Looking for jointer/planer combo machine

[Vinito Caleb]

Hi folks.

I've decided that with the size of my shop space and the amount of work I'll be doing, a jointer/planer combo machine would serve me well.
I'll just be doing work for myself and maybe the odd piece for a friend or family member and I have one good line (so far) on some rough-cut local milled lumber.
I picked up a little Grizzly jointer a few months back and fitted it with a spiral head, so I can sell it off for $500 without losing money on it, and honestly a little loss isn't a huge deal either.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that I've never regretted spending more money on something well-made, especially after owning a cheap version first. So I've been looking and I figure I will probably like getting something in the quality level of a Hammer and pass over the Grizzly and Jet level stuff. The price of Felder or the like makes me shudder a little, and since I'm not doing this for a living I don't think I need to go that high anyway.

In terms of quality + price, my ideal machine is probably a Hammer 16" with spiral head and height indicator. However, even the cost of that one makes it pucker a little and I'm thinking maybe I could live with a 12" and retrofit my own digital height gauge to it (I'm a machinist so I should be able to whip something up for that no problem).

So I guess my questions are:
1: knowing that no matter what size I get, it will be 1" too small for something within the first month, will I regret settling for a 12" width or will I be happy as a clam for 99% of my work (not a lot of big panel/table stuff in my planned future as of yet).
2: Does my choice thus far seem to be a good idea or am I off the mark - I am a rookie after all.

Thanks for any input.
p.s. Feel free to try to talk me into blowing my retirement fund on a silly-expensive better option if you want - I'm not quite broke yet. I'm just trying to be realistic - a Timex is as informative as a Patek Philippe after all.

[Chris Parks]

I think all Hammer machines come with an optional analogue height indicator which is at least as accurate and repeatable as a digital version and requires no batteries. I know that the general opinion is that digital beats analogue but in this case it is wrong and others will back me up here I am sure. If your budget allows never buy a smaller machine always a bigger one....old woodworker motto that has stood the test of time.

[Ron Brese]

There is no right answer to your question. It really depends on the way you work. I never depend on machines to create super accuracy or a final finish. I do that with hand tools, therefore my demands for a machine would be different than someone else. If you are machine dependent then you're gonna want, of dare I say "need" a higher quality machine. Hand tools, planes etc., are quite liberating in that way.

Ron

[john lawson]

Not sure where you are located but you can get what you want or need used. If you live in CA, Fl or AZ, used machines come up pretty often on craigslist and ebay. If you are patient you will find a used Felder, Minimax or Hammer. If you are handy with a trailer it usually involves a one day round trip adventure.
A friend of mine bought a Minimax CU410 Elite off Craigslist that was located in New York (his is 16" jointer/planer). I bought a really nice Minimax FS30 smart off ebay and had it shipped from AZ to Alabama for 1/2 the cost of new. I then sold it locally because I bought a Minimax CU300 from a guy in Denver. We met halfway in Arkansas, swapped his U-haul to my Rav 4, spent the night and returned to Alabama. I am very pleased with my purchase. I don't particularly like Ebay, but the their purchase guarantee has kind of changed my mind, especially on large dollar purchases.
Again, be patient, you can find what you want/need, or buy new.

[Doug Bowman]

This^^^^^
It is also liberating to know that I can go use hand tools for that occasional board that is too wide for the machine

[Jamie Buxton]

You will, of course, get a million opinions about this.
My 12" Hammer has been in service darn near every day for the last fifteen years. It has built loads of furniture. If it walked off in the middle of the night, I'd probably just go buy another like it. It does have Hammer's mechanical height gauge, which works just fine. It is accurate and repeatable down to a few thousandths of an inch. IIRC, it wasn't expensive -- maybe $150 -- when I bought it. Some sort of height gauge is important, but if you want to go digital, go ahead.
The width of the machine might depend upon what your wood sources are. Me, I never see regular lumber which is over 12" wide. The only exceptions are some live-edge slabs, and I do them with a router sled.

[Andy Giddings]

+1 on the 12' Hammer - does everything I need, accurate and repeatable. Chris and Jamie's comments match my experience.

