Need advise on pricing Northfield jointer.

[Andrew Hughes]

One more thing I would like to point out is.Your electrical service may not be up to starting a motor larger than 5hp.The bigger heads and bigger motors can push it.
I had to learn this the hard way.Each upgrade Edison did to my feed made a difference.
I was just barely getting by three years ago.
Everything good now.I can start looking at a bigger Rpc if I want.

I say get the Northfield and make your time in the shop a pleasure.

Aj

[Cody Armstrong]

Ya'll aren't making this an easy decision but I'm certainly listening to everyone's advice.

Andrew, I can do a 3 phase 7.5 horse no problem. 200 amp service and 30 horse RPC.
Would rather have the jointer single phase though. It's nice to quickly joint a board without having to turn on the extra power.

[Andrew Hughes]

Say what you have the opportunity to buy a like new Northfield jointer.
And all the juice you need to make it purr.
I totally hate you now.

Aj

[David Kumm]

While I have said I would prefer a Tersa head, it is not that big of a deal on a jointer. I run a standard knife Porter and changing knives once or twice a year is a 30 minute job if I'm having a bad day. Fairly frequent now. Get either two Oneway bases and indicators or two of Brian Lambs ( lambtoolworks.com ) even nicer ones. Makes blade changing easy and traditional knives sharpened by someone who knows how for your cutterhead and angle of cut will give a great finish and last longer than tersa. I've no desire for a carbide spiral on a jointer- too easy to nick inserts and no need for a finished surface. You will be surprised at how smooth the head cuts with all that cast iron to dampen vibration. Dave

[Cody Armstrong]

Sorry Andrew.

Yea David I mainly use a jointer for what it's intended for, flattening and straitening. Goes to the planer or wide belt after that. Thanks for enforcing what I already know. With sharp knives I'm more than happy with the finish.
Thank you for the suggestions on knife setup.

I've been looking at older 16 and 24" because of the suggestions in this thread and from what I see without searching for hours is unless I buy a newer machine it will be tough to find a larger jointer with a single phase motor?
I really don't have the room for the older style 16" and up. As it is adding the 12" will make my space tight. It may be my best option to go with the 12" Northfield. It's about 34 3/4" at widest point.
Still open to any and all suggestions though. I'm willing to look at a Euro style if anyone would like to suggest a model. Without much research I think they're narrower but I may be wrong.

[David Kumm]

The fence design can be what takes up room. Some fences have a round bar that sticks out the back while the old American jointers have fences that require you to move into holes drilled in the table to move all the way. Not a big deal unless in production and does take up less room. Belt drive also takes less space than direct drive which is what most old American made jointers will be. I would not want single phase but if it works for you, grab the NF. My Porter and Oliver both have guards that tip out of the way and that is handy. Allows for double wide jointing when needed. Dave

[Cody Armstrong]

These are the pics I received from the seller.

IMG_0577b.jpgIMG_0586a.jpgIMG_0589a.jpg

[David Kumm]

You will find the heavy fence is very nice to use. I'd probably take the back of the fence guard off to gain some room to the wall. Jointer looks about as pristine as they come. The oneway with the dial is also the way I set the infeed rather than using the built in. 1/32" 99% of the time. Good news is you will get as high a resale price on this jointer as any used out there so overpaying isn't a huge issue.DSCN1840.jpg Here is a jointer I never seem to get around to selling but about a 3K machine and makes flat boards. Dave

[Bruce Page]

That's a sweet machine Cody, they don't come much nicer.

[Cody Armstrong]

David what size is the Oliver you have there? It's a beauty!

[Jay Houghton]

I just sold my Jet 12" jointer with a brand new v-shear head in it. This particular jointer is identical to the Powermatic, Delta's and others. Very long tables, 3hp single phase, parallelogram tables, etc. Sold it for $2,000 and I thought that was fair. I realize Northfield is a fantastic machine, but I can think of a lot of other things to do with the money. On the other hand, money notwithstanding, sure, why not! What I now have is a MiniMax 16" planer/jointer machine with a Byrd head. Paid $3,500 for it.

[Cody Armstrong]

Jay, others have suggested the same-a combo felder- but I'm just not interested in a combo machine. I have a 24" planer with helical head.

[Larry Copas]

I bought a near basket case Northfield 12”. Completely restored it to the very last bolt. All new bearings, paint, knives, decals, and fabricated a modern dust collection system for it. I was thoroughly impressed with the machine except for one problem.

DSCF8193.JPG

In my picture you can see my other 12” jointer. It was actually built by Griggio and re-badged Laguna. It came with a Teresa head. To test performance I would face plane figured wood on one machine than using the same board plane it on the other machine. The Teresa head had less tearout/chipping than the Northfield head. I do work a lot of figured wood. My Northfield had the direct drive motor while the one you are considering looks to be a belt drive. I don't know if there is a difference in cut quality between the two.

I came up with a game plan to sell the Griggio and use the proceeds to equip the Northfield with a Byrd Shelix. I put the Griggio on craigslist and couldn't sell it for a reasonable price. There was little interest in it, I guess because it is not a common machine.

Turned around and sold the Northfield on craigslist in about a week for $2,000.

In retrospect, I now wish I had coughed up the cash and got the Byrd head for the Northfield and kept it. While my Griggio is no slouch, the Northfield would have been outstanding with a Byrd.

[Richard Young]

Please excuse a dumb question, but curious. Why are the tables on Northfield "cored"? What is the reason for it?

[Jeff Bartley]

Cody,
There's a direct drive 12HD on woodweb right now for $3750 with an offer for a $1500 Byrd head installed, it's a '73. It's located in PA, being sold by Bill Kerfoot (he's a used machinery dealer).
I'll second the recommendation to call Jeff at Northfield, he can give you the history of the machines.
Hope this doesn't muddy your water any more!