16"? WW Carey jointer on CL

[Doug Herzberg]

I have a chance to pick up this old piece of iron this weekend. http://cosprings.craigslist.org/tls/5262917911.html The seller says he finally went with a modern jointer, but this one works fine. I have a Delta 6" and a vintage DeWalt 6" that I had to do quite a bit of work on, but nothing this size.

Factors:

I will never own a new jointer this big, or even close. It's just not in the budget.
That 2 hp motor looks a little small for this application.
I don't see any handwheels.
I won't be able to try it out it first; it appears to be sitting outdoors.

Thoughts?

[Jesse Busenitz]

At that price I'd be in my truck and heading to pick it up if it were in my neighborhood. Can't go wrong there. Looks like babbit bearings and possibly a Clam shell head.... Can't say for sure. So all in all I think you should go look at it at least.

[Steve Jenkins]

If you look at the first pic you can see the handle on a hand wheel just at the top right corner of the electrical box. I would jump on it planning to replace the cutter head. My 16" Oliver has a 3hp direct drive motor and never seems too small.

[Mike Schuch]

You need to do some research on old jointers and there heads. Many of the old jointer heads are pretty dangerous and replacing them with a modern head is usually very expensive. I think this is one of those situations that there is a reason the deal sounds too good to be true. Good luck and factor into the price of the jointer how much your fingers are worth to you.

[Allan Speers]

You need to do some research on old jointers and there heads. Many of the old jointer heads are pretty dangerous and replacing them with a modern head is usually very expensive. I think this is one of those situations that there is a reason the deal sounds too good to be true. Good luck and factor into the price of the jointer how much your fingers are worth to you.

This is a good point, but I think most of the "problem" machines have direct-drive motors.

On this machine, most likely (don't shoot me if I'm wrong) you just need to find modern bearings that will fit, and a head of the same diameter. Several of the shelix head dealers will work with you to retrofit a non-standard machine, using your supplied dimensions.

[David Kumm]

A little more complicated as it looks to be a babbit machine. Pour new babbit and change head. Switching to ball bearings is a big job, pillow blocks, raising the tables to match the new height, etc. Byrd head will go 1500-2500 and the jointer won't have much resale value. I'm a huge fan of old jointers as they are way superior to new ( Martin, Hoffmann excepted ) but a ball bearing porter, Newman, Yates, or Clement would be an easier machine to learn on. Dave

[Jeff Duncan]

Looks like it may be a square head jointer??? If so I wouldn't touch it, just not worth the risk IMHO.

As far as HP goes 2 hp should get a lot of work done. With a machine like that it's not an issue as the motor sits separate from the machine, so you can drop just about any motor you want as long as the rpm's match.

good luck,
JeffD

[Mike Schuch]

There are probably a hundred threads on www.owwm.org about square head jointers, clam shell head jointers, the dangers of them and what it takes to convert to modern heads. I like old machines and used to hang out there a lot but the moderator is kind of an a$S. There are many guys over there that can tell you by site exactly what that jointer is and what kind of head it has and the hassles of converting it to a modern head or the risk of running it like it is. What ever you decide you owe it to yourself to educate yourself some before buying that jointer. There is a very good chance the current owner got a smokin deal on that jointer only to get it home and realize it was a lot bigger project than he expected.

[Andrew Hughes]

Doesn't one of the photos show a. Crack in the pedestol.The one with the belt running thru the pic.I wouldn't bother going to look.

[Doug Herzberg]

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking I could braze those cracks in the pedestal. The cutter head I need to think about. I did see the handwheels after I posted.

If the guy is telling the truth, everything should move and be pretty well tuned up. They say curiosity killed the cat, but I might go take a look.

[ryan carlino]

Doug - I've been eyeing that jointer, too, thinking the same thing: for that price, you are getting a lot of iron! It looks like a real fixer-upper, though, and that time plus cost of parts might not pay off. If you get it...and get it working...I want to come over and see it in action for sure!

[Doug Herzberg]

Doug - I've been eyeing that jointer, too, thinking the same thing: for that price, you are getting a lot of iron! It looks like a real fixer-upper, though, and that time plus cost of parts might not pay off. If you get it...and get it working...I want to come over and see it in action for sure!

Overnight, I did some reading about square and clamshell cutter heads. I would not personally be afraid of a square one, but I would worry about visitors to my shop, especially children. So, long and short, I'm going to pass. Same deal Ryan. If you get it, I'd like to see it. Thanks again for all the responses.

[Doug Herzberg]

So in addition to that one about the cat and curiosity, there's the other one about a fool and his money. I couldn't resist going to look. It's only a 12", it's a square cutter head, one of the cracks in the base is in a structural area, and I just had to have it. I did pay less than the asking price, but I had to drive to the end of civilization and if I can't braze the cast iron, it may be scrap metal. On the plus side, without looking too far, I found a 15" spiral cutter head at Grizzly for around $700. I know, bearings, modifications, etc., etc., etc. Worst case, I had a nice drive in the mountains and I'm out a few bucks.

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[Doug Herzberg]

Here are a couple more photos. I'm not sure the fence is original. The back story is it was used in a sawmill in the mountains of Colorado until the owner died 14 years ago. The seller worked with him and got the jointer when the sawmill owner passed. He used it until he bought a PM 8" about 5 years ago. It was kept outside all that time, but obviously covered. The babbits are tight, with a minor amount of play end to end, but no discernible movement perpendicular to the axis. The tables move easily with the black lever on the front. The seller said he never used the hand wheels on the end and didn't know what the other adjusters were for, but they all move, if they are a little stiff. I clearly will have a lot to learn.


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[Allan Speers]

"It's only a 12", it's a square cutter head, one of the cracks in the base is in a structural area, and I just had to have it."


LOL ! Man, we've all been THERE.



Worst case, actually, you've got an incredibly cool assembly table.

- Or slap some Maple on top, and you have a kitchen table to die for.