low down on jointers

low down on jointers · 10-24-2009, 12:21 PM

My 6" craftsman jointer has died and I want to get another one. Right now money is tight so I may not be able to get one for a while. I will be looking for something used. But as long as I'm "researching" I'd like to know what's good, what's bad and what to look out for. I see a lot of craftsman jointers on CL but I was never very happy with mine - mostly just a crummy motor that often had to be smacked to make it work. One of the pulleys tended to get loose too.

I see Delta, Jet, Rigid, Powermatic here and there for sale. Grizzly has a cheap one made by Steel City(?) that I think is under $300 + shipping. I'm looking for something used for hopefully under $200. (Did I mention I have no money right now!)

The only thing I've ever used my jointer for was running edges so I could glue up boards. I have a planer for face surfaces. Oh yeah, mine was a 6" with a 36" table. I was thinking 6" would be adequate for my use but was thinking about something longer.

Anyway I'm open for advice from those with more experience than me (which would be most of you!). You can pm me if you want or respond here. Thanks

Robert

McRabbet · 10-24-2009, 01:00 PM

Rob,

I've owned two Grizzly jointers -- my original 6" was about $325 and served me well (the G0654 6" x 46" jointer at $395 is the nearest equivalent). I now have a G0490X 8" x 76" with a spiral carbide cutterhead for nearly 3x that cost and way out of your budget range. The Steelex model T20835 you saw is not made by Steel City -- Steelex is a Shop Fox trademark. At $239 it is pretty cheap, but probably not as stable and accurate as the G0654 with its enclosed stand. I also noticed that the fence only tilts 40* and not 45* like the Grizzly version.

LeftyTom · 10-24-2009, 01:15 PM

I will put in a plug for the Ridgid 6" jointers. The older models like mine are gray.

Travis Porter · 10-24-2009, 01:49 PM

I am going to stay away from specific brands, and cover specific features/designs. Reason being, many of them are the same just with different labels.

First off, the fence. I would want one with the adjustment and clamping mechanism in the middle. To me, this provides more stability with the fence mechanism itself and makes it easier to handle.

Enclosed base with a dust collection port is another thing I would want. My first jointer had an open base no port, and although I didn't have a dust collector when I started, I did after awhile and constantly getting the saw dust and shavings up got old.

3/4 HP motor or bigger. That way, face jointing doesn't cause too much strain.

8" would be my first choice size wise, but if 6 is acceptable to you, have at it. It is whatever works.

Personally, I am preferential to the parallelogram design. I just like the way the tables go up and down and it seems to make "logical" sense to me in how it works.

Handles or knobs. I have had both, and personally, don't think it makes a difference.

Checking out used is a good way to go in my book. When you go, take a 6 ft straight edge (piece of 3 inch wide plywood would work and see if the tables are parallel or have any twist. You can shim them to get them parallel but twist is a different story.

Same thing for the fence. See if it has any twist or is bowed.

See how smoothly the height mechanisms work. On my current jointer, I didn't do this, and found the outfeed adjustments to be very stiff after the fact. It wouldn't have stopped me from buying it, but I might would have negotiated a little more.

See how smoothly the fence moves in and out. This is another area where mine was quite stiff, but since I have disassembled it, cleaned and lubed it, it now works well. The knob to tighten it though was stripped, and I had to drill it out for a new roll pin. Not a big deal, just another thing to take care of.

Check the stop mechanism for the fence to see how well and consistently it returns to 90 degrees. It might be off of 90, but if it comes back to the same spot consistently would be what I am looking for.

Way back when I was looking at 8" jointers, the older Powermatic's were the king in that size. The fence was super stiff and strong, and the pwer ratings were excellent. I was buying new, and couldn't swallow the extra $650 they wanted compared to the Delta DJ-20. The DJ 20 served me well, and I would still buy it again. Part of the reason I bought the Delta over say a Grizzly was the Delta was supposed to be made in USA at the time. I found out after I got it that the only parts made in USA was the stamped steel base. Everything else was made in China.

Mark Gottesman · 10-24-2009, 06:08 PM

I understand wanting to get a better tool, but I did not see the reason for it. If the motor died, you can probably scare one up for under $50.00. If the pulley is not holding, I would see why and maybe replace it with machined steel unit. Bad bearings would cost you about $20.00 and are fairly easy to replace. If you want to live large, get a link belt to quiet it down some.

For less than a $100 or so you would have a working jointer. As far a a longer bed goes, I have seen a few jointers with bed extenders. Some were made by bolting on metal channel that was cut to fit. Some were done by dropping the jointer into a ?cradle? that had adjustable infeed and outfeed tables that were independent of the jointer.

Having said all that, I just bought a 6" Delta jointer 37-190 to replace a 4" Atlas. It was a new model, but the owner, had neglected it. I had to dismantle it, remove the rust on the beds, free up the adjustments, sharpen the knives and reset everything. That was about 20 -30 hours of work. The price was right, but it would have made more sense to buy one in better shape if I needed to get something done.

The tables are about 47" long. It is a good machine. I would recommend one of these if you can find one. In a plug and play condition I have seen them in the $250 range. It has an open base, it is cast iron, motor is plenty strong, adjustments are easy and stay put.

Good Hunting.

