buying a new 8 inch jointer

[dale rex]

I know this has been discussed a thousand times before,and I probably should have been paying closer attention...........LOL........but, I am in the market for an 8 inch jointer. I dont want to spend$1600 for a Delta, but would like something that will withstand some professional use. I do some carpentry and cabinetmaking as part of my business, but not full time 40 hrs /week use. I am willing to spend up to $1000. I need a fence that tilts both ways, and prefer the longest bed I can get.I dont know if buying a spiral cutterhead would be a worthwhile investment or not?Any advice would be appreciated

[Tim Morton]

I'm sure you are aware of the grizzly line...they have some upper end units that would withstand profesional use, as do a lot of companies. Also redmonds sells the dj-20 as a refurb for 1200....which if you could pick it up would make it a steal IMO. But check out the grizzly site, as well as yorkcraft from wilke..I never know whether I can post a link or not, but PM me if you want links...

[Richard Wolf]

Not trying to get you to spend more money, but take a look in the classified forum. A 12" Grizzly in Ohio, (don't know how far from Emerald, Pa.) maybe he has some flexability and you could work something out. It looks like a nice unit.

Richard

[Ken Garlock]

Dale, be sure to look at the Sunhill 8" jointer. I bought one last year and it works superbly. It is a heavy beast, with a shipping weight of 500#, and has the crisscross casting under the input and output tables for extra stiffness. The nice thing is that it is on sales now. You can also get a decent price on upgrades to the cutter head.

Stop by the Sunhill website

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Ken, I wonder how Sunhill compares to Grizzly? That 8" Sunhill jointer looks really good on sale and at 500 lbs. sounds like a very solid machine. Even the spiral head cutters look like a good deal.

[Andy London]

Ken, I wonder how Sunhill compares to Grizzly? That 8" Sunhill jointer looks really good on sale and at 500 lbs. sounds like a very solid machine. Even the spiral head cutters look like a good deal.

I ordered one a few weeks ago with a spiral cutterhead. The local shop that sells General also sells Sunhill, I know the guys there really well and they told me they were a top quality unit. I know Sunhill is very good on the customer service side as I had ordered a spiral 6" cutterhead from them in the past and was very pleased.

As for regular or spiral, it depends on two things in my experience. If you are running a lot of stock through the jointer then the cutterhead will pay for itself in time as the cutters are cheaper and last far longer than HSS. If you work with figured woods, then it will save you hours of fustration.

I have some curly birdseye that seems to shatter around regular knives, on my spiral cutterhead it comes out like glass.

The other thing I have noticed face jointing woods is how quiet a spiral cutterhead is, no chatter at all, just that sweet sound of wood chips, almsot as much fun as a hand plane

If I didn't have to drive to PA to get the Grizzly, I would give their new 8" a very serious look, it is a sweet looking machine....and then just install a spiral system in it, I herd that Grizzly will offer it this fall with a spiral system.

Andy

[Ken Garlock]

Ken, I wonder how Sunhill compares to Grizzly? That 8" Sunhill jointer looks really good on sale and at 500 lbs. sounds like a very solid machine. Even the spiral head cutters look like a good deal.

Alan, When I was looking for a jointer, I looked over the Grizzly equipment along with the Delta, Powermatic, Jet. The scuttlebutt was that Grizzly was OK equipment if you didn't mind tinkering with it. Now that was a couple years ago, and opinions may have changed.

A jointer is not a complex piece of equipment, motor, belt, a cylinder that rotates cutting blades very fast, not rocket science With that in mind, I decided that the big three were charging too much for what you got. In my opinion the Sunhill 8" can stand beside the famous DJ-20 and you could not tell which board was jointed by what machine. All you Delta fans don't need to jump on me, I admit that Delta makes fine equipment, but why spend $1500 when you can spend $800 and get like results.

So regarding the Sunhill, yes it is a heavy beast. All the weight is in the business part of the machine as you would expect. The base and motor probably weigh 80 to 100 pounds. The rest is cast iron in the tables, and actual jointer body. I know that I can't do more than lift one end of it. The input and output tables have the deep crisscross support members on the underside that Delta uses. IMO, it is built like proverbial brick outhouse I am glad I had a hydraulic lift table to get it on the stand.

Lastly, Sunhill is a retailer for Taiwan equipment. In the case of the jointer, it is made by GeeTech, and it says so clearly on the body. Am I worried about service, not at all. There is almost nothing that can go wrong with a jointer and what does go wrong I can handle. OK, it has a Taiwan motor, but that is not big deal. If I had replace it for $300, I am still ahead of the big three cost wise.

[John Miliunas]

Hey guys, let's not forget about some very positive reviews that the Yorkcraft jointer has gotten. Distributed by one of the best vendors out there (Wilke Machinery), lots of folks are real happy with it. I've dealt with Wilke on several pieces of equipment and they have never let me down. Most recently, I ordered up the Yorkie 15" planer. Might be here by week's end or early next week!

