I am in the early stages of buying a jointer. My question is should I be looking at 6 or 8 inch.
I do a mix of small projects and furniture and it is purely a hobby. It seems the consensus is to go straight to the 8 inch because if you buy the 6 inch you'll just upgrade later. The problem I have is that I rarely use wide boards without ripping them in half anyways. My father was a woodworker and taught me it is usually better to rip a wide board in half and re-glue it to prevent/cure cupping and strengthen the board. I also made a sled for my planer that joints well enough with boards up to 13 inches (I usually have to touch it up with a hand plane after).
Also the 8" obviously cost more and I would have to get my barn wired for 220v, which would be an additional expense.
I am just looking to save a little time with my edge jointing mainly and be able to face joint from time to time.
Since I'm sure many of you have been through this before I was looking for opinions. Does it sound like a 6" is enough, or will it be once I get a jointer I'll start relying on it more and more and wish I had an 8"? Also how do people feel about grizzly jointers? I know they are no powermatic, but are they good enough for a hobbyist? I was looking at this one http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-46-Jointer/G0654. I'm also keeping my eye on craigslist.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I do a mix of small projects and furniture and it is purely a hobby. It seems the consensus is to go straight to the 8 inch because if you buy the 6 inch you'll just upgrade later. The problem I have is that I rarely use wide boards without ripping them in half anyways. My father was a woodworker and taught me it is usually better to rip a wide board in half and re-glue it to prevent/cure cupping and strengthen the board. I also made a sled for my planer that joints well enough with boards up to 13 inches (I usually have to touch it up with a hand plane after).
Also the 8" obviously cost more and I would have to get my barn wired for 220v, which would be an additional expense.
I am just looking to save a little time with my edge jointing mainly and be able to face joint from time to time.
Since I'm sure many of you have been through this before I was looking for opinions. Does it sound like a 6" is enough, or will it be once I get a jointer I'll start relying on it more and more and wish I had an 8"? Also how do people feel about grizzly jointers? I know they are no powermatic, but are they good enough for a hobbyist? I was looking at this one http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-46-Jointer/G0654. I'm also keeping my eye on craigslist.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.