Jointer Purchase / Guidance Help Needed

[richard poitras]

Jointer Purchase / Guidance Help Needed

I am in the market for an 8’’ or 10’’ jointer but I want one with a helical head not the straight knifes what are your recommendations? There seems to be a lot of different ones out on the market. I know Grizzly has a few selections and that some people here have. I have read a lot about the Grizzly heads compared to the Byrd.(not debating that issue please) I know I don’t want to have to install a head on a new machine or even a used machine. I am also open for a used machine with the helical head if anyone has one they are selling in mid-Michigan. One question I had as well was if you have a helical head can you get away with a smaller HP motor size? (I have heard that some ware and am try to verify) That way I don’t have to do any electrical in my shop. But I know I am going to have to do some any way due to some upcoming purchases ( re-vamping my shop). Also what’s the difference between Parallelogram Beds and regular beds? Plus my currant 6’’ Jet that I am selling it has round wells to adjust the beds and I see some have the longer shaft handles on them what’s the difference between those as well? Its seems the longer handle ones would be harder to adjust? Any purchasing suggestion would be appreciated (pricing can vary but would like to keep it under about $1200.00)

Thanks Richard

[keith ouellette]

I have had both parallel and the (i think its called) dove tail way. The standard type of bed can only be adjusted by taking the table off and shimming the bed.

I love my grizzly parallel jointer because the bed is set on something like a set of camed rings. You can loosen the bed and turn each individual ring and move the bed up or down at each corner of each table. It gives you perfect easy adjustment.

Mine has the long handles for height adjustment. They move very easy and smooth. If you are worried about often table height adjustments where 1/32 or less is critical (I don't think it ever is on a jointer unless your talking about the outfeed but you only do that once) then the wheel adjustment is probably better but the table on my griz 490 para slides up and down smooth as silk.

[Don Morris]

I can only speak to why I purchased my Geetech 8" jointer and the reasoning behind the choices. I went with an 8" because I didn't have room for a 10" and they're more expensive for this serious hobbyist. Also, I most often don't buy wood wider than 8". If I occasionally want to make something wider than that, I'll joint it to make it wider. I got the Geetech with a Byrd head installed because most of the reviews on the Geetech were very positive and there was a special on shipping. There isn't much about a jointer that can go wrong. They aren't complicated machines. Absolutely very happy with the Byrd head, esp. on highly figured woods. Most of the reviewers say unless you are a professional who is doing jointing all day long every day, you'll never ever notice the difference of a dove tail machine or a parallelogram machine. Yes, I hear the parallelogram is easier to adjust, but that's a rarity. Mine doesn't seem to be a problem for me. Gives me good results. When I finish edge jointing two pieces, I can put them together and you can't see space between them. I bought a 36" straight edge from a machinist shop to test straightness years ago, and my outfeed and infeed tables are flat, and with the Byrd head, the results are good enough for me. If I had the space, the money, I'd buy as wide a jointer (that had a shelix head) as my planer . But you're talking more $$$ than I could justify, or space that I could allocate. And better have a floor than can handle the weight of such a beast.

[glenn bradley]

After much research I went with the G0490X. The head is factory installed, it has nice long p-beds, 3HP and a tall fence. The only thing I was in question of was the handles instead of wheels for height adjustment. Thankfully this is a non-issue in practice. The longer handles allow leverage which makes the height adjustment quite easy and controlled.

[Rick Bunt]

+1 on the Grizzly G0490X. I bought mine 6 months ago after much research and have been very happy (I'm a hobbiest, not a professional, if that matters to you).

FWIW, Wood Magazine did a review of 6" jointers (March 2009) and they implied that jointers with helical heads generally need MORE power than those with straight knives. Their reasoning was that the helical head almost always has one of its cutters in contact with the board but with the planer knives the motor gets a "break" every 1/3 of a rotation. I have no personal knowledge on which to judge, but their test results with two Grizzly 6" models seemed to confirm. The helical head jointer bogged down more easily (or at smaller depths of cut) than the 3 knife cutter head with the same HP motor. With shallow passes, I don't think they noticed any difference.

-Rick

[Scot Ferraro]

Oliver makes a nice 10 inch size that you might want to look at and you can get the spiral or helical heads for it. It has a Baldor motor and very long beds -- nice machine. I would go for the widest jointer possible and would take a 10 inch over an 8 inch. I have a 12 inch and wish it were 16...

Scot