Replies

1. 
   Timberwerks | Jun 20, 2002 03:58am | #1

   I have had the DJ-20 for three years and it has worked excellent since day one. The only thing I wish I could change is that I got the 12", Maybe next year. My whole shop is mainly Jet and Powermatic except for the jointer & shaper this is where I think Delta is still the best. 

2. 
   stevo1952 | Jun 20, 2002 04:56am | #2

   Geovan3,

   I just bought the PM at it works great, though I haven't used it a lot yet.  It did take four of us to carry it downstairs though.  Good luck.

   Stevo

1. 
   Geovan3 | Jun 20, 2002 06:30am | #6

   Glad I can drive the Bobcat into my workshop!

   George

3. 
   wbwood | Jun 20, 2002 05:30am | #3

   George,

   I have had the Powermatic 8" since '90. It has always performed very well. No complaints (except for the 8" width being too narrow at times). It has jointed and rabbeted everything my hands have put in front of it. Other than knives and one belt,there have been no miscues thusfar. wb

4. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 20, 2002 05:39am | #4

   I have the Delta 8" and it has seen countless board feet of lumber pass over its cutter head. The machine has never seen a piece of softwood and most of the lumber going through the machine are big heavy 3" x 7" timbers around 7' or 8' in length. With all this I have never had to realign the tables or fool with any of the other major parts. Besides the blades being sharpened the only problem I have had was a connector on the switch slid off, but a quick pinch with the pliers and I have never had a problem since.

   Now a buddy of mine has a 12" General and I would kill to own one but that is for a different thread.

   Scott C. Frankland

   Newfoundland Wood Worker

1. 
   Geovan3 | Jun 20, 2002 06:09am | #5

   Sounds like a lot of timbers, what do you use them for? I cut my own lumber with our Woodmiser and am always looking for ideas.

   Have a good evening, George

1. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 20, 2002 03:44pm | #11

   George I work with a lot of local birch timbers. I usually get them in either 8"x8" or 6"x6" squares. I will resaw most of them down to two 8/4 to 16/4 lumber and then dry them. The sky is the limit as to what it will end up as. I will usually resaw most of it down in to book match pieces for doors and drawers. But a lot goes into legs, larger turnings, or anything else that may need larger sized lumber.

   My jointer beds are polished using automotive sandpaper up to 2000 grit with a little time and contest checking with a straight edge (to avoid creating hollows) will give you a nice see your face one the bed finish. Then all you have to do is keep it waxed and attach a sign above the jointer telling people not to sit on the beds (don't ask). with this bit of prep work done even the heaviest timbers can be pushed through the machine with a single hand meaning I can save my strength for carrying them back around for the next pass.

   I have attached a picture of some of the timbers I use.Scott C. Frankland

   Newfoundland Wood Worker

   
1. 
   Geovan3 | Jun 20, 2002 04:37pm | #12

   Do you end up with much splitting or checking on the timbers while drying? Seems like they make a good source for whatever you need in that dimension. Do you kiln dry them? Are they white paper birch.

2. 
   Geovan3 | Jun 20, 2002 06:38am | #7

   I saw one thread where they started about 6" jointers and ended at 24". Never knew they made them that big! It would be hard to feed those 23 inch slabs over it!

   Guess an 8 " will have to do.

   George

5. 
   Geovan3 | Jun 20, 2002 07:09am | #8

   Have any of you with the Delta DJ-20 and the 1 1/2 hp motor wished you had a 2hp? Also is it difficult to attach to a 4" dust collector?

   Thanks for your replies, George

1. 
   Andrew | Jun 20, 2002 07:34am | #9

   A shop I used to work in had a 24" jointer. it was a beautiful machine, but it was a little scary at times as it was an older machine and cutterhead didn't have much of a guard over it. I've seen jointers as big as 36", and man I wish I had one.

   anyway, I've spent a lot of time behind a delta dj 20 as well, and while it's a nice machine, my personal choice would be the General 480. I'm hoping to get one soon. the dj 20 I've used has seen a lot of lumber, and has a few problems staying aligned now. I recently used a general 480 that is in a public school shop and has been for 20-30 years and has probably never been maintained very well. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it still worked perfect, despite god knows what it's been through. the general machinery that I own has performed flawlessly as well. I haven't been all that impressed with some of delta's new machinery though.

2. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 20, 2002 03:21pm | #10

   I have the 1 1/2 Hp motor and have yet to wish I had a bigger one. But then again the deepest cut I ever take is 1/16" and most times it is only 1/64" so even on a 8" wide piece of hard wood my jointer is not working that hard.

   As for dust collection I have few problems with getting the chips clear of the machine. But the chute seems to get a little to narrow at the bottom and has caused a few hang ups from time to time with wet wood (about 18% MC).

   Scott C. Frankland

   Newfoundland Wood Worker

6. 
   ScottDoten | Jun 20, 2002 05:15pm | #13

   George,

   You might check-out Japan Woodworker, they carry Powermatic.  You might also give CB Tool in San Jose a call.  I have just discovered CB Tool myself and today I am going to go check them out.  

   May I ask why you are not considering the Jet 8" jointer?  Is it because the over length is 6 1/2" shorter?  No, I am not a Jet salesman but a satisfied Jet customer.  I realize Jet owns Powermatic but I have never purchased any of their tools -- so far.

   Good Luck!

   MSD

1. 
   Geovan3 | Jun 20, 2002 06:33pm | #15

   I have never owned a Jet tool so I have no experience with them. I do have a Delta 6" jointer, contractor saw, and radial arm saw that have serviced me well. also have the Powermatic 66 that I am new to using but seems to be a great, accurate saw.

   I hate to experiment with a lot of $'s on equipment manufacturers I do not know. Maybe I pass up a lot of opportunities on the way but I have found that the advertising is not always telling the full truth. That is why I like this forum, always seem to get a good bunch of ideas from woodworkers that use the items and do the deeds.

   I do like the longer bed jointers as I joint a lot of long boards for paneling and moldings.

   Now I see General, which I have NO experience with either but seems to be mentioned by a lot of forum members has pull out extensions which makes the bed 96". Also a helical cutterhead which I assume is to do the same as angling the fence on Powermatic. I see they are built in Canada. I am not sure if that creates problems with service and support.

   Thanks, gotta go work on the islands, need to deliver them soon. Talk later, George

2. 
   3dog3 | Jun 20, 2002 08:37pm | #17

   MSD.

   You will flip at the CB Tool showroom.  It's like a toy store for grown ups!

   Michael

7. 
   woodshaver | Jun 20, 2002 06:05pm | #14

   I own,a delta,dj-20 and am happy with it, you cant go wrong with the powermatic either, its agood machine, wichever one you buy , you will be happy.   good luck.

8. 
   rslatm | Jun 20, 2002 06:51pm | #16

   That parallelogram table on the DJ20 is a plus. It's a better system than the Powermatic has with the dovetail ways. The old Delta 8" jointer had the dovetail system. I've dealt with a lot of older machines with warped tables and with the dovetail ways some times you can shim out the warp but in the worst case you have to have the entire machine ground as one unit. The parallelogram systems allows tweaking or just having a single table ground.  As far as cutter speed you compensate by feeding a bit slower on the Delta. When you buy an extra set of knives go to someone like Schmidt. Factory knives are typically lower grade.

9. 
   BJ | Jun 20, 2002 09:00pm | #18

   I was at the same decision point (DJ20 vs PM60) several years ago.  I bought the DJ20 and was prepared to be somewhat disappointed because I had been using a much larger industrial jointer.  So far - no regrets.  The DJ20 has been a pleasant surprise.  It was aligned nearly perfectly and has held its settings very well.  The 1 1/2 hp motor has adequate power for milling 8" wide hardwood.  I like the long tables and believe the table adjustment design is superior.  The PM60 weighs more.   Perhaps it would be a better choice for milling heavier timbers or for continuous duty.  

1. 
   fdampier | Jun 21, 2002 04:48am | #19

   Well let me be the voice in the wilderness.

     My 8 inch Grizzly has seen me thru probably 10 to 15,000 bd.ft. of hardwood.  I've sharpened the blades once.  It's a better tool than I am a woodworker. takes boat lumber and in a few passes turns it into nice well behaved wood.  It never argues with me and shares my political views, if it could dance I'd probably marry it......

     besides it was well under a thousand bucks including shipping and an extra set of blades.