New to SMC. Looking for some Jointer / Planer suggestions

[Patrick Curry]

I have the 8" Grizzly jointer with the cutter heads and love it. Use your discount on the Dewalt 735 with the straight blades and you're on budget.

Next, use the equipment to build a few pieces of furniture or other items you can sell until you've made $1,000-1,200 or so. Then sell your Dewalt planer for what you had invested in it and now you have enough $$$ for the Grizzly stationary planer with the carbide cutters.

This is the system most of us married guys use to quietly add or upgrade. Welcome to the creek.

[Curt Harms]

I'm sure the JET J/P combo is a nice unit. The 2 things that come to my mind when I think about it are the actual, real time and effort it takes to change it over from jointer to planer and back. I will try to check out some videos of it in action; seems like it could be a bit of a pain at times. The other thing is the bed is only 55" long…That's really no longer than some 6" jointers. Then, there's the price, which from what I can tell is upwards of $2250 + shipping. I was hoping to budget $1750 ish for both planer and jointer.

I bought my JJP-12 from these guys:

http://www.equipmentsalesandsurplus...._p/708-475.htm $1985.95 with straight knives. Free shipping including residential liftgate delivery. Mine was drop shipped from Jet's warehouse in Tenn. The spiral head is about $1,000 more and now you're getting into Hammer/MiniMax territory. I haven't had an issue with straight knives but I don't use figured wood, at least not intentionally . If knives gets a nick it takes a couple minutes to slide one.

[Prashun Patel]

Do you have 220v power? The larger JP combos will require it.

My vote is to get the DW735 with straight knives. I owned one for several years and never had to replace the blades. With light passes and dust collection, I never thought it tore out excessively.

I'd get a good, used jointer on CL - again straight knived.

Then, I'd immediately start scouring CL again, being patient to wait for a couple years until your white whale appears - and it will. You'll better know what features are important to you then too: space, knives and cut quality, capacity, convenience.

Also, beware that some users report breaker tripping with the DW735 with the spiral head upgrade.

[Marty Tippin]

If you decide to go with the DW735, keep an eye out for the every-so-often sale where you can buy the DW735X combo (extra blasdes plus the infeed / outfeed tables) and get the DW7350 mobile stand for free. Amazon offers that deal on occasion, as does Woodcraft, etc. - I don't know when it was last offered though, so no idea when it might come around again.

And if you do get the DW735, grab a pair of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009LI4K and save your hearing. You can thank me later... ;-)

[Jon Nuckles]

I wouldn't invest the money in a helical head for the DW735. As I said above, it won't help much with the noise. Also, the reversible/disposable knives give a very good finish when sharp, and the changeover process is easy with the indexing holes in the blades. If you hit a hard knot or piece of grit and get a nick in your still-sharp knives, you have enough leeway to slide one sideways on its tabs to avoid leaving tracks in your board. The cost of a 12" helical head will pay for all the straight blades you are likely to use during the life of that planer. As others have suggested, save the helical head for the industrial planer you'll buy next.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Just an update. Picked up a new Dewalt 735 (with an extra set of blades and out feed tables) for around $290. I've been on the lookout for a bigger/heavier used planer but nothing good locally was available, so I went with the Dewalt, being that I could get it for half of retail. I'm going to build a custom stand on casters for it and put it into use soon.

Still on the lookout for a decent used jointer, but I'm becoming very tempted by a new Grizzly 8". I wanted the G0490X, but apparently it's been discontinued and replaced with G0490XW. Not sure if there's any difference in features, but the following info is quoted from a response from Grizzly that I got upon inquiring about the G0490X not being available on their website:

"I am sorry but we have discontinued the G0490X Jointer. We are offering a G0490XW in its place. The "W" model machines were added because the previous factory is no longer making those machines. This change was in the works for the last year with the goal of causing the least amount of disruption for customers. The previous factory is still in business, and we will continue to be able to provide parts to support all the existing customer machines. We are excited to be working with the new factory and look forward to adding other new machines and products from them in the near future."

The XW model is also not currently in stock, and apparently the next "expected arrival date" isn't until nearly the end of Feb. Probably will take another 3-5 business days to actually arrive via freight, so that's pretty much March, which could be fine.

I don't have a 220V plug where I want the jointer to sit, so that'll give me some time to get that rolling. I can get the Grizzly 8", helical head, parallelogram bed model shipped for $1500, which puts me right at the top end of my original budget.

Does anybody have any other ideas, or new machines that are close in performance and price to the Grizzly that I'm missing?

Btw, I can unload a freight delivery at work with a forklift and get some help moving the jointer into my basement (walkout door) with some workmates if I'm nice and buy them some beer

[glenn bradley]

I'll just re-state that the G0490X has been great for me for years with near daily use. The insert head paid for itself before I even rotated the cutters once based on previous knife life and replacement/sharpening costs. The heavy box is the machine itself but, two stout guys can easily maneuver this around. The other box is the base and motor and needs to be handled with a little care as the base is light and the motor is heavy. Not real heavy, just a bit awkward.

[Marty Tippin]

d apparently the next "expected arrival date" isn't until nearly the end of Feb. Probably will take another 3-5 business days to actually arrive via freight, so that's pretty much March, which could be fine.

