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Thread: Would 2 jointers be useful? or excessive?

  1. #1
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    Would 2 jointers be useful? or excessive?

    I'm milling a bunch of cherry for a job. My 16" jointer with straight knives works fine for flattening one side before the boards go to the planer, but not so great for truing an edge.

    The reason is the blades are getting dull. Well, it takes me so long to change out the knives I just can't take that time in the middle of this job (yeah I wish I had a Tersa or a helical jointer but I don't). So the jointed edges are not great.

    I got to thinking it might be good to have a second jointer just for edge jointing.

    And I think it could be a much smaller machine, even a 4" head. Byrd make a 4" head - and I picture retrofitting an older jointer with this head, and extending the beds so I can edge joint long boards.

    Has anyone out there done something like this? Or have an opinion on having two jointers in a shop?

    I think I read somewhere about using the router table with an off-set fence and a straight bit to edge joint boards. Haven't seen this in action, and so I'm not picturing if it will be easily adjustable to do good repeatable milling.

    I feel this topic has likely been covered before, but I haven't found any threads on it at all.

    Mark

  2. #2
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    I would just buy a new jointer with the spiral cutterhead. Oh wait, I did. Almost a year now, and no regrets. Still cutting well on first edges. That being said, I work with predominately pine.
    Mike

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gibney View Post
    I'm milling a bunch of cherry for a job. My 16" jointer with straight knives works fine for flattening one side before the boards go to the planer, but not so great for truing an edge....
    I got to thinking it might be good to have a second jointer just for edge jointing.
    Hi Mark,

    I'm not sure what else you have in the shop, but some people use a sliding table saw for the final edge jointing. Set up properly (with stable wood) you can trim off a live edge to a glue-ready joint in one pass. You could potentially get similar results with a jig, some care, and a conventional table saw. The results are dependent on the accuracy of your setup, as is using jointer,... but when using a slider the human factor is pretty much removed.
    Last edited by mark mcfarlane; 08-28-2016 at 6:17 AM.
    Mark McFarlane

  4. #4
    Many of us have two bandsaws and do so for the same reason you're talking about - we use them for different things. A 6" jointer is all I have and it joints edges beautifully. The beds are probably a total of about 7 feet long, which is enough for my needs.

    Just make sure it won't take longer to locate, purchase, transport, unload and set-up a smaller jointer (and maybe build/adjust the bed extensions) than it will to replace the blades on your 16".

    Another idea just stuck me, but I dont know if it can be done...... Is there a way to hone the blades on your 16" with them still installed? Depends on your machine and the condition of the blades (nicked, etc).

    Good luck!
    Fred

  5. #5
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    I think my first step would be to get some sharp knives on the 16" jointer as face jointing quality must not be too great either.

    That being said, I think it is pretty common to have a large jointer accompanied by a 6". Part of it is probably safety since reaching over 15+" of spinning blade to edge joint isn't very safe.

  6. #6
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    Do you have a shaper that you could setup with the proper head (spiral),that way it could do double duty and less floor space than two jointers.

  7. #7
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    I agree with the advice to get a sharp set of knives and to have a spare sharp set on hand. That being said, I have to wonder about the entire length of your 16 inch knives being dull. Can't you simply adjust the fence to a low use area to do your edge jointing?
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  8. #8
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    Mark, I would have no hesitation having 2 jointers. Have done in the past in my larger shop. If you are straightening edges for gluing, use your slider as already suggested. It will give a better surface for that purpose.

    Re honing, if you have hss knives in your 16", do a quick hone on the machine. Drop the outfeed table a fraction, get out your oilstone with a piece of paper under it, wedge the cutter head and get honingusing the outfeed table as your base. This will get a bit more life out of them when you need it. This is machining 101. I used to do it in the bad old days before tct knives. Still don't get why anyone uses hss though. Cheers

  9. #9
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    The answer to your question purely revolves around your own work flow and space availability. If you have the space and you will find it useful to your work, they by all means put in the second unit. Your needs are different than mine...I never edge joint on the jointer at all because I have a sliding table saw. Once the lumber is flat and thicknesses, that perpendicular edge is cut on the slider with no scalloping that's normal for a jointer cutting head for the same operation.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
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    Here is another option, sometimes when I'm sloppy jointing the edges I just grab my jointer planer and give it a pass or 2 - quick and more precise than any powertool.

  11. #11
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    I don't have a slider - and I didn't know you could use one to edge boards. I can dream of the day I do have one.

    As Matt mentions, it's not much fun reaching to the far side of the spinning blades (to where they should be less worn) when edge jointing, especially as the guard is missing off this used machine, and replacing it is on my to-do.

    All in all I think I'll look at getting a smaller second machine. If any of you have high regard for a particular make and model I'd like to hear what it is. And thanks for the advice, always invaluable.

  12. #12
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    I have two jointers, a 16" Porter and a Delta DJ 20. The big jointer is direct drive so it excels at face jointing but a second jointer near the saw to handle edges or just for convenience is pretty handy. I'm generally not a spiral fan for a jointer but it has some benefit for edge jointing. Esta work pretty well too as I usually run the 48" or less edges against an edge sander. Just a touch. Straightening a board with a jointer isn't very efficient time wise unless you use the big machine that can take off an inch or so. I use a slider for that so the DJ 20 workks well. It wouldn't be my choice for straightening boards though. Dave

  13. #13
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    I've thought about getting a small jointer.I have a 12inch Oliver so my expectations will be high on a second machine.
    I see lots of jointers out here in the Inland empire and some nice one in LA.
    I did have a 8 inch with a Bryd head and I did not like edge joint glue ups.I could see glue lines on table tops.
    My only solution was to perfect the edge with my foreplane.
    So I give a HH head a thumbs down.
    This is and has been my experience hope it helps.
    Aj

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gibney View Post
    If any of you have high regard for a particular make and model I'd like to hear what it is. And thanks for the advice, always invaluable.
    Well, everyone has their favorite brand.... I have a 6" JET. New they go for about $900, though I bought mine for much less several years ago. Also, I just checked and saw that Grizzly has a 6" benchtop for $250 and a two different 6" floor models for $525 and $595, plus shipping.

    Good luck!

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gibney View Post
    ...

    As Matt mentions, it's not much fun reaching to the far side of the spinning blades (to where they should be less worn) when edge jointing, especially as the guard is missing off this used machine, and replacing it is on my to-do.
    As Glenn said, if you have a fence on the jointer there is no reason to reach over the 16" blade. Slide the fence towards you and, low and behold, you might be over a sharper part of the blades, particularly if you normally edge/face joint with the fence all the way 'away' from where you stand. In that case the 'close' few inches of the blades haven't seen much wood.
    Mark McFarlane

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