Well, I’ve finally saved enough nickles for a new jointer (goodbye 6″ delta!). I’ve been looking for a looooong time, and now that I have some jingle, I’m in a quandary. I’ve been looking for an old machine, but no real deals have come to light. I’ve got a lot of other Green machines (Griz), and they have all been good buys, so I’m leaning to getting another one. My problem is, do I save the bucks and go with the standard jointer, but get up in the 10″ range, or go with the parallel design with spiral cutterhead and drop down to the 8″. It’s been tough deciding. I get the idea of the parallel design with the ability to adjust for coplanar issues with the tops, but in reality how much do you really have to do that? The other trade is the standard knife for the insert. I’ve set the blades in my 6″ delta with a magnaset and they are a pain in the arse, but you really don’t do it that much, so is it just a temporary pain .vs. the inserts that are going to be dead on and just rotate when dull. So many decisions. I would appreciate the experiences of those that have gone down the path. Thanks in advance!
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Edited 11/27/2007 2:29 pm by bones
Edited 11/27/2007 2:31 pm by bones
Replies
Hi Bones,
I would recommend getting the widest you can that has a spiral cutterhead with carbide inserts ( or Byrd type ). You absolutely will NOT regret that kind of cutter. It produces a very smooth surface, especially on highly figured woods. I got the Grizzly 8" with the spiral cutterhead about a year ago. Use it in my production cabinet shop daily. Really great jointer.
Paul
Did you get the parallel design, or just the regular dovetail design?
The G0593 is 1069 (8" spiral cutter dovetail design 2hp)
G490x is 1339 (8" spiral cutter 3hp)
G609 is 1825 (12 parallel 3hp 4 blade cutter)
See how it goes on and on?
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I've got the G0593 ( dovetail design ). A real good value IMO. In fact, I think it's on sale this winter for under $ 1,000 plus shipping.
There are lots of choices when it comes to woodworking tools these days. That's a good thing. Good luck
Paul
Dear Bones,
I have a jointer with an indexed head (Byrd) and would never own anything but an indexed head. BUT if I had to make your choice, I would opt for the 10". Reason being that if you continue to save your lunch money and wish to swap out the cutterhead in the future, you may do so. In the meantime you have one FINE jointer. If you opt for the 8", now given, also a nice machine, that is it. There is no stretching the 8". Just my opinion. Pretty good position to be in either way.
Best,
John
I had some 10" wide stock the other day and I "wished" for a 10" or 12" jointer at that moment. Even though the Byrd cutter-heads are considered to be state of the art, I can't recall ever "wishing" I had parallel as opposed to dove-tail or a Byrd cutter-heads.
My 8" dove-tail with reversible knives does an excellent job on standard stock and I just "skew" the fence a tad on tough grain stock as maple. Easy to do on my particular jointer without all the ado involved with skewing on most jointers.
Sarge..
I have the Griz G0480 10" with the SC. I, like you, saved my pennies and purchased the largest one I could swing past SWMBO (love that woman)… let me say that I would have purchased the new 12” G0609X, if it were available at the time… Here are a couple of things I thought about. Maybe it will help you make up your mind. <!----><!----><!---->
I took a look at my current lumber supplier and looked at the board widths they had available. Well over 90% of them were less than 8” wide. The point of my checking was to get an idea of what my potential supply would be. My local suppliers can also S2S my material for an additional $0.25 to $0.50 per BF. My conclusion was that an 8" will do just fine; in fact, it would likely handle 99% of my jointing needs – At that, an 8” would be a tremendous upgrade over my 6" Jet jointer. <!----><!---->
The 8" jointers are still small enough to be mobile. 10" and 12" jointers weigh in over 1/2 a ton - likely making them impractical or impossible to move around – even with a mobile base. <!----><!---->
If you opt for a 10" or 12", you gain table length (approximately 8” to 10” longer than the 8” tables) a few extra inches (on the width of the cutter) and the weight of the machine can more than double. This extra capacity will more than double the price of the machine.<!----><!---->
In the end, my “jointer lust” overcame me and I went with the 10” w/ the SCJ. Now that I have one, here is what I can say:<!----><!---->
1. It is a fabulous machine for the money… but the blade guard is cheap<!----><!---->
2. Shipping was easy. I paid for the lift-gate service<!----><!---->
3. Assembly was easy – it took me longer to get it uncrated<!----><!---->
4. The SC is worth the money! Buy it now or upgrade later<!----><!---->
5. The 10” that I have has a bowed front… while it looks pretty; it will not work with a mobile base without some “customizing”. In the end, it only took me a few seconds to decide to leave the tool stationary<!----><!---->
This is funny, I read the beginning of your report and then went to Amazon to look up the jointer you're talking about and it looks like you are the one who wrote the only review of this jointer, same issues exactly.
Hey, I forgot about that one! Yep, it was me.
Yup, all the points you brought up were just to close to be a coincidence. It was helpful.Ralph
Thanks to all for the feedback. I've narrowed it down to the 8" with the spiral cutter, or the 12" with the 4 blade cutter and plans to upgrade to the byrd cutter next year. At first I was sold on the 12". The only thing that bothers me now is that I downloaded both user manuals and the 12" one calls for a fork lift or engine hoist with straps to move the dang thing! It's close to a half ton! So I know a mobile base is out 4 the 12" the 8" while 4" narrower, does have mobility with a built in casters. Decisions, decisions! The wife told me to just get off the pot and pick!Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Bones said: " Decisions, decisions! The wife told me to just get off the pot and pick!"