I wouldn't put much faith in the dates they quote. Just as the guys who ordered the G0766 lathe last year... ;-)

If the "XW" model is the same as the old "X", you really can't go wrong. Price point and performance are hard to beat.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Going to check out a used Delta DJ-20 tomorrow, that I might just buy. The price is in my budget and depending on condition of the actual machine, seems pretty fair. Aside from taking a straight edge to check tables and a square to check the fence, is there anything else crucial to look at before purchasing. Sale includes a 2nd set of (sharpened) knives.

[Michael Yadfar]

I bought a Jet 6" jointer off Craigslist for $250, and a new Grizzly GO453Z which has a spiral head. The jointer is about 20 years old, but is absolutely mint and the model has long tables which are nice. The 6" ones are usually easy to find and abundant because everyone wants to upgrade. If I have a 7" board, I either have to cut off 1" on the bandsaw or cut it in half. The Grizzly GO453Z took me awhile to get set up accurately, but with the spiral head it cuts very smooth. For $1,500 I believe I paid, you can't go wrong with that

[Phillip Mitchell]

Bought the DJ20 today. Pretty excited about it! It's an earlier '87 Invicta model that seems lightly used considering its age. It ran well when I tested it at the seller's shop, though the knives installed have some little nicks in them. Included in sale was an extra set of sharpened knives, though I'm considering the Byrd head shelix upgrade at around $400. What's the process for swapping heads? I have no experience doing this.

Paid $600 for the DJ20. I also snagged some really nice machinist, framing, and combo squares, a nice Forschner bit set, and some really nice 10/4 Mahogany (about 16" wide for around $4/bd ft!) The seller was 90 years old and selling everything apparently. He had a nice big 16" resaw and Woodtek shaper that interested me, but outta the budget at this point.

Thanks for the help in this thread. Now it's on to adjusting the tables after it's moved into the basement and installing the new knives.

[Richard Shaefer]

I have the Hammer A3-26 and I'm happy with it. Hammer does have sales and the combo was a something like $2600. Takes about 45 seconds to change over, including setting the planet table height

[Ric Altman]

Still on the lookout for a decent used jointer, but I'm becoming very tempted by a new Grizzly 8". I wanted the G0490X, but apparently it's been discontinued and replaced with G0490XW.

Does anybody have any other ideas, or new machines that are close in performance and price to the Grizzly that I'm missing?

Btw, I can unload a freight delivery at work with a forklift and get some help moving the jointer into my basement (walkout door) with some workmates if I'm nice and buy them some beer

Got the G0490XW recently and love it, couldn't be happier so far. The table is heavy, 350-ish so help or a come-a-long and rafters is a must. The table came crated very well. All wood, no cardboard, no damage. It was so easy to assemble that I never needed to look at the directions and I am a beginner. I thought the fit and finish was very good. Quiet running and far less noise than a 3 blade jointer. The finish is VERY smooth. You see all the complaints about heavy machinery from China being crap, but this machine is very nice. Have you purchased a jointer?

[Ric Altman]

Here’s my experience since I gave the above glowing report on my new Grizzly G0490XW. When I initially assembled the machine, I put my square on the outfeed table and adjusted the fence to square. I did not check the other end of the fence since the tables were perfectly parallel. After a few boards, I noticed a little problem joining boards. I went back and checked the fence again but this time moved the square the entire length of the fence. The fence seemed twisted. I removed the fence and placed it on the infeed table face down. The fence rocked corner to corner .022. In other words, had a twist to it. I called Grizzly tech support and they were great until yesterday, which I’ll go into later. The sent me a new fence. This one was out .044 and had a .020 bow in it also. I called tech support again and was sent another fence. This one had a bow of .070 in it so bad that you could see it with the naked eye. This one was supposed to be double checked by Grizzly before shipping. I was told by Craig, a tech supervisor, that he would personally check the third fence before it left Grizzly. When this fence arrived, it was the wrong fence. Sent that one back and when the fourth fence arrived, low and behold, it was straight. I installed it and ran the square from end to end and there was a .016 difference from left to right (lower). Now, I “upgraded” from a 6” Rigid that had a fence that was perfectly square, so I would assume Grizzly had at least similar tolerances. There is an adjustment to get the fence parallel with the table but none if it is not square. I called tech support and spoke with someone who suggested I run some more boards through and see how they looked. He said if I was not happy with the results they would take the machine back. Since I no longer had any of the packing, that would be a rough job. The next day I got a call from Rich (Richard) who this time was decidedly argumentative and accusatory. Rich wanted to know if I was going to keep the machine. I told him that another tech support gentleman the day before had suggested running some boards through the machine to see if the result would please me. I told him I had not had the time to do so. He told me if I ran some boards through it, that I would have to get “additional approval” before sending the machine back. He also said that Grizzly would not replace the machine, only refund, basically telling me they no longer wanted my business. The tone of voice for all this was decidedly confrontational. I had told several at tech support that my background is building racing engines and that I was used to expensive machines having very close tolerances. Rich said I was not being realistic comparing metal with woodworking machines. He said Grizzly tolerances were .002 per foot. I explained I could understand that possibly but that my 3 foot fence had a .016 difference which is more than .005 per foot. I stated that twice during the conversation and got no response. Those facts seemed not to register. It seems Grizzly got to the point where they no longer had a use for me and wanted me out of their hair, facts be damned. Warped fences and incorrect fences are no fault of mine. I did finally get a good one, so they can make them. Getting a good one to the end user is an issue. Pics attached.

I've run some boards through the machine and the out of square situation seems not to affect the results. So. I'm probably keeping the machine but no more Grizzly products, mostly because of the conversations I had with Rich.


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