

This is where I got hung up and in all honesty, being a hobbyist that hasn't owned a planer yet (I do own a 6" HF jointer I've been doing ok with.) I'm don't know enough to make the distinction. I do know I am quickly growing from a woodworking standpoint and am have quickly lost interest in the hobbyist tools I've been buying. (I also have an opportunity to possibly sell some outdoor furniture, but I'll discuss that in another post.)

Thank you,

Dave

[David LaRue]

David,

I have the Yorkcraft 8" jointer. I had some initial issues with it and Wilke took care of them. However, the fence mechanisim on the Yorkcraft / Delta pro sticks out really far. The finish I get on mine is very smooth. You might check into the blade setting mechanism on the Sunhill. The Yorkie does not have springs on the jack screw, which makes setting the blades a bit harder. Hope this helps.

D

[David Dixson]

John,

Good and valid point. While these medium sized tools may not be a major purchase for some, for me they cost a good bit. I'll be concerned about customer service and responsiveness, especially if I will be using them to make money with.

Dave

[John Miliunas]

This is NOT meant to knock Ken or his choice, but there are a lot of very premium jointers out there with the three knife setup and they work quite well. On the other hand, I've got the Delta DJ-20, which some folks feel is one of the higher standards one. True enough, I guess, but when the blades are sharp and the blade depths are right on, it makes beautiful cuts. I suppose I have little patience for the "tuning up" part of it and, I'm starting to use a bit more in the way of figured woods. So, I'm keeping the great design and stability of the Delta, but getting rid of those pesky blades. My helical cutterhead is on order, though probably won't be here for another 3 weeks or so. I guess my main point here is, I hate doing the three blades I have; To worry about a fourth one would really drive me bananas!

[JayStPeter]

Well, I'll throw in my .02. I like the GeeTech jointers better than the Delta/Yorkcraft twins. So, I'd either go with Sunhill or Grizzly for the jointer. My reason is that the Delta/Yorkcraft have a rack and pinion fence that sticks out a foot behind the jointer. You won't be able to push it against a wall. Otherwise, at that price range, a jointer is a jointer.

I've been looking at 15" planers lately. If I was buying today it would be a Yorkcraft. It also has a built in mobile base. It seems like the best bang for the buck. Also , look at this months PWW, it has a review of 15" planers.

Jay

[Brian Hale]

I'm with John on this one, Wilke is the way to go. I've got 4 of their machines and each is a thing of beauty but the customer service (what very little i've needed, mostly questions) is right at the top.

As far as Sunhill vs Yorkcraft....... I've not had the chance to use a sunhill product or customer service but i have been at the Wilke showroom many times and looking at the Bridgewood machines next to the Yorkcraft machines, the main differance is the paint and country of orgin. The yorkcraft's fit and finish is just a bit lower than the Bridgewood's; you might see a paint run or specks on the cast iron surfaces, some areas where 2 castings meet aren't perfect but it is all cosmetic.

Having said that, in the past year or so i've noticed these "defects" disappearing.

All the handles, knobs and movements operate with the same feel as the Bridgewood and Delta machines on the showroom floor. The machine weights are also very similar.

The jointer being out of stock isn't surprising. They are selling the heck out of the Yorkcraft line, way beyond what they planned on as they continue to get good reviews from the trade mags. I'm sure you've considered it but you could "step up" to the Bridgewood which is made in Tiwain instead of China. An additional $300....

Brian

I have no association with Wilke except that i'm one Very Happy customer.

[craig lapiana]

i got in my tools a few weeks back and will be setting them up shortly. i debated between yorkcraft, woodteck and sunhill. items for yorkcraft where on backorder and shipping was very expensive even with the shipping discount going on in Dec., , the woodteck machines scared me with the colors and then after one phone call to sunhill i decided to place my order with them. very friendly, very good shipping and everything was in stock. i also liked the idea that the machines are made in Taiwan not China like yorkcraft machines. the bigger motor and extra blade on the jointer was icing on the cake. everything showed up quickly in order and i hope to set everything up in a few weeks. cant wait! sunhill is having a free shipping sale going on now which is pretty decent. give them a call and they will work with you with pricing at least they did with me since i was buying 2 machines and or they will toss in a free set of blades.

