200mm Jointer + 400mm Thicknessor or 300mm Combo?
Hilton
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
Hello guys
Here in South Africa we don’t have access to a large variety of cool Woodworking tools so I need some advice please.
For the same money I can get either;
1. a Chinese 200mm Jointer (looks pretty well made) plus a Jet 400mm Thicknessor.
or
2. a Jet 300mm Combo Planer/Thicknessor. (for about $600 more I can get the Helical Head version)
Specifics to consider;
- Space in my workshop isn’t really an issue (about 32 square meters excluding a finishing room).
- I already own a 300mm desktop/bench planer (Ryobi) and whilst it’s ok it’s not that great (no dust control).
- Timber here rarely comes in bigger widths than 300mm.
- I intend to get an 18″ bandsaw for resawing and a Jet 22-44 drum sander.
- I’m just an amature not a pro.
So the big question, which option do I choose?
Thanks for looking.
Replies
decisions, decisions
I think I'd lean toward the 300mm combo, since the added capacity on the jointer would be a significant "plus". But, I don't know what needs to be done on the Jet to convert functions. If converting is too much trouble, you might end up using the combo machine as just a jointer, and rely on your Ryobi for thicknessing.
I think the Jet is fairly easy to change over and I'd probably keep it in thicknesser mode in any case. BTW, the cost of the Helical 300mm Jet combo costs the equivalent of $4400 here
Thanks for the reply.
re: equivalent of $4400 here
Wow, that's expensive. I'm fortunate to have purchased most of my machines back in the '70s, and have fond memories of the low prices. Interestingly, the memories of the correspondingly lower wages seem to have faded more quickly.
I'm trying to buy proper stuff that will last another 25 years until I retire and then hopefully another 15 or so until I'm too old to mess around in the workshop.
We don't have Government pension/welfare programs here so you have to make a plan before and once retired the cost of these machines is out of reach of most.
Thanks for the reply.
Planning ahead is a good plan, with or without a pension plan. ;-)
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