Wow Bones, you have the best kind of problem I can imagine!
"Guys, the old lady is making me nuts! every day it's 'when are you going to buy a new power tool? Why don't you drink more beer? Why don't more of your friends hang out all weekend on the couch?'"
(LOL. I just cracked myself up...)
Buy the 12" for no other reason that I can't yet. Write up a huge review! Take one for the team!
Pay for the liftgate service. My 10" came in on FedEx Freight. The guy unloaded it and wheeled it in to my garage - all for 20 bucks.
From there, you can rent an engine hoist (another 20 bucks or so) and handle the rest. Get the biggest hoist you can get your hands on if you are doing it by yourself. Some rental companies have a tow-behind hoist. I think they use these things for large trucks and boats. I priced them at 40 bucks a day or 20 bucks for 3 hours.
Good luck! I'm glad to see that you fell for the same "jointer-lust" that I did :0)
Well, I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The decision became easy, the 8" is out of stock till after the end of the year(I wanted the 12" anyway! The presale person said they have been extremely busy and have sold out of a lot of their stuff, but they did have the 12" in stock. I went ahead and ordered it! It looks like it will be shipped ups freight on Monday. The damage was $1,595 for the jointer, $230 for shipping, $32 for liftgate service. I received a $15 credit for using their billmelater service company and a 90 day same as cash. Bottom line $1,842.00. It's about 350 more than my original budget, but I hope this is the last jointer I buy, so what the heck! Merry Christmas to me!!!
I plan to do a complete review of the jointer and will post my results. I will tell the whole story, or as I call it the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY. Stay Tuned!!!!
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Edited 11/30/2007 4:03 pm by bones
Edited 11/30/2007 4:04 pm by bones
Well Bones, it probably will be the last jointer you buy. Once you get that little half ton "puppy" in place, you won't ever consider another just to keep from having to move it again. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
BTW.. if I have any 8' + stock that needs to be jointed, can I bring it by your place for a quick trip down the aircraft carrier deck? I promise I won't touch your new "show-piece". As a matter of fact, you could just joint it for me while I set in a quiet corner and drink a beer or two, so... be sure to pick up an extra six-pack when you're at the store. :>)
With all seriousness... enjoy as I know you will!
Sarge..
Hey bring it on by! We'll dimension lumber then have a beer, or two, or three (after woodwork is done of course!)
Seriously, I've been thinking what the heck have I done! That's a lot of weight, but then, I have a mobile base on the 1023x, and it's never been moved since I moved it into the house, so what the heck. I will get a different perspective on the steel knives .vs. inserts. It will come with the steel knives and I'm upgrading to the byrd head after next years bonus. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
bones,
I lust after that 12 incher, where do you live? I'll come by and reduce your work load ;-)
Seriously, I hope you enjoy it!
Hey, frenchy, I'm temporarily in Saint Louis. (I've been here over 2 years). Come on by any time!Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Well, I got my shipping notice yesterday. Pretty good turn around. I did not order till after 1:00PM EST on Thursday, and It shipped on Friday. It's coming it says is overnight/UPS with liftgate.
Now I've got to get the shop ready. I was out there today looking and that booger occupies 84 inches of space! I've been looking at where she will have to go. There is two spots with tradeoffs. First one is at the end of my tablesaw/workbench. The second is on an outside wall of the shop. First one is really the best placement, but since its not on an outside wall, I'll have to replace the existing electrical cable with a longer one to reach the 240/20a outlet that I will share with the 17" BS. To do this I will need about 15' of 10/3 cable that I can get at the local HW store. I will extend the dc with a quick connect to keep it out of the way when not in use (under the TS). Option two on the outside wall would require a new separate 220 circuit and a long extension of DC. Right now, I'm leaning to the end of TS since it provides the more economical solution. Since this sucker will not be mobile like my other tools, this decision is a big one (I'm renting an engine hoist to put it in place).Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
one last thing, you mention "...I've set the blades in my 6" delta with a magnaset and they are a pain in the arse..."
I feel your pain. Even with the magnets, there is a lot of room for error. Check this out - one of those "cool tools" (no, I don't work for them...) You could even make one in the shop. It takes all of the guess work out of setting the blade height.
http://www.oneway.ca/workshop/multi-gauge.htm
You'll be amazed how many uses you can come up with. I use mine all the time.
bones,
don't wait too long.. the weak dollar is driving the cost of that sort of thing up and deals might not be so affordable in the future..
I have the grizzly 12" jointer. the bigger the better. I started with the grizzly 8" and I don't miss it at all.
How long have you had the 12, and do you have the 4 blade"? Any issues with yours?Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I have had the jointer for a year. The biggest problem was having my wife help me take it around the house and into the basement. The only problem with the machine was the belts. I just replaced the belts with link belts. The machine seems to have more power, less vibration, and its not as loud. Its better now then it was a year ago.
Brandon
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