I need a jointer- Advice?

[Frank Drew]

Sam,

A well-made jointer of any size is better than no jointer. When I opened my own shop I bought an old (1950s) 12-inch Northfield, but I'd apprenticed in a shop that only had a 6-inch Delta/Rockwell, and we turned out high quality work, as often as not running long-ish and wide-ish material (a bit of a struggle but doable on a 6" jointer). If you can buy more of a machine, do so, but getting something into your shop and getting to work is more important, IMO, that waiting until you have a bigger shop or larger budget.

[Art Mann]

I used a 6 inch Ridgid jointer for many years and it served me well. I had no use for a larger one. Over time, the nature of my work changed. I needed a 12 - 16 inch jointer and 8 inches wouldn't do any better than a 6. I wound up with a 12 inch jointer/planer combination machine and I have been happy ever since. My point is the size of jointer you need depends entirely on the work you are doing. If you are just building standard frame cabinets, 6 inches is fine.

[Jim Riseborough]

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/tls/5993069206.html

Not sure its the best deal though.

[Bob Vaughan]

Get a cheap jointer, install sharpened knives, and get on with it. I do caution that the old Sears box-bed jointers take a little more finesse. That was my first jointer. Life got better when I got a jointer I could adjust both beds, but I did a heck of a lot of work with that box-bed Sears jointer. You'll later be able to sell it for an upgrade if needed.

[Samuel Green]

Surprisingly I found one of the Rockwell jointers somewhat nearby my house on craigslist. He wants $700 for it which I'm sure is fair I just don't have that to spend. I'm looking for that unicorn deal where I find a $1000 dollar jointer for 200 bucks!

https://merced.craigslist.org/tls/5944568854.html

[lowell holmes]

I have a 6" jointer. I can flatten wider boards by running the wide board on the jointer, leaving a 6" wide joined flat surface.

Then I attach that 6" wide surface to a recently joined 6" wide board with double sticky tape.

Then I run the package through my 15" Dewalt planer leaving a joined wide side, remove the 6" board and flatten that side on my planer.

[Chris Hachet]

I have a 6" jointer. I can flatten wider boards by running the wide board on the jointer, leaving a 6" wide joined flat surface.

Then I attach that 6" wide surface to a recently joined 6" wide board with double sticky tape.

Then I run the package through my 15" Dewalt planer leaving a joined wide side, remove the 6" board and flatten that side on my planer.

Seems like a rational work around.

[Samuel Green]

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/tld/5995027355.html


Good deal??? Any advice much appreciated!

[Phillip Mitchell]

$400 for an 8" jointer is potentially a great deal. You should check it out in person to determine its condition more fully. Flat beds, fully functioning fence, co-planar beds, and a motor that works properly is a good start and if all that checked out and I was in the market, I would likely buy that jointer. I would bring a reliable 3' or longer straight edge and check out the the beds, a try square to check fence, and a test board to run it through if they have a 220 receptacle anywhere around. If I was unable to plug it in and test the motor, but everything else checked out then I would bargain down to $200-250 and/or look into a replacement motor before you do to try and determine how much that would set you back, should the motor be toast. Have that factor into what you bargain for.

Condition is everything...it looks like there is some rust? around the fence area. I'd check that out with both eyes and make sure everything moved around and locked down the way it needs to.

Have a friend help you move it and use a furniture dolly or something equivalent to wheel it around during the moving process.

Edit: Or you could sell some of those tools you stole from the estate sale and up your budget a bit and get a really clean used 8" jointer that has less unknowns.

[Samuel Green]

$400 for an 8" jointer is potentially a great deal. You should check it out in person to determine its condition more fully. Flat beds, fully functioning fence, co-planar beds, and a motor that works properly is a good start and if all that checked out and I was in the market, I would likely buy that jointer. I would bring a reliable 3' or longer straight edge and check out the the beds, a try square to check fence, and a test board to run it through if they have a 220 receptacle anywhere around. If I was unable to plug it in and test the motor, but everything else checked out then I would bargain down to $200-250 and/or look into a replacement motor before you do to try and determine how much that would set you back, should the motor be toast. Have that factor into what you bargain for.

Condition is everything...it looks like there is some rust? around the fence area. I'd check that out with both eyes and make sure everything moved around and locked down the way it needs to.

Have a friend help you move it and use a furniture dolly or something equivalent to wheel it around during the moving process.

Edit: Or you could sell some of those tools you stole from the estate sale and up your budget a bit and get a really clean used 8" jointer that has less unknowns.

