Jointer vs. Planer and Resawing Nightmares

[Chip Clark]

Hey all - thanks for everyone's feedback. All very good stuff and based on what I'm hearing here it looks like a planer will soon be driving my neighbors nuts. Your support is greatly appreciated!

[Frank Drew]

Welcome to the board, Chip; you'll find lots of good advice here (even if some of it seems contradictory at times!)

Since you're in the business of woodworking (selling stuff you make), I recommend aiming towards getting both a jointer and a planer sooner rather than later. Time is money in business and both machines will make short work of necessary operations. Since a jointer, also called a jointer/planer, can machine both the edge and face of a board, I consider it necessary in a furniture making shop, especially one that currently specializes in tables. But I also wouldn't want to be without a thickness planer.

If you really think that this will be your future, buy the best you can afford, and larger is usually better than smaller if it's within your budget and shop size.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I'm going to echo what most have said so far in this thread. If you want to be efficient and not have to constantly fiddle around with setting up jigs, you really need both a planer and a jointer, unless you are quite skilled with hand tools and don't need to make much money for your time. I wouldn't really consider woodworking as a business without a decent (reliable, tunable) planer and jointer. Do what it takes to get a decent example of each. It really makes a difference having dedicated tools set up for their intended tasks, especially when you have repetitive production work to do on even a small scale. Even if it means constantly cruising classified ads, saving money for months, and spending a whole day buying and hauling one home...it will be worth it, once you get it tuned and running well.

I guess it depends on what you're really working with as far as rough stock, but I would really recommend at least an 8" jointer. A lot of rough stock that I get is between 6 1/2 and 7 1/2" wide and a 6" jointer is useless with that size stuff. That means you have to rip those boards down before you can even think about milling them square, which sucks most of the time. Sometimes that may not hurt your process or project, but most of the time for me, I need that extra 2" width (or more.) I found a used but well kept Delta DJ-20 on craigslist for $600 after looking pretty good for a while.

As for a budget, first planer: I can recommend the Dewalt DW735, which is quite popular. I feel like it's a great value for the money, especially if you can find one at a discount or used. I was lucky to get mine new for more than 50% off normal price, but I still think it's worth it at $500-600. Of course, like any machine, you know and respect its limits, but it has been great for me. If looking new, I would look hard at a Grizzly/Shop Fox 15" model as well for not too much more money.

Be patient, do your research, but be decisive when you find what you need. Best of luck.

[Frank Drew]

It really makes a difference having dedicated tools set up for their intended tasks, especially when you have repetitive production work to do on even a small scale.

Important point by Phillip: if you get into multiples on any scale the repetitive tasks multiply accordingly -- four tables mean sixteen legs, sixteen rails, etc. -- and your productivity will increase greatly with production equipment. Not necessarily heavy-duty, top-of-the-line, but good, reliable stuff that will do the job accurately and reasonably quickly. There's a good deal of used equipment out there and with some research you might find just what you need.

Good luck in your endeavor!

[Johanna Johanson]

I like your comments on jointer/planer size. I can say, though, that I got rid of a 20" planer - it took up way too much space and I found that there just is not much that I would ever do that needed that wide a planer. My jointer is 8" and I wish it were wider. Thankfully I have access to a 20" jointer at Santa Fe Community College - guess I'll keep taking classes there forever so I can continue to have access to that aircraft carrier!