[Brian W Evans]

Last year I bought a Minimax FS41 Classic (16") J/P combo. I don't necessarily plan to plane 16" wide material, but the extra width allows me to skew pieces to reduce tearout and, of course, having a 16" jointer is better than having a 12" jointer. Also, the tables were longer than the FS30 (12").

I have been very happy with this machine, which wasn't what I would consider overly expensive. If I had it to do again, I might have gone for the Elite instead of the Classic, but if I had bought the Elite I'm sure I would be wishing I'd gotten the Elite S...

I have a Wixey digital height gauge that works quite well, although I tend to use hand tools to do final fitting or else my drum sander to get the last 1/32" or so off to achieve final thickness.

Best of luck.

[John TenEyck]

Like, John, most of my stationary machines were bought used. I had an Inca 10" J/P for many, many years, then sold it when I bought a MM FS-35 (14") combo machine. I paid about half the price of new for a machine that looks, runs, and performs like it is still new. A feature I really like on the older MM machines is the mortiser is attached on the back side of the machine, so I can leave it on full time. I don't know about Hammer, but the newer MM's have the mortiser on the front so you have to remove it in order to use the jointer function. I have no clue why they did that but it strikes me as a poor idea. Anyway, I bought my machine through EBay and drove about 300 miles one way to get it. I'd do it again.

Anyway, is 12" wide enough? Sure, but 14" is better, 16" better still. Bigger is always better if you have the funds and space. Like flat screen TV's, I've never heard anyone say "You know, that xxxx is just too big, wish I had bought the smaller one." Personally, if it was a choice between a used 16" and a new 12", I'd go with the 16" w/o hesitation.

John

[Vinito Caleb]

Thanks for the replies.

...if it was a choice between a used 16" and a new 12", I'd go with the 16" w/o hesitation.

I wish I was looking at that choice. You never know until you're into it I guess , but it's a couple grand difference on the new ones and I don't think there would be enough times being up against the limit to warrant the outlay. There was a pretty cool combo machine (can't remember the brand now - eastern European I think) on local craigslist for a decent price the other day. It was listed there for about 3 or 4 weeks and I tried to reach the guy several times but couldn't get any reply so might as well not have listed it. Otherwise all we get here are a couple dozen 6" jointers, an 8" every couple months or so, and some large old iron for way too expensive.

Glad to hear some of you are happy with 12". That's the way I'm leaning as I think that should handle the vast majority of my needs I think. I mainly wanted to hear one way or another whether those that have a 12" seem to like it or "always" run into limitations with it, so that is helpful. I realized that a good buddy of mine has a 16 or 18 inch straight-knife moulder/planer which I could access in the rare occasional need I guess.

So I'm leaning pretty strong toward a Hammer 12" and if the height gauge is only $150 I might as well have them install that. I do like analog gauges - my thinking on the digital retrofit was because they are reliable and inexpensive enough that it would be an easy project, but $150 would be no big deal (I imagined it would be much higher). A motorized planer table lift might be very nice, but not a big problem for me either way. For my personal use I don't think I'll be doing enough changeovers that it would be much of a bother.

Thanks again. It will be a while, but I'll surely post when I pick something up.

[Ted Calver]

As soon as I got my 12" Hammer most of the wood I acquired was 15" wide. I'd go for the 16".

[Mark Carlson]

I have the 12in A3-31 Hammer Jointer/Planer. 16in would be nice but the 12in does 99% of what I need. I dont often find would wider than 12 in and I dont plane wide panels. What ever you do get the mechanical digital height gauge that comes with the Hammer, its awesome.

[Rod Sheridan]

+1 on the 12' Hammer - does everything I need, accurate and repeatable. Chris and Jamie's comments match my experience.

I agree, I'm on my second one, very happy with it...........Rod.

[Prashun Patel]

I have the a3-31 and its perfect for me. But you have to know how you work. You may want to put this decision off for a year.

How much you need wide jointing capacity is a function also of how comfortable you become with hand tools and how fast you need to work.

[Richard Wolf]

I saw the Baileigh not long ago. It looked like a nice machine, might be worth a look.

http://www.baileigh.com/woodworking/jointers-planers