I have a 6 inch Delta jointer. Nothing wrong with it. My problem is that at least 40% of the wood I get is too wide to joint on it. And, no I don’t want to rip the board and reglue. My typical method is to joint what I can and then handplane the 1/4 to 2 inch remaining edge. I know there are other methods using a planer.
I would love to get an 8″ jointer. I would probably choose the DJ20 because it has levers like mine and I like the parallelogram design concept in leu of using ways. The real problem is the size and weight. Guess it is hard to get around that problem. I have seen the weight for the DJ-20 all over the map, but it is around 400 lbs–twice the little 6″ that I have. Wish there was another solution to getting the wider capacity.
Replies
I recently had the same dillema as you. A pro woodworker friend told me not to bother with an 8", look for at least a 12". I took my time, checked auction houses, ebay, the want advertiser, and local distributors of used refurbished machinery-where I ended up buying mine. I got lucky within a month and got a used Grizzly 12" jointer with disposible blades for a great price. It works great and will deal with 95% of the boards I can get my hands on.
There are more old drunkards than old doctors. Ben Franklin
All I can say is, wow! Without looking at the Grizzley site, how much does that thing weigh. I am always considering that I will probably make one more move. And room is a consideration.
It's heavy. It's probably about 600-700 lbs. The funny thing is one person moved it off the truck and into my shop. Granted the truck had a lift gate and was able to drive right up to my shop which is on ground level. He moved the jointer with one three foot long, two inch pipe. He lifted one end, I put the pipe under it, he rolled the jointer forward, he picked up the back, I moved the pipe forward, etc, until the jointer was in place. Pretty amazing to watch. I'm glad I took the time to search out what will now meet my jointing needs for a long, long time.There are more old drunkards than old doctors. Ben Franklin
How long have you had it? What I have found is that I shy away from boards that are 8 to 12". The reason is that my lumber yard charges quite a bit more for wide boards. I find that I am going to have to joint a few boards up to make the final width I need anyway, so one more, when I am doing 3 or 4, is not a big deal. I don't know what I would think if I had a 12" jointer. I know that it would COMPLETELY eliminate any thought of width as a concern as far as handling boards. Do you really find that you are working with boards that exceed 8" very often?
Ironically, the place I get my wood sometimes has some beautiful wide boards. I'm making a coffee table for my home soon out of walnut. I found two boards that are each about 12" wide that I'm going to use to make the top. When I got home and looked more closely I realized why the color of the boards matched so well- they were from the same tree. I'm going to situate them so the grain is mirrored. Now when I'm looking through a pile of lumber I don't have to settle for the crappy 6" wide board or buy a nice 8" board knowing I'll have to rip it and put it back together or lose 2" of wood at a premium price. Having the wider jointer makes choosing wood purely an exercise in finding the best boards instead of worrying about money lost buying wider stock. In the end it makes the process easier and more enjoyable. I couldn't believe the editor response in FWW this issue recommending that a 6" jointer is all you need and that the editors 8" jointer gathers dust. He also says it's simple to joint a 6"x 8' board with a 6" jointer. It is not. It's a balancing act. I've tried it many times and have been frustrated each time. There are some great used machines out there if you look a little. Good luck. You can also check out the US Govt Aution sites. Google used machinery houses, etc.
Here's one place to start. http://www.woodnet.net/forums/There are more old drunkards than old doctors. Ben Franklin
Why is the weight a problem? And why is the size a problem? An 8" jointer isn't that much longer than a 6" and you still need the same amount of room to either side of the head to handle the length of the stock and that won't change no matter what size machine you have.
John W.
I bought rolling bases for my DJ-20 and Unisaw -they make moving much easier. But how much moving do you need to do? My shop is located in the basement. I can see moving would be a big concern if space is shared in a garage.
Oh, I am not concerned about moving it when I have it in the basement. Dumb as it may seem, I would like to keep myself lighter than a full fledged foundry. I have a Unisaw, so I don't have a problem with a tool size if it has to be a certain size.
Your delima has reared it's head in my shop a few times as well. I have a 6" jointer as well and have had to reluctantly rip a few boards and reglue to make it work. I am building a dining room table out of some Sappelle (Mahogany) it would have been a sin to rip these 10 to 12" wide boards just to joint them flat. In last months FWW, there is an article by Keith Rust on buildind a planer sled to flatten wide boards. I built the sled and it worked great, all of the boards were flat. I use the sled on my portable 12" Makita 2012 planer with an auxillary infeed/outfeed bed I built. I have used a 12" jointer and it sure was nice, but it does come at a cost, (price, portability, space). Go to FWW site, look for (more video tips) and there is a demo of the sled. Don't get me wrong, if I had a big shop and did alot of wide board work I would consider a 12" model, providing I got the ok from my CFO. Good luck
Eric: I just bought an 8-incher. I could have settled for one like yours. Did you see FWW No. 175? One article shows a great scheme for using a planer as a jointer. For the few times one might need a jointer wider than six inches, I could do that. Couldn't you?
I must admit that I miss the Inca 8.5-inch jointer that I was forced to sell in the past. It is short, but I built a 5-ft workbench with it. I never found the length to be a problem and the width was appreciated. I tried to buy it back before buying an 8-inch Yorkcraft.
A word on semantics: Jointers were formerly referred to as jointer-planers. They do plane as well as joint.
RoRo
I too use the planner as my wide jointer, a lot more trouble but I can flatten 20 inch wide boards that way!
I don't use a sled, rather I just take a flat board that is wider and longer than what I want to get flat. Light cuts and don't try to get it all in one pass is the technique That I found works best.; simply screw a cleat in the back end of the bottom board and there's your "sled" !
As far as weight goes, I recently picked up an engine hoist at Harbor Freight. I should have done it a long time ago. Now, all I have to do is figure out the rigging, and lifting an 800 lb. power tool and putting it on a wheeled cart is no problem.
hi -
just bought the new Pop Woodworking book "Tips, Tricks and Techniques" and was reading about this very problem last night in fact!
maybe you know this trick already but . . .
if you can find this book, look at chapter 26 -- pp 110-112 --
"Planing 8" boards with a 6" jointer"
(this assumes you have a thickness planer):
1. remove the guard from the 6" jointer, surface as much of one side of the board as you can, going no deeper than 1/4".
2. then get a piec of 1/4" plywood 6" wide and put it into the notch of the side you just jointed.
3. then run this (plywood side face-down) through your thickness planer to surface the opposite side, making several passes to make sure it's completely planed.
4. turn the board over, remove the plywood "filler strip" and run that side through the planer face up, until you reach the desired thickness.
here is the book at amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/ref=s_sf_b_as/102-2298606-1792151
You know, that might be the best answer. I just might try that sled idea.
I've heard of that method before. Just keep in mind that a jointer without a guard in place can be a very dangerous thing.
By the way, as an aside, Homier (the mobile merchant) has an 8" jointer (it calls a planer) that is selling for $299. Has anyone seen the thing in the flesh?
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