New guy with a jointer question

[Mark Furjanic]

The kids are grown and I'm going to have time to get back into a little woodworking, looking to buy my first jointer. I'm leaning towards an 8" Grizzly right now but a 6" would fit in the shop easier. As I understand it I'd take my rough cut lumber and face joint it first, then put the newly flat face against the fence and joint one edge, then off to the table saw. If I bought a 6" jointer and had a board wider than 6 inches would I just joint on edge first and then rip it down? I'll be getting most of my lumber locally at Niagara Lumber and their boards average 5-7". I could try to hand pick boards that would fit on a 6" machine but don't want to have any regrets down the road.

[Steve Kohn]

My first jointer was a 4 inch table top model. My second jointer was a 6 inch Woodtek. My third jointer is a 12 inch Grizzly that I'm in the process of upgrading with a Shellix head (now that will be a long story when I finally get the head installed). I'm not saying that you should go to a 12 inch jointer, but it's a lot cheaper to buy the better machine first than be disappointed with the cheaper machine. Go for the biggest you can fit and afford.

[Myk Rian]

You can joint a board wider than the head by creating a rabbet on the face. That's what the ledge on the outfeed table is for.
You put a flat board under what you just jointed, and run it through the planer.
When the top side is planed, flip it over, without the extra board, and plane the rabbet off.

Get an 8". You'll be happier with it.

[Ken Platt]

Yes, you've got the procedure correct, although I used to rip to the jointer width before trying to joint; I use a long straight edged piece of mdf that I attach to the workpiece to make that initial rip. I don't have to do that so often now that I'm up to a 12" jointer.

The ripping and reglueing gets old after awhile, especially when you need, say, a 6.5" board. So, I'll second the suggestion to go with the 8" size if it is doable for you. You'll be glad every time you need a 6-8" board.

Ken

[Gordon Eyre]

A consideration for my shop was not only the width but the length. The Grizzly G0604ZX fit the bill for me as the length of 55" was what fit best. I did go for a spiral head which drove up the coat by another $300 but felt in the long run it would be worth it. I am currently waiting for delivery which should happen in the next few days.

[Brian Tymchak]

Hi Mark, Welcome to the Creek!

You don't mention if you have a planer or plans to get one. If you do though, you can build a sled for the planer that will allow you to get a nice flat face on the first side of your wider boards. That would allow you the option to go with the lower-priced 6" jointer. There have been quite a few really good threads here on the Creek about those planer sleds if that option interests you. I've used mine several times on 10-12" wide boards. I've been able to get by with a 6" jointer up to this point by using a planer sled. Having said that though, I would like to upgrade to a spiral head at some point like Gordon mentions and when I do that I'll likely move to an 8", also to get a longer bed.

[Gene Waara]

Another vote for the 8". I started with, and still have, a 50's era 6" Delta that was my dads. I upgraded to an 8" griz with a 68" bed a couple of years ago. The longer bed and wider width are HUGE upgrades. If you can afford it and have enough room, get the 8". A few years from now you will be thanking us.

[Sam Stephens]

go w/ the 8" if you can. most of my rough stock is 6-8" so a bigger size would be more useful.

In the case of rough stock too wide for your jointer or more than you need for a given piece, I wouldn't recommend jointing just an edge and then sending it through the TS to rip. Unless one face is very flat, boards that rock on the TS are going to be very dangerous. In these scenarios, I use the BS to rip to an appropriate width. This is a much safer approach to rough stock.

You probably know this, but your jointer is useless w/o a thickness planer, so I'm guessing you have one or will get one as well? Personally, if I had to choose, I'd buy a planer first. As mentioned above, you can use a planer sled to joint one face. Since even lunchbox planers are in the 12-13" range, you are good to go for most boards. Lots of threads on planer sleds, but as an example, my short one is a 12" x 48" piece of melamine coated particle board w/ a 1/2" thick wood cleat screwed into one end. I secure the board to the sled w/ hot melt glue and run it through the planer to joint the top face. Then flip it and plane to desired thickness. Edge jointing can be done w/ a jointer, router guide, TS sled, or jointer plane.

