Jointer Question

[chris yount]

I have been thinking about adding a jointer to my never ending quest for tools.I went to lowes today and there was 6" delta jointer with a 44" bed is this really useful? I work at what is basically a machine shop on steroids.We have lathes that are 40' long and and will swing 7' diameters and hold 50-60 tons.anyway it looks like a toy to me.I know my perspective is skewed by my everday surroundings but what is the most useful length bed for a jointer ? I would think some of the 57" models I see on the web would be much more useful than this .I really dont do alot of small projects most of the lumber I deal with is 3'-8' long.
thanks for your help,
chris

[Peter Quadarella]

The general thought is that you can accurately joint a board twice the length of the bed of the jointer. Some may be able to do longer, but that's a good rule of thumb to go by.

[Jeff Duncan]

What's a toy to one guy, may be overkill to another guy. Can you imagine putting a 40' lathe in someones garage?
What you need in a tool comes down to the kind of work you do. The only way to really know what you'll need is to start using one. The great thing about the cheapy jointers at the box store is that they don't cost much so when you outgrow them you aren't out a lot of cash.
JeffD

[Matt Benton]

Peter,

I was thinking the rule was twice the length of the outfeed table...

[chris yount]

Jeff,I agree with you, thats why I was giving, my background.I tend to see most hobby tools different than other folks.It is hard for me to tell what can be really useful in a home shop.I only want to buy one tool that will serve me for ,within reason ,most of my needs.I dont want to buy another tool 1 year later or regret buying the smaller tool.

thanks for everyone's advice I have learned a great deal from this forum.
chris

[Joe Chritz]

I, like a lot of other people, had a 6" jointer before an 8". I had more limitations from the width then the length. I could edge joint a fairly long board if it was nearly straight to start. There are lots of ways to get an acceptable edge.

If you don't do lots of panel work a 6" may be wide enough forever. A jointer is a fairly simple deal and they all do the same thing.

Joe

[Bob Hallowell]

Chris,
I go through that toy thing all the time with my dad. He is a tool and dye maker so he is used to big machines. I was telling him how big and nice my new sctw 18" bandsaw was, which wieghs in over 400lbs. He came over and looked at it and was expecting something much bigger as the the bandsaws he uses weigh over 1000lbs and my big bandsaw looks like a toy to him. But working metal and working wood are 2 different things. I have a 6" craftsman jointer which works great and I am happy with. I would love a bigger one but I have space issues already. I would look at the gizzly 6" it prolly doesn't cost much more and has a longer table.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-46-Jointer/G0654

Bob

[Michael McCoy]

I've had a 6" jointer for several years and it gets a fair amount of use. It's not normal but right now I have probably a little over 800BF of lumber at my shop and I doubt if there's more than a half dozen boards under 6" so it's not getting much use oher than edge jointing. I beefed up my hand plane arsenal and do a lot of things with my planer that it wasn't really made to do but it still gets the job done. I wouldn't dream of doing things this way if I had to make a living at wood works but I've gotten a finer appreciation of a good well tuned hand tool.

[Adam Cavaliere]

Steel City offers a 6" for about the same cost as the Delta - Their bed is 68" long.

[Robert Conner]

I think an often overlooked feature of a Jointer is the weight and mass. If I am edge jointing or face jointing the solidness of the jointer has a lot to do with the final product. For years we used a 6" at school, it was an old Delta 6" mounted solidly to the floor and weighed about 300lbs. It was tuned and adjusted carefully which made a difference. A tremendous amount of sub par wood went thru that machine just about every piece of wood we used.
The less expensive bench models just seem to move around too much when you feed wood.
Robert

[chris yount]

The machine I was looking at is a floor model that weighed near 200 pounds I'd guess.It looked like youd be pushing it's limits with about 4 feet of board length.I don't really do many panels but I do use a lot of lumber in the 6'-8' lengths.I have a dining room table project Id like to do thats going to be about 7'-8' long and want to make sure I can do this without much difficulty.
I wish there was a woodworking store in my area that would let you demo their machines to get a feel for what youd need.
thanks for your help,
chris

[Norman Pyles]

If you have the money, and the space then get the 8" jointer. I had neither, so I picked up that Lowes Delta jointer used.

[Greg Crawford]

Almost everyone I know with a 4" would like a 6", and if they own a 6" would like an 8". I have an 8" Grizzly and would like a 10 or 12. Flattening boards is a major reason for me having a jointer, and the width can be a big limitation. Of course, you can get a great older Stanley #8 24" long jointer plane for $200, then the only limits are your skills.