Jointer questions here and there, jointer questions everywhere!

[Steve Meliza]

What makes a big difference in the answers is knowing what type of work you plan to be doing, the woods you'll be using, any space or budget limitations, and if time is a priority or not.

Norm used a 6" DJ-15 for a number of years before he got an 8" DJ-20, but he also notes that he buys the flattest boards that he can so that he doesn't have to face joint. The advise I often see is to get an 8" jointer with spiral cutter head, or even 10" or 12" if you can afford it (or a combo machine), but I find it difficult to justify spending 5x of what I paid for my table saw for a jointer only to have it overwhelm a dust collector costing 10x less than it. Not to mention size and weight issues with some of those monsters. I'm pondering these same questions and haven't answered them for myself so I look forward to the discussion.

[Rod Sheridan]

I went from an 8" General Jointer and 14" planer to a 12" Hammer A3-31 combo.

Best move I ever made.

The wider jointer allows you to surface wider material, or skew the material for difficult grain.

The cartridge knives do a great job on the wood and don't require adjustment.

The planer is excellent, zero snipe, powerful 4 HP motor, and I have the digital height gauge on mine, excellent.

The combo is less expensive than comparable separates, the jointer it replaced is about $4k, the planer near $6K, and it saves space and has more jointing capacity.

They only thing I regret is not buying a Euro combo instead of the separates, could have saved a lot of money.......Rod.

[Carl Beckett]

I went from a 6" to an 8" jointer (and most recently to a 12", but too new to me to make intelligent recommendations on that..... on the other hand, 'intelligent' recommendations is a somewhat relative and subjective thing.... but that wont stop me)

There were frequently times when my stock exceeded the 6".

Significantly fewer times when it exceeded 8". In fact, for purchased lumber this 8" was sufficient.

And not that expensive - I just sold my 8", in like new condition, for $450. I dont like being flippant with other peoples budgets, but you might pay $300 for a used 6" - I think the extra cost would be worth it.

[Andrew Joiner]

I never found the need to go back to owning and maintaining a jointer.

I use planer sleds and straight line rip jigs. They work fine and they're simple and cheap.

I bought a new Powermatic 6" jointer in 1970 and used it in my cabinet shop for 3 or 4 years. I was buying S2S stock, and ran the edges thru the jointer.

Then I found out it's more cost efficient and easier to buy lumber S3S. A good blade and a decent table saw set-up beats a jointer for me, especially on long stock edges. Oh and even a cheap rip blade won't ever chip out an edge like a jointer knife can.

Recently I got a deal on some beautiful rough planks. I ran it thru a lunch box planer on a sled and straight lined the edge on the table saw with a jig.

Even if I had a source for lots of cheap rough lumber,I would still flatten it with a planer and a sled. Every time I run a piece thru I smile cause it's power feed flattening. Holding down long heavy stock to a jointer table is hard work. I mostly mill 8' or longer stock.

Sleds can be lightweight.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ot-Planer-Sled

You don't have to get complicated on the shims.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...-hot-melt-glue

[Sam Murdoch]

Andrew - that was an eyeopener for me . Now I know one way to solve an occasional serious deficiency in my little shop. Still, with respect - I would not trade in an 8" jointer for the sled option. The sled would augment the jointer not replace it. BUT - I don't have an 8" jointer so...

Sam