Sam

[Peter Quinn]

It's not just the extra 2" you are getting , it most cases its considerable extra mass at the 8" level. Maybe longer tables too depending on model. For basic stock kitchen cabinets and small furniture projects you could do 95% of what you may encounter on a 6", but IME the 8" class is the entry level to a more production level machine. The weight jumps up from a few hundred pounds to nearly 700#. The 8" does everything better than the 6", and you get those extra 2 ". The whole build quality is just a bit more solid, the 12" is another jump up but honestly not as monumental IMO for the small shop.
I started at 4", moved up quickly to 6", now I'm on an 8" dj20 and happy with that, my next stop is a 16" combo should $$$$$ tree blossom. I use 12"'s and 20" regularly at work, and I have access to those for my own work on the rare occasion I need the capacity.

[Kesh Ikuma]

I have a question to add to this thread (hopefully without hijacking the thread). I, too, am planning on getting my first jointer in the next couple month, hopefully.

The length of a jointer bed as I understand is one of the important specs, but is there a rule of thumb as to how long is too long (or too big) for a workshop? In other words, how much clearance do you give around your jointer?

My shop is a what-appears-to-be converted (skinny) single-car garage (without any garage door). I'd guess 15'x8' max. I've thought about an 8" jointer, but I keep thinking it would be too large for the space given. Any thoughts?

[Art Mann]

I have a nice 6 inch jointer but I run into its width limitations fairly often. After I have purchased some other upgraded equipment, I am planning on replacing it.

[glenn bradley]

First off, Welcome!

Second, jointer answers will vary with the user and what they do. You mention face jointing as the first step in your original post and I agree this is the correct place to start. You don't mention planing the un-jointed face parallel which is the step I do before ripping to width.

There will be others but, my response to "would I just joint on edge first and then rip it down?" is "No". Running irregular surfaces across tools that expect flat and straight is one of the best invitations to kickback. For boards too wide for the jointer I recommend a planer sled which can be very simple or a little more refined. I used one for about a year and a half till I got an 8" jointer and still use it for boards wider than 8". I prefer the sled to the method of removing the pork chop on the jointer and doing things that way.

Speaking of wide boards, I found that a 6" jointer was too narrow most of the time. I took a beating on selling it and now find an 8" to be plenty wide most of the time. This will vary with what you do. My jointer is an aircraft carrier when I am making picture frames

Small WS Frames 003.jpg

but, only adequate when I am making a dresser.

C0D Pegs (3).jpg

Your satisfaction will be based on what you expect the jointer to do. If length is your enemy, there are shorter bedded wide jointers but, the long beds and tall fence were "must have" items for me. That doesn't make it right for you, it is just what is important for how I use a jointer ;-)

P.s. The "must have" list also included parallelogram beds and a spiral head cutter.

[Sam Stephens]

I have a question to add to this thread (hopefully without hijacking the thread). I, too, am planning on getting my first jointer in the next couple month, hopefully.

The length of a jointer bed as I understand is one of the important specs, but is there a rule of thumb as to how long is too long (or too big) for a workshop? In other words, how much clearance do you give around your jointer?

My shop is a what-appears-to-be converted (skinny) single-car garage (without any garage door). I'd guess 15'x8' max. I've thought about an 8" jointer, but I keep thinking it would be too large for the space given. Any thoughts?

I'm also in a 1-car garage. Mobility is key to utilizing the space. Most of my big footprint tools (TS, jointer, planer, BS, DC) are on mobile stands, either store bought or homemade.

[Mark Furjanic]

Thank you for your thoughts and welcome. I know if I don't get what I want out of the gate it'll cost me more in the long run when I wind up buying it later. It looks like a G490x is in my future even though a 6" can be made to suffice, I'm pretty sure I'd be wishing I had gone to an 8" if I don't do it now. The mobile base will help it fit and I may as well buy once cry once.

I do have a lunchbox planer, a DW735 that's done some edge jointing when I've stacked boards and I've been using my routers for edge joints but it's time to get the right tool. I'm waiting for a Grizzly catalog I requested a few weeks ago and I'm hoping it's got a coupon in it but if it doesn't I'll still order the jointer as soon as I get it.

[Myk Rian]

and I may as well buy once cry once.

That's the right way to look at it.
I had a Griz 8" G1018 up until I restored a 1938 Wallace 8". The Griz has longer beds, but I don't plan on jointing real long boards, so the shorter Wallace is fine for me.