Just found a used (1994) PM 8″ jointer for sale. Deck is pretty rusty, but no heavy rust. The fence needs to be fiddled with; I couldn’t get it to tilt for some reason but id did slide fairly easily. I believe it is a 2hp single phase and is in decent shape but will need to be cleaned up. I don’t know how well it is aligned right now and the cutter head/blades also had a bit of rust (stored for several years in a garage 50′ from the Chesapeake Bay). Any ideas on what is a reasonable price? The new PM 60B (made in Taiwan) goes for $1200 and can be had for a little less.
Also, I recent saw an old Delta/Rockwell 8″ go for $360 at auction. One guy there mentioned that they are good machines but that the dovetailed keys can be a real bear to get the infeed/outfeed tables flat and aligned. Indeed, the Delta had shims on both tables. The PM appears to have similar construction. Is this any different from most of the other big jointers that are currently being made? The new 60B appears not to be much different than this old one.
Jake
Replies
I know a lot of people swear buy (also swear at I am sure:)) old iron. If you don't mind messing with old machines it might be worth a shot. Bring a good long straight edge and check the beds to make sure they are not warped and make sure the motor works. You don't want to have to spend 2-3 hundred on a new motor and the cost of serface grinding the beds.
Good luck
Troy
The new Delta 8" DJ-20 and the Powermatic (don't recall the exact model) use parallelogram raising and lowering mechanisms that allow for relative easy and highly accurate adjustment of both the infeed and the outfeed tables, each at 4 separate points. This system, which I believe was pioneered by Delta, has been copied by Powermatic and some off-shore companies, including King (which I believe is only available here in Canada.)
Check it out.
Marty
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