6 inch Jointer regrets?

[Doug Donnell]

Thanks for all the advice. When I think I am ready I am going to haunt the usual sites for a used piece of equipment in the Atlanta area. It looks like at any one time there are several 6" in Craig's and the occasional 8". Bargains (or at least significant discounts off retail) are common in the 6" class and if I go that route I will look for a deal on a name machine in decent shape that I will have a chance to recoup some of the investment in if I upgrade. If I happen to find an 8" within my pain tolerance I will probably go that route, but the poster who suggested that a 6" is better than a 0" hit the nail on the head.
Thanks again all!
Doug

[Paul Johnstone]

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?

My first joiner was the basic Jet 6" joiner. Nice machine, but the short beds made the practical length for joining to be about 6' for 4/4 stock.
That was kind of pushing it. Since I make bookshelves and other things which are often 7' high, this was annoying.

If I had bought a 6" longbed joiner, I might've never upgraded to a 8".
IMO, bed length is more important than width, but that's just for the stuff I make.

I attempted to join some 7' long 8/4 oak for a table top and that 6" joiner could not handle it at all.

So think about what you plan to make. Also think about your finances.
If it would take you years to save up the extra money for an 8" joiner, than buy a 6". But if you can swing it, get the 8" joiner with longer beds now.

People bring up space issues, but if you have it on a mobile base, that is not an issue. I don't have a huge shop. My smaller 6" joiner also got in the way at times.. I mean, regardless of the size you get, you will be pushing it around to have space to use other tools, so go ahead and get the bigger one.

[Bob Genovesi]

Doug,

I replaced an old jointer with Jet's 6 inch jointer 10 years ago and have no regrets at all. To your question whether I would prefer an 8 inch jointer the answer is no.



The 6 inch Jet I have will allow me to surface boards 6 inches wide as the cutter knives are 6 1/8 inches long. I try to work within the constraints of my equipment which makes life much easier. When I venture outside these for specific reasons I have to be innovative and resourceful.

One of the reasons I prefer the 6 inch is that when I try to use boards wider than 6 inches the chance of them being more cupped or twisted becomes much greater. Many times I have ripped a board because of warpage, jointing and plaining it flat, then gluing them back together. I think narrower boards have a tendency to warp less as well.

These are my reasons and I hope they help answer and guide your decisions.