The jointer quest continues

[joe maday]

Upgrading from a 6" 54 PM jointer has been on my mind for a while... I know what I wish I could get (12") but space, movability and money(mostly) are the reality that must be acounted for. I have a chance to get Delta DJ-20 made in brazil model jointer for 800.00. It has small dots of light rust on the beds from sitting idle in a basement, one rust spot about the size of a credit card is at the begining of the infeed table, not by the knives. If I purchase this delta how would it compare to a grizzly G0490? Not factoring shipping the prices are about the same, by adding a Byrd cutterhead it still comes close to the grizzly G0490X. Are the made in brazil model delta jointers better? Shinny, rust free and warranty worth 150.00? I know the Delta would clean up real nice ....except maybe the little corosion on the far end of the infeed table. Are the older Delta/invicta machines better quallity than the newer models? Is the jump from a 6" to an 8" jointer that beneficial?
More food for thought...

[David Kumm]

The Brazil jointers were quite good. If you are close enough to take a straight edge and feeler gauges you can give it the real test. The problem with newer jointers is they don't have as flat a tables as many older ones. Within .002-.004 is good. If the infeed is a little off that is better than the outfeed and level across the width is more important than alaong the length. Whatever the tables show they are unlikely to move anymore so if good you are golden. Dave

[joe maday]

The Brazil jointers were quite good. If you are close enough to take a straight edge and feeler gauges you can give it the real test. The problem with newer jointers is they don't have as flat a tables as many older ones. Within .002-.004 is good. If the infeed is a little off that is better than the outfeed and level across the width is more important than alaong the length. Whatever the tables show they are unlikely to move anymore so if good you are golden. Dave

So all things equal....Older brazil DJ-20 ( with a little rust, cleaned up) better than new Grizzly G0490? How about the bryd shelix head VS the grizzly spiral head?

[joe maday]

Just bumping the thread

[Russell Sansom]

I can't exactly answer your question but I can possibly give you a bit of data.
I moved up from a DJ-15 to a DJ-20 when the bigger jointer showed up locally for a decent price. For the first question: I have a big pile of wood from the 70's and not all of it is 6" or less. I am very happy with the wider jointer.
but what everybody says is true...it would still be nice to have a 12-incher.
The reality, though, is that I can put 85% or 90% of my boards through the dj-20 jointer. The other 10 or 15% I flatten by hand. It's so rare, I'd just as well do it this way so I get the maximum thickness when I'm done. But if I had a 10" or a 12" jointer, I'd use it. So, you ought to be able to look at how many boards you have that are greater than 8 inches and decide from there. A 12" jointer is too big for my garage shop.

I added the Byrd head and I don't have the slightest regret. It was painless to do. I just found changing the conventional knives too fiddly and unpleasant. I got pretty good at it. But still, If I got a nick in 3 blades it ruined my day and I got tired of the jointer emotional roller coaster and the loss of an hour to swap in another set of blades. Not to mention the dollar signs flashing past my eyes every time this happened. I figure another 10 hours of jointing and the byrd head will almost have paid for itself in replacement blades and my time sharpening and swapping sets out. It consistently yields a superior finish and performs as people say on figured wood and swimming grain.

Finally, I'm under the impression that the Brazilian DJ-20 is as good as its predecessors. I don't have 1st-hand experience, but I read a lot and that's the impression I got. I think the fit and finish is identical to the American-made models. Let me add, that .002" or .004" shallow spots might be a little wishful. I mapped mine out and I believe I had little lake-shaped depressions that went down .006" or maybe even .008" deep. But the adjustment mechanism to get the beds coplaner is very easy to use ( But you have to borrow or, like me, construct a straight edge at least 5 feet long ) ( OK, maybe 4 feet long would work ). No matter what, I'd want to set it up afresh myself unless the previous owner was a mill wright. OH. One more thing. My fence is not square along its length. I've seen the complaint lot. The fence on my DJ-15 was perfect. My solution was to glue a strip of good hardwood on the fence and hand plane it until it was 90-degrees to the bed from its front to its back. If you go through an exhaustive search you'll find various forum discussions along these same lines.

I posted a long essay on what my DJ-20 needed and what I did to it. As an example, the dust collection chute is close to worthless as shipped and needs to be "plugged up" inside. And the motor mounts are backwards ( as shipped ) on what seems to be the majority of them. They were assembled in the US, or mine was, and for some reason the US factory just got it backwards. If you can't find the essay with a search here, send me a PM and I'll scare up a copy to send you.
Good luck,
Russ

[Phil Thien]

but what everybody says is true...it would still be nice to have a 12-incher.

I had an Inca 8-5/8" wide jointer (it is Euro and metric). I sold it, and decided I'd use my planer (a Dewalt) to "face-joint" boards.

Compared to using a jointer, it is pretty darn slow. I get great results, but slowly.

That said, I find myself much less frustrated by wide stock.

If I got another jointer, I'd really want at least a 10" model.

[joe maday]

What about the "half and half" method of jointing wide boards? If using a 8" jointer, face joint a 12"-15 wide board then turn around and joint the other half. I realise it would be against thegrain but if shelix cutters are used wouldn't the tearout be minimized and the board be flattened on one face enough to put through a 15 inch planer?

[joe maday]

Russel i tried to PM you but your mailbox is full, Could you send or post a link to the Essay on the DJ-20?

[Russell Sansom]

Joe,
Sorry about the mailbox. It always catches me by surprise. I have the essay and some other set up links. I'll ship it to you by the end of the day; currently up to my hip pockets in alligators.
russ