Old Jointer finally quit, time for a new one

[Scott Brandstetter]

My hand me down 30+ year old craftsman 6 inch joiner finally died. Thank goodness. Would like thoughts on the following....

I am looking at a Jet for $827 model number Jet - 6-in. Jointer JJ-6CSX
and the Grizzly 6 inch for $629 delivered, model number G0452 6" Jointer

I don't want to be cheap and my question is there any reason to spend $200 more on the Jet?

[Cary Falk]

There ain't no way I would pay $827 for a 6" jointer. Jet has just gotten redonkolous with their pricing. For that amount you could have a 8" Grizzly for a few bucks more. Why don't you save yourself an extra $25 and get the G0452P? Six inch jointers show up on CL quite often out here. Have you also looked into used?

Happy owner of a 8" Shop Fox 1741.

[ed vitanovec]

If you are happy with the Grizzly then go for it. The machines are most likely made by Gee Tech and then private labeled for other companies.

[Bill Orbine]

There ain't no way I would pay $827 for a 6" jointer. Jet has just gotten redonkolous with their pricing. For that amount you could have a 8" Grizzly for a few bucks more. Why don't you save yourself an extra $25 and get the G0452P? Six inch jointers show up on CL quite often out here. Have you also looked into used?

Happy owner of a 8" Shop Fox 1741.

Hate to deflate you, but the G0452P you suggested is a 6" Jointer.

[Cary Falk]

Hate to deflate you, but the G0452P you suggested is a 6" Jointer.

I know he is looking at a 6" jointer. I said I would buy an 8" Grizzly over a 6" Jet for even money. He should buy the 6" Polar Bear to save a few dollars.

[Matt Day]

If I were you and needed to get a 6" jointer for space reasons over an 8", I'd buy a used one on CL no doubt. They come up so often it seems crazy to by new, especially at those prices.

If you can fit an 8" jointer, take the opportunity and get the bigger machine. You should be able to pretty easily find a used 8" for the price of the new 6" you're looking at. I see them go for $400-$500 around my neck of the woods.

[Myk Rian]

I found the fit and finish of a Jet 6" to be slightly above Grizzly 8", but these were jointers I had many years ago. I see no reason to spend the extra for the Jet.
If you have the room, go for the 8".

[Dennis Aspö]

I don't think 6" jointers are commonly sold here, the 8" ones I've seen are very small, the very small one I am looking at in another thread is 8" and I consider this the minimum size I'd go for really. It's really tiny.

[Jack Vines]

JMHO - While they don't come along every day, there are 6"-8" Delta/W-T/Powermatic/Davis-Wells, et al, available on craigslist. I'd look long and hard for one of those before buying any of the new Chicom.

jack vines

[Scott Brandstetter]

Thanks all for the info. I am definitely going with an 8 inch jointer now that I know more about it and the relationship to the planer. (another thread). I will continue to keep my eye on craigslist. I have looked within a couple hundred miles all ways and haven't seen a deal yet. No hurries though, not a lot of extra funds available right now.

[Wade Lippman]

There ain't no way I would pay $827 for a 6" jointer. Jet has just gotten redonkolous with their pricing.

Beats me why anyone would buy a Jet. Or a Delta for that matter.

(Well... I got a Jet 1642 I am happy with, but I got a floor model at 25% off and then got a 35% MS rebate. But aside from that...)

[John Schweikert]

Scott,

Where are you located? We can help your search if we knew where you were.

I bought a year old Jet 6" JJ-6CSDX locally off Craigslist for $300. The previous owner didn't tighten down the knives well and they flew out and seized up the head. Anyway, I added a Byrd head for another $315 and am quite happy. There are many jointers on ebay and you might get lucky with respect to your location.

[Scott Brandstetter]

John
Thanks for the reply. I went in and added my location to my signature....hopefully I did it correctly. I am in Louisville KY. With my job I travel all over N America so it's possible, within reason, that I could fly one way for work to a city and rent a pick up to bring home my new "toy". I have a few emails out to folks in St Louis and Milwaukee. Going to go with an 8 inch Jointer.

[John Schweikert]

Scott,

You'll be happy with an 8" I'm sure. If you didn't already know, there is a website called http://www.searchtempest.com where you can search Craigslist in many cities at once for specific queries and distance. I've seen some impressive deals on CR over the years. They usually last only a few days because someone else finds them too. Search daily and you can get lucky. I'm currently maxed out in my shop space so I don't look at CR as often, but for several years it was nearly everyday I would look.

Also there is a used woodworking tool vendor in east TN called Woodworker's Trading Post (never done business with them so only providing this as general info). You can find it occasionally on CR listings. They usually have the 3-5hp table saws, 8-12" jointers and so on, the bigger old iron, but decent equipment all centralized.