Brand New and Overwhelmed with Powertool Options

[Daniel McPherson]

I am starting out in woodworking but one thing I learned from welding(which I also do) is that I can't stand buying something then later wishing I hadn't cheaped out and settled for a tool that wasn't the best I could afford.

My shop is being built and will house my auto, welding/fab and woodworking. It is 40X64 in size but I haven't decided how much to devote to woodworking. I am thinking approx 20X20 for the woodworking portion. This space does NOT count wood storage as I can house the wood in an a separate area. In addition to run the table saw I can slide the door open that separates the wood area from the welding/fab so I can feed boards onto the table saw. I can also do glue ups and finishing in a different section of the shop in the welding/fab bay. All power is single phase.

So...
I have been trying to figure out what to do for a jointer and a planer. I believe (tell me if I am wrong) that I have enough room for separate tools. I have been googling for a week straight trying to figure out what to get. Hammer? Minimax? Powermatic? Jet? It is really overwhelming.

I want to get the best tools I can afford. I really don't want to have to go through the tool and double check everything to make sure it is square/flat (maybe there is no way getting around this). So what unit/units should I buy? What features should I make sure they have?

[jack duren]

Its not question of what but how much? Figure out what you want to buy first and then seek advise...

[Daniel McPherson]

I want a jointer and a planer. I want to keep the overall cost for these two items (or single combo item) to 5-6K if possible. I am leaning towards the powermatic line of tools. It sounds like I should lean towards an 8" jointer and a 15" planer?

Does this help?

[Matt Krusen]

You certainly won't go wrong with the Powermatic 8" jointer and 15" planer. Great tools. Some of the combo machines are great tools and plenty of people love them. They are certainly a good option but personally I prefer having the tools as individual units. Given your budget and space, I think you can easily do both at the quality you want. Powermatic is running a 15% off machinery sale right now so now is the time to pull the trigger if you've decided to go that route. With your budget and that 15% off sale, you could afford to have helical heads in them both which is definitely a huge plus!

[mike mcilroy]

Check out Grizzly Tools their jointers and planers get good reviews for a lot less $$

[Daniel McPherson]

That is what I was thinking. So, of the powermatic units, which jointer and which planer should I buy? Are there other WW machines made by Powermatic that I will need in the future that I should purchase while I am at it?

FYI I plan on buying a Sawstop for a table saw.

[Matt Krusen]

Mike brings up a good point. For the price of a Powermatic 8" jointer, you can get a 12" Grizzly with a helical head. Of all the Grizzly tools, their jointers and planers seem to get the best reviews. Powermatic is a level of quality higher than Grizzly but I fully believe that you'd be happy going the Grizzly route as well. I'm actually considering their 12" jointer myself.

As far as other tools to consider at this time, I would say start out with the "Big 4". Table saw, jointer, planer, bandsaw. You will have a fully functional shop and can expand from there as needs arise.

Table saw. At the SawStop price, your other option is the Powermatic PM2000 which is also eligible for the 15% off sale. Brings the price under that of the SawStop. Both are amazing machines. Just have to weigh the debate on whether the SawStop technology is worth the added cost. I won't get into it as that topic is well documented (see definition of "beating a dead horse".

[Kent A Bathurst]

I want a jointer and a planer. I want to keep the overall cost for these two items (or single combo item) to 5-6K if possible. I am leaning towards the powermatic line of tools. It sounds like I should lean towards an 8" jointer and a 15" planer?

Does this help?

Go no less than 8" on the jointer. If a 12" fits you plans and budget, go there.

Big diversity of opinion here about the planer. The "lunchbox" style @ 12-1/2" has a lot of adherents. With a jointer < 12-1/2", not any overwhelming reason to go bigger, IMO.

Me - I gots an 8" PM 60B with straight knives, and a Delta DC-380 15" with straight knives.

Also a lot - LOT - of fans for the helical heads. I have no argument, and no experience, on that product - they weren't really available way-back-when I got my stuff, and I haven't seen the need to spend the $$ on upgrades. At the same time, if I was buying new today, it would give me great pause in my decision.

You also have opened the Pandora's box, aka can 'o' worms, on the debate about Chiwanese value for dollar [PM, Jet, etc.], versus european premier quality [Hammer, minimax, etc.] On the Chiwanese end is the Grizz line.........which is hard to ignore.

You've really opened this up pretty wide, but your budget range of "up to $6k" for those two gives you a lot of options, including the helical heads on both, for the Chiwanese. I don't think you can hit that target with new Euro stuff, though, unless you go to a combo. I don't think you will have a floor-space crisis dictating the J/P, but others will have to give you an evaluation.

[Bill Space]

Hi,

Don't laugh off Grizzly.

Much better for a home shop to have a 12" Grizzly jointer and and a 20" Grizzly planer than smaller "higher quality" devices that cost the same or more.

Many of us are quite happy with the quality and performance of Grizzly tools.

Now if money is no object, then decide what size you want/need before buying then buy the best out there. You will get some bit of improved performance for a lot of extra cash. But who cares if you can afford it and the cost is not an issue?

I would think carefully about what I might need in the future. Buy once what you really need, or buy again. This is not just a price issue, but also a needs issue. The highest quality item that ends up being too small in the future is no worse than buying cheap and then buying quality the second time.

My thoughts anyway...Good luck with your purchases!

Bill

[Derek Arita]

Ok...ok a jointer/planer guy. I have a MM FS30, 12". I find I really like the 12" jointer capability and have never needed more planer than I have jointer. I also have a PM PJ882 parallelogram and it works great, however I never use it. If you can afford a Felder 16" J/P, even better! If not, work down from there.
Point is, for the space savings and increased capacity and cut quality, it would be tough to go back to separates. Also, switching back and forth from J to P is no hassle. Choose wisely.

[Larry Frank]

I missed something....what kind of woodworking are you wanting to get into? How much time are you going to have to do the woodworking. I would spend some time giving it some thought. Another question is are you going to buy rough sWan wood or not.

For example, I buy wood planed to 7/8" and straight line cut one edge. I do not use a jointed but still build furniture.

You will also need dust collection and a lot of hand tools.

I am glad that I came into this gradually over 45 years now and do not need to buy all new tools now.

Good luck

[Peter Kelly]

If were starting from zero I'd consider a MiniMax Lab 300. Nice to have a sliding table shaper and saw.

[Justin Ludwig]

http://www.hammerusa.com/us-us/produ...-machines.html

[Chris Merriam]

FYI, effective March 1st Sawstop is kicking off another free base or overhead dust guard offer, a 199 value. Just found out at Woodcraft today and will wait another week to place my order to save 200.

[Kent A Bathurst]

FYI, effective March 1st Sawstop is kicking off another free base or overhead dust guard offer, a 199 value. Just found out at Woodcraft today and will wait another week to place my order to save 200.

And that relates to a jointer-planer question how, exactly??

I know that SS is the cat's pajamas, based on what I read here, but that seems a bit of a stretch..................