Paralellogram VS. Wedge Bed Jointers

[Rob Will]

Which would you pick and why?
Both are Tiawan Imports.

Oliver 4270 16" Jointer.
Wedge bed. 7.5 hp, 102" bed 1750 lbs.

or

Powermatic PJ1696 16" Jointer.
Paralellogram. 7.5 hp, 96" bed 1280 lbs.

[Jay T. Marlin]

Neither....

www.extremausa.com

$4200 for the 16" model.

You can get it in single phase I think.

[Rob Will]

The Extrema looks interesting.....let's add a few choices.
Which jointer would you choose and why?

Oliver 4270 16" Jointer.
(helical cutterhead) ($6100)
Wedge bed. 7.5 hp, 102" bed 1750 lbs.

or

Powermatic PJ1696 16" Jointer.
(helical cutterhead) ($5500)
Paralellogram. 7.5 hp, 96" bed 1280 lbs.

or

Extrema EJ-16 16" Jointer
(helical cutterhead) (price ?)
Paralellogram, 5 hp, 100" bed (weight?)

or

Grizzly G9953GXF 16" Jointer
(helical cutterhead) ($5295)
Paralellogram, 5 hp, 99" bed, 1700 lbs.

or

Mini Max Formula F1 16" Jointer
(Tersa cutterhead) ($7995)
Paralellogram, 6.6 hp, 104" bed, 1700 lbs.<!-- / message -->

[Brian Hale]

You might check out the one from Wilke.....

http://www.wilkemachinery.com/defaul...skudatarq=2356

$3995 for the bladed model and $4795 with true sprial cutterhead.

Brian

[Rob Will]

Oliver 4270 16" Jointer.
(helical cutterhead) ($6100)
Wedge bed. 7.5 hp, 102" bed 1750 lbs.

or

Powermatic PJ1696 16" Jointer.
(helical cutterhead) ($5500)
Paralellogram. 7.5 hp, 96" bed 1280 lbs.

or

Extrema EJ-16 16" Jointer
(helical cutterhead) (price ?)
Paralellogram, 5 hp, 100" bed (weight?)

or

Grizzly G9953GXF 16" Jointer
(helical cutterhead) ($5295)
Paralellogram, 5 hp, 99" bed, 1700 lbs.

or

Mini Max Formula F1 16" Jointer
(Tersa cutterhead) ($7995)
Paralellogram, 6.6 hp, 104" bed, 1700 lbs.

or

Bridgewood BW-16JS 16" Jointer
(Helical cutterhead) ($4795)
Paralellogram, 7.5 hp, 98" bed, (weight?)

[Brian Hale]

The Bridgewood weight is 1415 lbs (net). It's listed next to the price

Brian

[Paul B. Cresti]

Not a real comparison. The MiniMax F1 is high quality production jointer the other ones are nothing more than Asian import clones. The Asian importants are there to meet a price point the F1 is not. If you want to really compare European jointers also include SCM, Griggio, SAC, Caselin, Martin, Felder..... As I have said to others do not compare Asian imports to these types of machines they are in a completely different class. If you want to look at any other currently produced machinery for comparison sake then look at Northfield.

[Richard Wolf]

If you are interest in the Mini Max F1 which is a great jointer, it is on sale for $7000 dollars until the end of the year or they have a few that came in with the standard head, not the tersa, for $5,500. You could upgrade the head later. I know everyone loves the "new" high proformance heads, but these machine work great with the standard head and $1500 goes along way toward the next machine on your list.

Richard

[Jim Becker]

Just to address one part of the original question, the parallelogram design is supposed to keep the edge of the infeed table exactly the same distance from the cutters no matter what the depth of cut setting. Theoretically, that could result in more consistant performance, although I also suspect that most people wouldn't notice it very much since we all tend to set the thing at 1/32" or whatever and leave it there! (My MM FS 350 jointer/planer is a parallelogram design)

I do think that the advanced cutter heads make a difference is many ways; some for how well they handle "knarly" stock and others, like the Tersa, which give a good cut and are a snap to change...no resetting. But Richard does make a good point about saving a few bucks if that helps you get into a stronger machine.

I will also say that jointers are relatively simple machines, so the point of origin is less important...that's a personal preference item.

[Dev Emch]

Somebody has to do this. If I had to buy a new jointer and I was looking for the top of the heap interms of quality above and beyond that packaged in the two jointers mentioned, there would be no doubt which jointer I would pursue.

The infamous MARTIN T-54.

[Rob Will]

Jim,
I suppose I'm hi-jacking my own thread here.....
When it comes to insert heads, do the square cut inserts work as well as those with some shearing action?
Rob

[Jim Becker]

When it comes to insert heads, do the square cut inserts work as well as those with some shearing action?

Hmmm...I can only speculate since I don't have any experience with the insert heads. Shearing is a good thing. But sharp cutters are a big part of the battle, so I suspect it matters what kind of material you are working if you will see a difference. That "knarly stuff" I've mentioned certainly benefits from any kind of shearing cut you can muster, including putting it though on an angle. (Wider jointers make that easer, too... ) For straight, regular stock...less of an advantage. The Tersa knives on my MM J/P give a really nice cut and they are aligned straight across the machine. I do tend to angle things when I can for an even better finish, especially when there is some "action" in the figure.

[Dev Emch]

Jim,
I suppose I'm hi-jacking my own thread here.....
When it comes to insert heads, do the square cut inserts work as well as those with some shearing action?
Rob

Another thing to consider is back bevelling the knives. David Marks does this on his huge American jointer with excellent results.

[John Scane]

Rob,
I got your private message and replied with a lengthy answer to your question only to find out that your not set up to accept private messages. I basically said I liked the Oliver Jointer that I have but have no experience with the parallelogram jointers. I also like the spiral cutterhead and it gives a really nice srface when the blades are new.

[Jay T. Marlin]

Not a real comparison. The MiniMax F1 is high quality production jointer the other ones are nothing more than Asian import clones. The Asian importants are there to meet a price point the F1 is not. If you want to really compare European jointers also include SCM, Griggio, SAC, Caselin, Martin, Felder..... As I have said to others do not compare Asian imports to these types of machines they are in a completely different class. If you want to look at any other currently produced machinery for comparison sake then look at Northfield.

Have you ever used a 16" asian import jointer? Ignore the cheesey blade guard and give me a good reason why you think the European machines are such superior machines.