Guy in Paradise · 10-25-2009, 02:21 AM

I had a Delta 6" I also was never very happy with. Constantly shimming the table slides and tweaking adjustments. Of course, being in the military and moving every few years didn't help either.

I also finally got rid of it and purchased the G0490X this last summer. What a difference. The parallel tables were perfectly aligned right out of the crate. The fence was a breeze to align. The ver quiet spiral Helix head makes super cuts. The experience is like going from a moped to a sports car.

I would recommend saving for the best one you can get.

Gotcha6 · 10-25-2009, 08:04 AM

The only thing I've ever used my jointer for was running edges so I could glue up boards. I have a planer for face surfaces.

If that's all you use it for, why not look at a good tablesaw blade? There are blades out there now that leave a good glue joint finish to an edge. You could also follow up the cut with a couple passes of a hand plane.

RobS. · 10-25-2009, 11:04 AM

Thanks all. First - Rob, you are right that was the Steelex jointer and it looks pretty cheap.
Mark, the motor in my craftsman has died. It's an older machine (at least 20) and the motor is discontinued as are the brushes that it needs. The table is cast to house this motor only. I thought about having some slotted metal welded to the underside to accommodate a different motor but figured I'd look into another machine first. And Travis, thanks for the tips.

I know of the other brands but have never used any besides mine and one they used to have at Wilson CC. Wilson CC did away with their woodworking class several years ago and I don't remember who made their jointer but it was a large commercial machine. I've know about Jet for a while but didn't know if their equipment was good or not, same with Delta.

A while back I saw a Powermatic 8" jointer on Durham CL for $300. I called immediately. The owner said he paid $400 for it just over a year ago. He bought it from the original owner and I think he said it was about 4 years old. But, he was on his way to go show it to someone else. I never heard back from him.

Meanwhile I have 3 table tops waiting for me to run the edges. Fortunately the projects are not pressing and I know someone in Zebulon who has offered to let me use his.

Ken Massingale · 10-25-2009, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Gotcha6

If that's all you use it for, why not look at a good tablesaw blade? There are blades out there now that leave a good glue joint finish to an edge. You could also follow up the cut with a couple passes of a hand plane.

Edges can also be joined easily and cheaply using a router in a table with a shimmed outfeed fence, or a handheld router with a straightedge and flush trim bit.

Jim Hancock · 10-26-2009, 09:59 AM

You could also use a handplane and a shopmade shooting board. It will possibly provide the best edge for jointing and is a quiet and dustless method.

RobS. · 10-26-2009, 11:26 AM

Well, after doing a little studying yesterday I might very well be able to replace the motor. What I thought was cast on the table was actually part of the motor. There is a bracket that holds the motor to the table - it was hard to see with the motor mounted (and bad eyesight). It would have helped too if I had known what I was doing!!

Then I'll need new blades.

junquecol · 10-27-2009, 10:08 PM

For what it cost to fix yours, you could get a used one off craigslist. Earlier this week, there was a 6" Jet on craigslist for $200. To get craiglist bargins, you need a sharp eye, fast typing skills, CASH, and a full tank of gas.

RobS. · 10-28-2009, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by junquecol

For what it cost to fix yours, you could get a used one off craigslist. Earlier this week, there was a 6" Jet on craigslist for $200. To get craiglist bargins, you need a sharp eye, fast typing skills, CASH, and a full tank of gas.

I think I saw that Jet which is why I started this thread - I've heard of them but don't know if they're good or not.
I made the comment to my wife last night that I could replace my Craftsman with another one for less than the cost of a new motor and blades. There have been plenty of Craftsman and a couple of Delta's on CL most of which are well under $200. In fact I saw a Craftsman similar to mine with new blades for $95.
I'm having some (server) problems with my computer which keeps me from being able to respond through email to CL. So if they leave no phone # I can't contact them. There is a Craftsman about 20 miles from me for $200 (he started asking $275, then $250, now $200). I may offer him $150 if I don't see anything else by the weekend.
I do have access to a friend's jointer. For the time being I may just load up my wood and take advantage of his offer and wait on til I can afford something nice.
As for being fast to respond to CL - I called about the Powermatic within an hour of it appearing and it was already gone! I had cash and gas!!

gdoebs · 11-03-2009, 11:19 PM

IMHO, I'd go as big as you can afford. A couple years ago I bought my first jointer, a 6" Grizzly. I like it and it was reasonable at $325. After a few projects and buying rough lumber, I'm frustrated at my limited width. A lot of the lumber I get is wider than 6" and I was a lot of time ripping it on the bandsaw down to 6" to run it over the knives. I now have my eye on the Grizzly 12" parallel jointer, possibly with a spiral head. If you can wait a couple months, my 6" will be on the market!

junquecol · 11-04-2009, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by gdoebs

IMHO, I'd go as big as you can afford. A couple years ago I bought my first jointer, a 6" Grizzly. I like it and it was reasonable at $325. After a few projects and buying rough lumber, I'm frustrated at my limited width. A lot of the lumber I get is wider than 6" and I was a lot of time ripping it on the bandsaw down to 6" to run it over the knives. I now have my eye on the Grizzly 12" parallel jointer, possibly with a spiral head. If you can wait a couple months, my 6" will be on the market!

There was an excellent article in FWW a couple issues back on jointing wide boards on a 6" jointer. It's the way I have done it for years. You can do a 9" board without any problems, but wider than that becomes a problem.