6 inch Jointer regrets?

[Doug Donnell]

Hey, folks, been lurking awhile and I am really impressed with this forum. The level of maturity and helpfulness is refreshing.

I am considering my next tool purchase, which should be a jointer as I already have the TS, DP, BS, MS, and thickness planer. Money, like for most of us, is an issue but not the primary one. Space in my shop is also at a premium. My question to those of you who have or had a 6 inch jointer, do you regret the width? I suppose most of us would prefer an 8 or wider, but do you feel seriously constrained by a 6 inch? I have not yet progressed to buying rough stock but would like to, and I am wondering if ripping boards down to 6 then edge glueing them back is practical. Are 6 inch wide rough stock boards enough cheaper to make it unlikely that this would be a common issue?

And any advice on bed length? Some 6 inchers have substantially longer beds, but come with a higher price tag... does the longer length improve the functionality of the narrower bed?

Sorry about the length of the post. There are enough Craigs List 6 inch jointers in the Atlanta area to pick from several over the course of a few weeks so costs can be reasonable when I decide to pull the trigger. Don't mind cleaning up a machine but not into reconstructive surgery. Any advice appreciated!

Doug Donnell

[glenn bradley]

I was unhappy with my 6" a month after I bought it. Many, many folks here warned me to learn from their mistakes. But, I thought, like many others, "how could 2 more inches make that much difference?".

The 6" was good for edge jointing and table leg sized boards. For face jointing it was not useful to me. YMMV. I finally made a planer sled and sold the 6" because it was just taking up room. I am days away from ordering an 8" (finally).

Now on the upside; there are loads of used 6" jointers on the market coming from people just like me. In fairness, there should be some folks chime in who have been totally happy with their 6" for years.

Like so many other decisions we make, it is based on what you do. If you are not going to do a lot of panel glue ups for tables, dressers, frame / panel doors and the like, there is no need to sacrifice the room. Having said that, check the footprint of a "real" 6" jointer vs. an 8" . . . not that much difference.

Enjoy the journey ;-)

[George Summers]

But, I thought, like many others, "how could 2 more inches make that much difference?".

I am among those that wish I had something larger than a 6" and also among those that don't really think that an 8" would give me "that much" more than the 6". If I can ever afford to upgrade, I will go with a 12". I have found that better than 80-85% of the stock I end up working with is 8-10" wide thus the 8' would give me practically nothing.

George

[Jeff Duncan]

The problem is practical jointer size, (like most woodworking machinery choices), greatly depends on what type of work you do.
I'm a professional cabinetmaker and have been using a 6" longbed jointer for many years. Coming from a background of having access to much larger industrial machinery, I hated every time I had to use it, but it got the job done.
I'm now in the process of tuning up my 30+/- year old 16" jointer, which for me will greatly increase productivity. For most it would probably be too big a machine, but for me it should be just right.
Basically the only way to know what size machine you need is to own one and use it. Kinda stinks but that's really the way it is. For some people an 800 sq. ft. studio apt. is all they need, for others a 4 bedroom 4000 sq. ft. home is a minimum, everyone has different requirements as will you. Buy yourself a quality name 6" and use it, after a couple years if you need a bigger one buy it and sell the 6". And welcome to the club, I've replaced almost every tool I've ever bought. Not b/c I made poor choices in the beginning, but b/c my needs changed with my skill level and type of work.
good luck,
JeffD

[Mike Cutler]

Doug

One of the first paradigms to rid yourself of is the size of the jointer, and the size of your shop.

A 6' board requires 13' of open space to joint it, an 8' requires 17', etc.... The size of the jointer underneath the material isn't the real issue.
Whether the jointer is 48", 72" or 84" long, etc, other than storing the jointer when not in use, It's the size of the material that should be given the most consideration. It's still takes the same amount of space to joint a given board.

A 6" jointer can be limiting, I have a Jet 6". Buy the biggest jointer that you can afford.

[Dave Lehnert]

I used an 4" for years and moved up to a 6" . No matter what size you get, you will always wish you had bigger at times. I always say why stop at an 8". Get a 12" or 16". As you can see ,You just need to pick the largest your shop and budget can handle.
I was always told I should never use boards wider than 4" or 6" when gluing up a top anyway.

[Ben Rafael]

I've had a 6" for about 5 years, and I have no complaints about it. If I need to joint anything wider then I take out my handplanes.

[scott spencer]

I've rarely needed more length but frequently run into boards between 6" & 8". Budget and space limited my selection, but if those factors aren't an issue, it's a no brainer IMO.

[Ray Newman]

You mentioned bed length. A longer bed allows the operator to more safely & better edge or face joint longer boards.

Get the longest bed that you can, considering how much room you have fore & aft & how long a board you think you can safely handle.

Over the years, I traveled down the rough & rugged road of tool buying/ownership. My old 6" Delta was a good machine but the beds were just too short for me. When I finally saw the light, I sold it off & bought a 8" JET, which serves me well.

The only "upgrade" I did to the JET was to install a set of double-edged disposable blades. Initial start up was a bit, but ea. blade has two edges & they are snap to change -- maybe 15 minutes for all 3 knives!

Sure beats packaging & sending them out. & it seems to me that I only nick a blade on Saturday night or during a holiday weekend.


www.estausa.com/index.html
http://www.estausa.com/index.html

If I was in the market for a new 8” jointer, I would seriously look @ the 4 blade Sunhill machine for approx. US $600.00. When I bought my Sunhill 15" planer, I looked @ this jointer & it is a dead ringer for my JET (or vice versa)!

http://www.sunhillmachinery.com/

While a jointer w/ a rack & pinion adjustable fence is nice, it will add to machine’s footprint.

Some jointers have levers to raise/lower the beds; others hand wheels. I 1st learned to operate a jointer w/ hand wheels & just stuck w/ that design. Try both & see which you like better.

Buying pre-owned, bring a reliable straight edge to check how true the beds are. I’d also ask the seller to fire it up & do a test cut.

[Tony Marchesano]

I can't add too much from what has already been said. Ideally, your planer and jointer will be a matched set. For most of us, space and money dictate otherwise. As Mike and Jeff said, it depends on the type of work you do. You will want a jointer to handle whatever size lumber you intend to work with regularly. For the occasional larger sized boards you can rip them to fit, get out the hand tools or make friends with someone with a larger jointer.

[Michael Hammers]

Every time I have a 6" plus board to join!

[Cary Falk]

I have a 6" Jet and have no regrets. Very seldom do I have a board wider than 6" to joint. Storage space is more of a concern for me than money.

[Bill Wyko]

I recently got a 6" Grizzly for $150.00 with a roling base. I've used it a few times and really like it. It has a 4ft bed. If you can get into it right you could always sell it for what you paid for it.

[Dewey Torres]

If money isn't a big issue but and space plus a really nice jointer is...

Sell your planer and buy this (below link)...

If you do, you might be the first to post a tool gloat on this as it just came out recently.

http://www.tools-plus.com/jet-708475...term=JET708475

Dewey

[Orlando Gonzalez]

I got a Powermatic 50 off CL for $150 with 4' beds. It's what I can afford in money and space at this time. I will be making a planer sled to take care of wider board (see Glenn Bradleys' thread). I put the Byrd Shelix cutterhead on it because I couldn't set the knives. Later on I may go bigger if I can afford it.

Regards

Orlando