Thanks for the detailed response Phillip! I have absolutely considered that. I don't see myself using the wooden planes so I may look in to moving those and replacing with a solid jointer. I've just had great luck finding used tools for cheap so I naturally look for that option first! Thanks for the feedback on the grizzly though.

Sam

[William Shelley]

I'm a hobbyist although I use that term a bit loosely. so far almost all of my woodworking energy has gone into finish work and other items for my house. But I'm nearing the point where I'll be done with that kind of stuff and can move on to more fun projects like furniture, boxes, etc.

A 6" jointer has been okay for the kind of stuff I've needed to use it for, but it was not difficult at all to convince myself I needed to upgrade. I also needed to upgrade my planer.... ended up blowing my budget for tools for the next two years and ordering a Baileigh JP-1686 16" x 86" jointer/planer combo machine with a helical cutterhead. I got a used showroom/floor model for about $4100 shipped. I don't think you can buy too big of a jointer, although this unit has a 3-phase motor which makes it more complicated to own so maybe that's the threshold where it's "too big". Grizzly makes the G0609x 12" jointer w/ spiral cutterhead for about $3200 shipped, which was what I was considering before I bought the Baileigh unit.

The bigger the jointer, the quieter and easier it is to use. Even a 6" jointer still needs 8 feet of clear space on each end of the tables for jointing long stock so the larger machines don't really take up *that* much more room. My advice is get the absolute biggest unit you can afford and then buy cheap rough-sawn lumber, and dress it yourself, to help pay for the machine.

[Samuel Green]

Quoted for Truth!

Ok team, i found this one. Its about 3 hours from my house but could be worth the drive. Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Sam

https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/tls/6005509283.html

[Jim Riseborough]

Ok team, i found this one. Its about 3 hours from my house but could be worth the drive. Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Sam

https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/tls/6005509283.html

Figure another 100 for gas, still a good deal.

[Russell Smallwood]

This thread is a little stale, but I thought I'd add my .02

For me, making furniture, here are my requirements in order of importance:

1.)Flat/straight beds
2.)Table LENGTH
3.)Helical cutter
4.)Width

I recently needed a new jointer when the 37-190 of 15 years died. I called around and found a PM 60 used for really cheap. I had decided that I needed an 8" jointer in the worst way since thats what everyone said. I went to the store, cash and straight edge in hand and was very disapointed when I found the beds to be warped. This place had several 8" jointers, new and used in stock so I decided to look around.

I sampled at least 5 jointers, and found EVERY SINGLE bed to need work. Very discouraged to say the least. So I opened up my requirements and finally found a PM54HH (6" powermatic with helical head) that was dead flat. Bought it on the spot. I told the saleman that I wanted this jointer, his reply was, "OK, let me see if I have any in stock", to which I replied, no, I want THIS jointer.

So, yes, I settled for 6" jointer with a helical head, but I knew it was dead flat.

Best decision I've made in a while. It's probably the best tool in my workshop that doesn't say Clifton or Lie Neilson and I've never regretted not having the extra 2 inches.

I guess the bottom line is, make sure you understand what the tool is supposed to do and make your decision based on how well it will perform that particular function. There are a LOT of jointers out there that don't actually do what they are supposed to do, despite the technical specs.

Just my opinion.

[Chris Hachet]

This thread is a little stale, but I thought I'd add my .02

For me, making furniture, here are my requirements in order of importance:

1.)Flat/straight beds
2.)Table LENGTH
3.)Helical cutter
4.)Width

I recently needed a new jointer when the 37-190 of 15 years died. I called around and found a PM 60 used for really cheap. I had decided that I needed an 8" jointer in the worst way since thats what everyone said. I went to the store, cash and straight edge in hand and was very disapointed when I found the beds to be warped. This place had several 8" jointers, new and used in stock so I decided to look around.

I sampled at least 5 jointers, and found EVERY SINGLE bed to need work. Very discouraged to say the least. So I opened up my requirements and finally found a PM54HH (6" powermatic with helical head) that was dead flat. Bought it on the spot. I told the saleman that I wanted this jointer, his reply was, "OK, let me see if I have any in stock", to which I replied, no, I want THIS jointer.

So, yes, I settled for 6" jointer with a helical head, but I knew it was dead flat.

Best decision I've made in a while. It's probably the best tool in my workshop that doesn't say Clifton or Lie Neilson and I've never regretted not having the extra 2 inches.

I guess the bottom line is, make sure you understand what the tool is supposed to do and make your decision based on how well it will perform that particular function. There are a LOT of jointers out there that don't actually do what they are supposed to do, despite the technical specs.

Just my opinion.

This is actually excellent advice, thanks for your post. I found this helpful.