Harbor Freight 8" Jointer or 6"

[Robert Strebler]

The HF 8" Jointer is on sale right now. From my research, I've found that a lot of people are happy with the jointer even though it's a pain to set the knives.

Here's my dilemma. I have a basement shop and am in the market for a jointer. I have a stairway with a landing in the middle that leads to the basement making it incredibly difficult to get large/heavy machinery downstairs. The HF jointer is on sale for $350. I know it's bed is short for an 8", it's probably not the best machined piece in the world, and it's likely to be a pain to setup, but I could easily get it downstairs. Or, I can get a good 6" Jointer for about the same price.

Knowing that setup will be a pain and being willing to live with it, is there any reason not to do the HF jointer?

[Jon Crowley]

I have the 6" and am relatively happy with it. Haven't really seen the 8", though I suspect it's a similar design.

Yes, it was a pain to set up, but it was also my first jointer, so it could have been lack of experience. I can tell you that I learned quite a bit about jointers in the process. The fence is an old design that hinges on the side, but I think I like it better because it makes the machine smaller overall.

In the end, a jointer is two flat surfaces, adjustable, with whirling blades inbetween. Keep that in mind when you see the several inevitable posts saying that HF is junk. Iron is iron, and there really isn't much to screw up on a tool like this.

A higher priced brand will most likely come tuned from the factory, and be easier if you haven't set one up before. You won't learn from the experience though. In your case, you may have to bring it down the basement in pieces anyways.

[Bruce Benjamin]

In the end, a jointer is two flat surfaces, adjustable, with whirling blades inbetween. Keep that in mind when you see the several inevitable posts saying that HF is junk. Iron is iron, and there really isn't much to screw up on a tool like this.

First off, I generally have no problem with HF tools and I happen to own quite a few of their products. I also have never seen this jointer. But saying that, "Iron is iron, and there really isn't much to screw up on a tool like this." just isn't true at all when it comes to a jointer.

The tables need to be very flat. They need to be coplaner. When you adjust the height of the tables they need to stay coplaner to each other. The fence needs to be straight and lock down securely. There are other factors that may play into it as well but clearly there is plenty that can be screwed up with a jointer.

The HF jointer may be just fine but you make it sound like, "Of course it's fine, what could possibly go wrong?" It's not a hammer. It's supposed to be a precision piece of equipment and it's supposed to perform one of the most critical jobs in a woodshop.

I have a Sunhill 8" jointer. Aside from some initial problems, (Shipped wrong jointer, replacement dented, fence twisted, replacement fence needed drilling) I'm now very happy with it. The tables are flat and coplaner and the replacement fence is straight and locks down tight. I looked at a couple of different models of HF jointers and I decided that for such an important tool I didn't want to have to risk getting warped tables or tables that wouldn't stay aligned when I raised and lowered them. I should add that while I had some initial problems with the Sunhill they ended up bending over backwards to make me happy and I came out of the deal with a perfect jointer, two extra sets of knives, and the beefiest mobile base I've ever seen.

Bruce

[Dave Cavanaugh]

I have the smaller one, too. It seems to work fine. The fence needs to be checked for square every time you change position, but otherwise it seems to work ok. The only potential problem with this style of fence is that it's weight could possibly causes the infeed table to sag, or increase the wear on the gibs, since the fence is attached to the table, not the central casting like on more modern machines. The stand is sheet metal and doesn't add much to the mass and bulk of the machine, so it vibrates some. On the other hand, it does make it easier to move around. That being said, I plan to replace it with an 8" Grizzly jointer this summer so I can mill longer and wider stock. Still debating the dovetail ways vs the parallelagram models, though...

[Scott Loven]

I have a stairs with a landing half way down. I strapped my 6" Powermatic 54 long bed jointer on an appliance dolly while it was still in the box and moved it down the stairs no problem.

Scott

[Robert Strebler]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger. Since there is a Harbor Freight about 5 miles from my house, if it turns out to be a loser I can just take it back. At 350lbs it will be a lot easier than taking a 5-600 lb jointer downstairs.

Since I had a $50 off coupon, it ended up being a $370 dollar purchase including tax with no shipping to their store. It's a special order item and will take a week or two to get to HF from their warehouse. I figure it's worth the risk for an 8" jointer. I'll post a review and some pics on here after I get it home.

Cheers!