[David Dixson]

Thank you for your comments. They'ved helped me to get a better perspective and to sort out additional things to think about, allowing me to make a solid decision.

Since we're "iced in" here in Northeast Georgia today, I decided to give Wilke a call and get a better understanding of the build of both their Yorkcraft and Bridgewood lines. They were quite patient with me and explained all the features of both lines.

Apparently the Bridgewood line has the machine made in Taiwan, with (for the items I asked about) Baldor motors for the higher end machinery and Taiwan made motors for the lower end of the Bridgewood line, such as the 8" jointer. This line is designed to compete against higher end machinery, but the 15" Planer (Taiwan motor) is a lower "duty cycle" much like the Yorkcraft line (more serious hobbyist or smaller professional shop), while the 20" Planers are serious industrial machines designed for fast, hard use in larger volume shops, with weight and prices reflecting their intention. The Bridgewood 8" Jointer (4 blade & Baldor motor) is also Taiwanese made. The Baldor motors are expensive and reflect a good bit of the cost of the Bridgewood 8" jointer over the Yorkcraft 8" jointer.

The Yorkcraft line, on the other hand, was designed to be very cost competitive for serious hobbyists and smaller professional shops. The equipment is designed to be much better than the cheapie hobbyist machinery out there, providing a reasonable duty cycle with the quality performance one expects from heavier duty tools without "breaking the bank" as it were. The Yorkcraft 8" jointer is entirely Chinese as is the 15" planer, with the 20" planer having a 5 HP Taiwanese motor. Wilke has sold enough machines (and provided service for them) at this point to determine the Chinese are making good, solid 1.5 and 3 HP motors, though the 5HP chinese motor hasn't gotten the nod from Wilke. The 20" Yorkie planer has the same "duty cycle" as the 15" Yorkie and the 15" Bridgewood, but is not equivalent in weight or duty cycle to the 20" Bridgewood. But at less than half the cost of the 980 pound Bridgewood 20" planer, it's not expected to perform in the high volume heavy duty professional shop league.

At this point, I've decided to go ahead and purchase the Yorkcraft 8" jointer and 15" planer. Here are my reasons:

1. Combined shipping costs make them less expensive to my door and I can use the saved money to buy other tools or wood.

2. While the rack and pinion fence on the Yorkcraft jointer sticks out the back, I have a fairly large 2 car basement garage so I have the room to store it. (We don't put cars in the garage in Georgia.)

3. While I like the Sunhill jointer a bit better, the lack of a built in mobile base adds additional costs onto the already slightly higher shipping costs (California to Georgia) while I've not seen overwhelming commentary the 4th blade gives superior finish capabilities for the additional cost of the 4th blade replacement (thinking long term here).

4. In the planer area, I prefer the below the table motor setup, which Yorkcraft has. Additionally, those feed tables on the Sunhill just look cheap and flimsey, even if they're more than durable enough, I don't like them.

5. Finally, my experience with my Harbor Freight 6" jointer and 14" bandsaw has taught me that chinese maachines are not always entirely junk. I have been happy with the performance of both. They taught me also that I wanted more serious machinery than the Ryobi BT3000 table saw I started out with (and plan on replacing with a cabinet saw) because of their rugged construction. Frankly, I've been well pleased with the HF's jointer performance and wouldn't be replacing it if it were an 8" with longer beds. It does a good job, it's just a bit too small for me.

Did I miss anything?

Thanks again,

Dave

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I live in York, PA about 10 minutes from Wilke. I have a couple of their products, but neither of these. A lot of folks in this area have the 8" Jointer and love it. I have used a buddies quite a bit and find it to be an excellent machine. The 15" planer is an awesome value. Seeing it in person there at the Wilke store definately put it on my 2006 acquisition list. And yes, the folks ther are absolutely great. The guy that does the page layout for the magazine has a part time job in my office and he metioned where he worked and what great group of folks they were. Real nice kid. Only advice I have for Wilke is work on the advertising budget. I was driving to Muncy PA (2 hours away) to buy Griz products and had this right in my back yard completely unknown to me!