I’m thinking about picking up a jointer. I don’t have a lot of room in my home shop so can’t handle the big units. There’s a Reliant 6″, model DD 39C on Craigslist for $280. The description says it is 20 years old, used very little. Pics show some surface rust. Apparently this is a 1HP, 110V model. I’m guessing the kids are cleaning out dad’s stuff.
So, what do you think? Give it a shot or am I buying problems?
Replies
I think RELIANT was the house brand of Woodworker's Warehouse. They went bankrupt in 2003.
The DD39C jointer is almost certainly a generic Taiwanese tool and was probably sold under other well-known brand names too - just painted a different color.
I'd take a serious look at it. Make sure it runs smoothly, and the fence and tables aren't warped. Verify the rust is light surface rust and not deep pitting. Etc....
Here is a link to the FWW review of this tool.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2005/10/25/6-in-jointer-dd39c-review
Mike
6" jointers on the used market are easy to find. I advise finding one that will be easy to own. Hard pass ( for me ) on questionable gear from a company that quit 20 years ago.
If a six inch jointer fits your needs, and this particular machine checks out with the beds and fence good and nothing major wrong/missing, I don't see any reason not to go for it. As noted, "Reliant"/WW Warehouse hasn't been around for a long time, but this machine wasn't proprietary to them anyway and, absent abuse, there is nothing that should ever wear out in a hobby setting, except knives, which are easily obtained anywhere. It looks as if a new equivalent from Grizzly is pushing $800 with shipping and a glance at Facebook marketplace suggests the asking price is right in line with others, at least in my area.
If the beds are still flat and coplaner after 20 years I'd say it is a good bet.
Almost any machine that was manufactured 20 or more years ago is not being made today. Before you purchase an older machine like that I would do a search for availability of parts. Rockwell Delta, or even Craftsman while there will be few parts available from the actual manufacturers there is possibly after market or used parts because there were so many sold. They got better over time but some of the early Taiwanese stuff was pretty crude. Grizzley was a cut above the other stuff coming from there but even their stuff was not all that consistent. Jointers seem pretty simple but they can be really difficult to impossible to be made accurate if they're not and you don't have machine shop capabilities. Someone mentioned "coplaner". Your going to carry your dial indicator with you to know that! I like working with tools but I don't particularly care for working on tools. If your in an urban place there should be a lot of used jointers available close by on Craigslist and in that price range. Best bet is finding something that is up and running right now instead of a tool thats been pushed back in the corner of a garage for the last 15 years and used for paint can storage.
I recently bought an old Taiwanese jointer at an estate sale. It was very rusty and made terrible cuts when I tried it out. After de-rusting the top, sharpening the knives and leveling the tables it works flawlessly.
Your mileage may vary, but jointers are pretty simple machines. There are a lot of good articles/videos on tuning them up. The best one is the shop made magnetic knife setter. After trying some other methods I found that article and made the jig. It's pretty foolproof and sets the knives perfectly.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled