I am contemplating the purchase of a jointer to work on a number of projects, including a boat with long (22′) boards. I have been extremely satisfied with my Jet purchases ( Table saw and band saw) but am open as to manufacturer. I have read that IF ONE CAN AFFORD IT, go for the 8″ because of more powerful motor, longer tables, and all around accuracy; yet at about twice the price, I pause.
Can some of you that have been faced with the same decision in the past offer me some insight? If you bought a 6″ machine, were you satisfied or do you wish today you had popped for the 8″? Thanks!
Replies
Long boards need a long bed, I bought a long bed 8" and wish now that I had the option of a 30 foot bed!
I bought Grizzly and I love the thing!
Sailalex
I just ordered a Sunhill 6" cause it had a longer bed than all in the 6" class with exception of General International. SH has 52" bed, GI 55". All others around 46".
I don't do anything over 6 feet, usually. Frenchy is correct about the longer bed. You gonna need a ton with 22' boards. If you go to Grizzly, Sunhill or Bridgewood you can get an 8" for a little more than you pay for a 6" Jet, GI and Delta. These jointers are for the most part built by Gee-Tech in Taiwan. You pay for some of the big names advertising. Just finished some extensive research b-4 I bought. That is what popped up.
Good Luck..
sarge..jt
Sarge, did you look at the Yorkcraft when doing your review of the 6" jointers? They appear to be the same as the Delta, and for $329, a lot less expensive.
B P
No,but from what I read in Tools and Shops, it's a great buy too. If you want to see the Sunhill for $325, go to the thread Sunhill??. I'm posting a pic of it and a few of my junk-yard ( ah, shop he.. ). Yorkcraft is good. I prefer the hand-wheels. I noticed the York has one and a lever. Just a matter of preference. I do like the rack and pinion fence, a lot. I don't think you will go wrong with it.
If you want a tour of the shop. again see Sunhill?? in bout 20 minutes. Good luck, I really don't think you'll need it though. The York, Bridgewood and Sunhill are all excellent and priced so us working folks can afford.
sarge..jt
Sarge,
According to the newest issue of Popular Woodworking, the 6" Delta jointer is now made in China, not Taiwan, but good old Red China. Ain't that a fine kettle of fish?!?!?
Jeff
Edited 11/29/2002 7:42:51 PM ET by Jeff K
Chairman Mao's little Red Jointer?
China very much considers Taiwan to be a part of China.Edward
Jeff
Do you suppose it has any metal from melted-down U.S. surveilance aircraft. I think it comes with egg-rolls and won-tong soup included in the price. If it doesn't, it should. ha...
evening.........
sarge..jt
It really burns my rash every time I think that we've given them most favored nation status for trade. Seems we're quite selective when it comes to human rights. Just hope they don't start dropping "made in USA" scrap on us someday. History records such a thing happening in WWII with all we sold to Japan prior to our entry into the war.
Jeff
Jeff
That might have something to do with all the nukes they have. They have very large armies adn are willing to sacrifice a few good men as evidenced in Korea. That's OK as long as they are over there, and we're over here. But when you have nukes and capabilities to deliver, you fall into a different category.
I am more on edge about the Chinese and their capabilities and intentions than any other country in the world. Unfortunately, that might mean having to kiss a little -ss. I am not one to kiss -ss, but when you start slinging nukes it's a lose-lose situation. There are no winners.......
Sad, but IMO true...
sarge..jt
I started out with an older 6" Rockwell shortbed (54", I think) and have since upgraded to an older 8" Rockwell longbed. I have had bad experiences with three brand-new Taiwanese jointers and don't personally recommend buying one, especially since a used American machine can be had for the same or less money.
As far as whether the capacity increase justifies the price difference, I guess I'd say it depends on bed length (as others have pointed out) and how much face-jointing of wide stock you think you'll do. It can't hurt to start small and work up from there-- that worked for me. If you know someone with a large-capacity machine your decision is made easier...
John Casteen
http://www.fernhillfurniture.com
Thanks for the input. Bigger table sounds important to all. I find the Taiwanese issue a bit troubling; some ,like John, have had "bad experiences" while others have had good ones. Jet is Taiwanese and I have had good results with both a bandsaw and table saw. John, what have your bad experiences been; were they machines you bought and returned? Could there be a difference between the bigger names like Jet and the less expensive ones like Grizzly or Sunhill ( of which I have never heard)? Is there also a "buy American" bias?
Thanks again for your input ;it is very helpful.
notice the similarities between the Jet and Sunhill? Coincidence no, same mfg facilities, yes. Why does it cost less than the Jet... no distribution network to support, they sell direct to the end user (they also sell production machines to commercial shops as well).
As for length of table, you can safely joint a board that is twice the length of the table. For a 22' ft board, obviously it would not be practical to have a jointer with an 11' bed, but by getting the longest bed possible you can at least make it less difficult. A 72" bed is probably the longest you will find... personally, I'd go for the 8" as it is more versatile.
SAILALEX
I agree with Jeff. As I stated, from research have found most Tai's to come from the Goo-Tech manufactureing facility. Go to a thread several days ago (Sunhill??) when I ask for assistence. Recieved nothing but good response from 3 Sunhill owners and 1 Bridgewood (which is excellent also). Not one negative showed.
There is merit in John's older Rockwell theory. I have been buying used machines for a while. Problem is, try to find one someone wants to get rid of at a used price. Cost to much to replace and with what step-down in quality.
I too, am curious to see what problems John experienced. This is about finding the bugs before you buy from someone elses experiences.
