Been looking online for a good used jointer, ( www.exfactory.com has quite a few for sale). I never realized how many different manufacturers (current and defunct) there are out there. Oliver, Northfield, Cantek, Cresent, Moak, Griggo……on and on until ur head spins. Does old automatically equal good quality machines? Some of these old machines are still very expensive. How about old Delta (Rockwell) machines? How old do the powermatic machines need to be to be good? The more I research jointers, the more confused I get. Which brand do you own and do you like it?
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I use a Shop Fox 6" jointer, the one with the enclosed mobile base. It works well for my simple needs. If I needed something bigger I'd probably shop around for an old behemoth of a machine, like an Oliver 16" or something. But actually, I don't know if my electrical could handle something that big.
I guess the important thing is to make sure any antiquated machines you buy are solid, complete and not in any need of repair, cuz that could get expensive. But as for how solidly they're built, if you get anything industrial it's sure to be built like a tank and able to handle anything you throw at it. But I would expect a substantial savings over buying new. There are a lot of good new machines available, with warranty and parts still available. You just have to weigh your options, needs and budget.
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Old does not automatically mean good. There has always been manufacturers who produced poor quality goods. There have always been well educated well intentioned designers with bad ideas. There also has always been manufacturers with excellent track records. Old Delta and Powermatic both have good reputations. Pick a specific model and ask for advice on it.
Most of the jointers you have mentioned are commercial types. 3-phase power in all of them and they all weigh over 1,500 lbs. Northfield is about the only one of those you mentioned that is still around and they want $12,000 for an 8" single phase machine with steel knives. The old Rockwells and Powermatics were good machines, but you can get a lemon in those machines as well. Bearings are the biggest issue with old jointers and trying to keep the dovetailed gibbs from sagging over time. You can get a good old machine if you have a lot of time and do a lot of looking and know what you are looking for. I had an old Rockwell/Delta machine and it really was not that well made. I had a heck of a time keeping the outfeed table from dipping over time. Take what you think you can afford and double that because we don't replace machine down the line like we say we will do. Whatever you get be sure to include a spiral cutterhead. Best decision I ever made about machines.
I wouldn't pay ExFactory's prices but there are a lot of good old machines out there. Bearing replacement on Delta/Rockwell machines is straightforward. Olivers take fancier bearings priced to match. My jointer is a 1950s Yates American J-Line which is also good quality and simple to work on. Machines with babbitt bearings are their own animal, some people like them but replacement requires pouring molten metal.
Rockwell machines with the "peace sign" logo are generally not well thought of, although not all are junk. All wedge bed jointers will tend to "sag" as gunk builds up in the top of the ways. Disassembly and cleaning normally sets this right.
As with any old iron, the most important thing is completeness and no cracked or broken castings. Check especially the ends of dovetailed ways. If the motor is 3-phase, make sure you take swap/phase conversion costs into account.
Pete
Edited 2/17/2008 11:10 am ET by PeteBradley
I had a Craftsman six inch which I got some thirty five years ago. It's outfeed bed was flat for about seven inches then drooped down. The outfeed table also was unadjustable so any adjusting had to done by moving the blades. a couple years ago I got an eight inch Powermatic PJ 882. It is eighty three inches long. Of course it cost about ten times as much but you can't believe the difference. The PM actually does what it is supposed to do though I haven't really given it a day by day workout yet. The only thing more I could want is for it to have more width. The spiral knives would be nice too. I traded the old Craftsman for a Craftsman RA of about the same quality. We both got gypped.
Edited 2/18/2008 11:23 pm ET by Tinkerer3
I have used a couple of old Oliver 12" jointers at the local com. college and they are nice machines but as other posters pointed out they have three phase motors. If you are willing to look around you can find nice machines out there. Check out http://www.OWWM.com (this site has been on and of the internet as of late)there is a lot of info on that site about jointers.
good luck
Troy
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