Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Sep 25, 2006 05:22pm | #1

   I recently answered another question about benchtop jointers, the following section is a quote from that posting and pretty much sums up what I could discover on the subject.  The down side of all the benchtop jointers is that the height of the outfeed table can't be adjusted which can make it impossible to fine tune the machine to create a perfectly straight edge.  

   "The Delta jointer seems to come in two models that appear to be virtually identical, the JT160 that you mentioned, and a model 37-070.  They are all aluminum which keeps the weight down to an easily handled 40 pounds.  They have variable speed which is pointless, and don't have an adjustable outfeed table, which makes setting them up for a perfectly flat cut very difficult.  The machine needs an accessory plastic attachment costing $28.00 to hook it up to a dust collector.  The fence has gotten numerous bad reviews on the Amazon site.

   The second machine I found is sold by three companies as the Craftsman 0921788, the Palmgren 84261, and the Shop Fox W1694.  Except for the paint color and decals they all seem to be the same machine.  They are cast iron which increases their weight to 104 pounds, making the tool too heavy to move easily or store away.  They have a built in dust blower that connects the machine directly to a trash can with a tied on dust bag.  The Palmgren and the Shop Fox versions are reviewed on the Amazon site and seemed to be well liked overall.  Like the Delta, they lack an adjustable outfeed table which is a real draw back in my opinion.

   The last jointer I found is the Grizzly 4 inch benchtop jointer which would appear to be of the same basic design as the 6 inch Craftsman/Palmgren/Shop Fox 6 inch machines.  I couldn't find much information on the Grizzly.  Despite having cast iron tables it still only weighs 28 pounds.  Like all of the other benchtop machines, it lacks an adjustable outfeed table.

   You can find reviews and prices on all of the machines except the Craftsman on Amazon.com and a number of sites selling them online."

   We use a Ridgid planer here in the shop and it has performed well.  It has a long history of reliability and many woodworkers recommend it when the subject comes up on the Knots forum. 

   The Makita planer is dated in its design, but has an excellent reputation, and is especially well known for simple reliability and exceptionally long life.  Most owners say that if theirs ever finally wore out they would definitely go out and buy another one, which is high praise for any machine.

   The new DeWalt planer has had some design problems, now supposedly solved, and there have been some complaints that their knives wear out quickly, but I don't know that this is proven in testing.  They are definitely state of the art machines and are more expensive than the others and considerably heavier too.

   Hope this helps, John White

1. 
   uzie | Sep 25, 2006 05:38pm | #2

   John, thanks for your reply.  I did find some info "Planer Shootout" by Popular Mechanics, and based on their testing I went for the Delta 22-580 for $389, weighing 65 lbs, which is  being shipped to the VI as I write.  I hope it is going to work out as returning items to the mainland is a bothersome ordeal. 

   Of course, yesterday, I received a new catalog about a nice sounding Woodtek planer, but that  is now water under the bridge!  My shop is small and I've opted for the planer (where I can make micro adjustments in place) rather than a jointer (which would take up a lot of space).  I'll just take my shipment of lumber straight from the dock to a local jointer and have them run it through for me so that I'll have a straight edge to work from.  Previously they have done jointing and planing.

1. 
   JohnWW | Sep 25, 2006 06:06pm | #3

   Sorry I didn't answer earlier when the info would have been useful, but I've been traveling a lot and things piled up.  Good luck.

   John W.