Good luck..
sarge..jt
New FWW arrived today. Check out the reviews on 6" jointers. Except for a couple machines, they all fared quite well and most were very similar. Of course, the 8" models aren't exactly the same, but the tests sort of blow the "model loyalty" idea out of the water.
Have you checked the 8" Grizzly or the Yorkcraft?
Jeff
I own a 8" Grizzly and my experiance with it caused me to buy the 20 inch planer and the 12 inch table saw as well as a bunch of other tools. I'm still very happy! (but never so happy as when I gave away my 10" Delta table saw, jeez I hated that thing! I swear if I would have kept it much longer it would have crawled out of the basement and cut off my arm .. {well maybe that is a bit of a strech})
I'm a buy American kinda guy. Whenever possible I buy American products. I've owned enough cheap junk in my life that I'm willing to pay a lot to have quality.
But Grizzly is a great company...
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, it has been helpful. Before I received the new issue of FWW regarding the 6"jointers , I made a purchase of the Powermatic 6". I selected this one ( although it was $250 more) than the others because it had a 661/2" table while the larger 8" had only 6" more table. Happy to report that it workrd perfectly right out of the box. I also purchased the new Delta 2 speed planer. I was glad to find the good reviews in the latest issue of FWW for both these products.
For those still saying that they wouldn't purchase "that cheap foreign stuff" you better get current because 1) it ain't so cheap anymore, and 2) the quality (at least my experience with Jet and Powermatic) is good right out of the box. My Delta planer is also good. Take it machine by machine and don't get hung up on American v. foreign.
Good luck on the new PM! One point to add. As you noticed, there really is no choice between US/foreign made any longer; they're all made overseas.
Jeff
I just got the latest FWW yesterday and was dismayed they didn't include the Sunhill in their 6" jointer survey. How could FWW ignore a tool that's such a good value and has gotten excellent press for at least 3 years?? Back when I ordered mine I had to wait several weeks for more to arrive from Taiwan--maybe that was the case when FWW contacted Sunhill...?
I was disappointed at the lack of useful pix to be found on the web in general & Sunhill's site in particular so I put up my own to help others. At the bottom of this page is a link to my Sunhill 6" jointer homage:
http://www.wood-workers.com/users/mach70/index.html
Sailalix -
If you don't think you'll ever (ever is a long time!) need the capacity of an 8" jointer - for face jointing - then you can easily built an outfeed and infeed table for a 6" with a shorter bed. The infeed table would need to be adustable, more so than the outfeed, of course, but for 20' pieces, I think you'll need a good flat outfeed table anyway. I have an 8" jointer and as soon as I can get my new shop built, the plans call for an outfeed table extension for it as well.
Just my opinion.
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Dennis
I agree about the extensions. I just ordered the Delta 13" 22-580 thickness planer also. According to Ms Cleo, she see's extentions for both the new jointer and planer in my future. Got a feelin' that is going to be the very near future.. grin<>
Evening..
sarge..jt
Hi Sarge -
I only bought the 8" jointer 'cuz I'd been saving for quite a while and only wanted to buy *one* jointer. I have enough trouble convincing the holder of the purse strings that I need one tool, let alone a replacement for one I already have! (grin) .... the new band saw will be a difficult sell.
I see my jointer installation (in my some-day new shop) along one wall with an outfeed table extension rigged with shims for leveling to the machine table. Haven't figured out how to rig an adjustable infeed table yet.
In/out extensions for the thickness planer is a good idea, too!...........
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Dennis
Just headed to bed. You got the right idea about the 8" jointer. I can't warrant one, but I would like to have. I've been without any since 80' till I just bought the 6". Done it all with a hand-plane. Getting lazy, I guess. Or old, whichever comes first. Ha...
The 10" B/T drill press I have did not have a ratchet system to raise and lower the table. Don't think they had been invented back then. he... I put a $12 2- ton hydraulic jack under the DP table and mounted to the DP base. Mounted the jack post to the bottom of the DP table. Can raise and lower the table with a couple of tons on the table. Grin<>
Point: On the infeed table extention, might consider a system with a hydraulic jack to attach to bottom of infeed to raise and lower. Just a thought. Works like a charm on the DP and they are cheap and simple. Turn a screw and a couple of easy pumps will take it skyward. Turn the screw to take her down.
Evening nite owl....
sarge..jt
Sarge -
A jack system would possibly work but don't forget that the jointer beds travel down and away from the cutter head on the keyways in order to clear the knives.
Side note on the drill press thing - When I bought my old Craftsman foor drill press years ago I didn't get the rack & pinion crank for the table. For what reason other than stupidity (maybe $$ can't recall) I guess it was my first feeble attempt at submitting for a Darwin award or something. Just have to be sure I have hold of the dang thing when I loosen the clamp lever! Been trying to find something that would work - maybe some sort of jack like you've got?? Know where I can find a hydraulic jack with a 3' travel? (grin)
...........
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Dennis
Yeah I know, but you don't want to pay that price. Ha.. How about a standard automotive hydraulic or scissor jack mounted to a table on casters that rolls underneath the press table. If you get into anything big that requires the space underneath, just roll it out of the way. Fuel for thought..
PS.. Not sure if you caught it, but Jim asked what type 8" jointer you got. He probaly posted as you were posting to me.
Have a good evening, Dennis..
sarge..jt
Dennis,
Can I ask which 8" Jointer you bought? I'm in the market and keep flipflopping on Brand.
Thanks,
Jim
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