Also, NOT to start anything, but if ordering from Sunhill, be absolutely sure they have what you want in stock! My last order with them (and I really DO mean my last!), included an item they didn't tell me was on backorder, but still charged my cc account from Day-1, NOT when the unit actually shipped about a month later! Just something to be weary of.... (NOT affiliated with Wilke Machinery, bla-bla...bla...)

[JayStPeter]

Alan, When I was looking for a jointer, I looked over the Grizzly equipment along with the Delta, Powermatic, Jet. The scuttlebutt was that Grizzly was OK equipment if you didn't mind tinkering with it. Now that was a couple years ago, and opinions may have changed.

...

Lastly, Sunhill is a retailer for Taiwan equipment. In the case of the jointer, it is made by GeeTech, and it says so clearly on the body. Am I worried about service, not at all. There is almost nothing that can go wrong with a jointer and what does go wrong I can handle. OK, it has a Taiwan motor, but that is not big deal. If I had replace it for $300, I am still ahead of the big three cost wise.

My Grizzly jointer also clearly says GeeTech on it. Bridgewood, Jet and a few others are also the same castings. The differences are the bases, motors, and switches. There are 3/4 knife cutterheads and bed extensions of various lengths available also.

I bought the spiral insert cutterhead from Sunhill, it is a Byrd tool unit. Ships directly from Byrd. The same one fits all the jointers I mentioned. I'm not sure about the spiral blade cutterhead. I do remember reading some not so glowing reviews of the 15" planer version of that head. I'm not sure, but I think it was the reviews of the 15" spiral head PM on Amazon.

Jay

[Ken Garlock]

My Grizzly jointer also clearly says GeeTech on it. Bridgewood, Jet and a few others are also the same castings. The differences are the bases, motors, and switches. There are 3/4 knife cutterheads and bed extensions of various lengths available also.
....
Jay

Jay, I didn't know that the Grizz was also GeeTech. I guess that makes them brothers . All the Grizz items I have, mostly small except the 20" drill press, have a Grizzly label with no indication of the manufacturer. One of the selling points for me was the 4 knife cutter head.

Learned something new. two days in a row.

[Ken Garlock]

Hey guys, let's not forget about some very positive reviews that the Yorkcraft jointer has gotten. Distributed by one of the best vendors out there (Wilke Machinery), lots of folks are real happy with it. I've dealt with Wilke on several pieces of equipment and they have never let me down. Most recently, I ordered up the Yorkie 15" planer. Might be here by week's end or early next week!

Yes, I very much like the Bridgewood brand. I have their 10LTS cabinet saw and I am very happy with it. Do give us a review of the new planer when you get it ready for service.

[John Miliunas]

Yes, I very much like the Bridgewood brand. I have their 10LTS cabinet saw and I am very happy with it. Do give us a review of the new planer when you get it ready for service.

You bet! It (review) really needs to be done, as I've found very little on the planer, though there's quite a bit on the jointer. I do feel like I'm not taking a real big chance, though, because Wilke is the vendor. I guess I hit the timing just right on this one too, because they had been sold out of the planer and had recently gotten a few more in. Kinda' funny in another way, as well, because as I was talking to the sales dude and telling him about the other Wilke stuff I have, he completed the order and said he also threw in an extra set of blades for it! Man, it's nice to know your business is appreciated!

[Matt Meiser]

I'm very happy with my Yorkcraft 8" jointer. I ordered it Friday moning and it was delivered on Tuesday. I've been using it quite a bit with no troubles. Had I not found an incredible deal on a Delta 15" planer, I would have ordered that from them as well.

[Don Morris]

I just returned from Wilke this Saturday for a look-see at 8" jointers. I thought I was going to end up with the Bridgewood, but after seeing the Bridgewood alongside the Yorkie, I have to say I really liked the 72" bed on the Yorkie (Bridgewood has a 66" smallest in the field I think). I know, 66" should be adequate for most WWers, but it's better to have and not want than to not have and wish you had....The Yorkie has a built in mobile base. Except for the Baldor motor in the Bridgewood, which is a super plus for the Bridgewood, fit and finish looked similar. But is a Baldor motor worth $450.00 more? The base cost of the Bridgewood is $350.00 more and add $100,00 roughly for a mobile base and you're paying $450.00 more for a 6" shorter bed! That just doesn't compute. Does it? However, the Yorkie won't work in my 9' wide basement workshop. The rack and pinion fence of the Yorkie took up too much space. I could see a love/hate relationship with it. That sucker stuck out wide. Now what? Sunhill's sale I guess, hopefully they can get it to me from the west coast in one piece and it won't be a lemon. If they haven't sold out when they open up tomorrow I'm pulling the trigger on one. Their Shelix cutterheads are on sale too, will get that too. My son is going in on this with me. Wish us luck. Sometimes that's what I think it boils down to...hate to order it on day after a holiday. Like ordering a car made on a monday after a three day weekend. But I look good in blue, better than green.