New Grizzly G0959 12” Helical Head Jointer
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Has anyone tried this new benchtop jointer? What are your thoughts on this new jointer model? It was shown in the recent Fine Woodworking magazine.
I’m thinking of purchasing it because it’s affordable, it’s a 12” jointer & it has a helical head. I don’t have a jointer right now & will be using it for making cutting & serving boards, boxes & other small projects which are often wider than 8”.
Is this a good choice or can someone recommend something better?
Replies
My question for you is how do you see yourself using this jointer?
You talk about making small boards wider than 8" this implies you intend to face joint wide boards that are pretty short. The thought of this makes me nervous. I have a 12" jointer and have face jointed boards that wide and it takes a lot of effort to manually push wide boards through a jointer. If you are pushing wide, short boards through a jointer and you slip bad things can happen. I try not to joint boards shorter than 18" even on edge and would definitely hesitate to face joint a board smaller than that. Don't even mention end grain.
Why don't you use a inexpensive lunchbox planer?
Thanks for your quick reply.
I have used exactly that type of planer but I get some snipe, even with a planer sled.
I appreciate your safety concerns but I always use an appropriate push stick. I keep my hands well away from the dangerous cutters.
I was taught to not try to joint a board shorter than 12”. My boards are 16”-24”.
12" is definitely the minimum, but I try to leave a safety margin hence my 18" not that on occasion I don't do slightly less.
As for snipe on your planer, there are ways to all but eliminate snipe. I will confess that I am not familiar with lunchbox planers having always had full sized ones myself but it starts with adjustment of the rollers and blades. Assuming everything is adjusted properly I find I can easily eliminate exit snipe by simply lifting the work piece a couple of degrees as it comes out of the planer. You don't need to lift much just enough to keep the end of the board from springing up into the knives as the infeed roller pressure is lost.
I've been reading everything I can about this machine myself. 26 years ago I spent part of my USAF severance pay on that fahncy Inca 10.5" jointer/planer, built all the benches/cabinets/tables for my very small shop, a few furniture pieces for the house, and then the oddball nylon gear/lifter for the planer stripped, Inca was out of business, and I had a very expen$ive paperweight.
Will be following this thread for inputs, thanks!
Botch - You might want to look into 3D printing a replacement part - nylon can be 3D printed, as can nylon with carbon filaments (even more resilient material). I make custom machine and jig parts all the time with my 3D printer, which is a relatively inexpensive machine (~$300) that can print materials with melting points <300 deg C. If you don't have a friend with a 3D printer, there also are many 3D printing services out there that will print it for you if you can provide the design. (I use a free CAD design tool called FreeCAD.)
Thanks for trying to answer but I’m working with wood, not nylon or plastic. Wood prep requires a jointer.
They were obviously replying to Botch... with a very useful answer, I might add.