Time to loose the Jointer

[lablover27]

Just finished my kitchen and never used my powermatic 6" jointer once.  I had all the wood planned at the mill.  I used my TS55 and long track to give myself one straight edge and used my table saw for the rest. 

I'm really thinking of getting rid of it, I could use the space and if the Mill joints and planes my wood why have it right?  Hmmmm, maybe loose the planner too 

What do you guys think?

BTW, anyone in Michigan in the market for a Powermatic Planner/Moulder or a Powermatic 54A jointer 

 

[MrToolJunkie]

Personally I think that the Jointer/Planer is one of the critical peices of equipment to have and it would be the last stationary tool I would get rid of if I had to downsize.  I suppose if the mill does this for you and you experience no movement in the wood from the time you get it to the time you finish what your making, then that would be great.  For me I have never been that lucky -- most boards I have come across are not truly straight or flat or they move after I have them in my shop.  The jointer is the first step to addressing these issues and then the planer to get the other side parallel.  Since using my Festool TS75 to straight-line my lumber I do not joint the edges nearly as much as I used to.  I also do not like to be restricted to a particular thickness of stock for any project...having some flexibility for me is key and so the planer is a must too.  YMMV but I would recommend keeping it.

Scot

 

[hhh]

it depends on your future projects...  if you continue to work mainly w/ sheet goods, the j/p are less important.  the more you work with solid wood, the more they move up the ladder.  even if you always purchase surfaced lumber, it may (read as probably) move as it acclimatizes to your shop.  how much it moves and how big an impact movement may have on your project depends on too many variables to list.

my recommendation: do a couple more projects....  try not to use the j/p...  if you can successfully execute the designs, then you have your answer.  For my 2c, i couldn't work with solid wood at all without those tools, but that's me with my projects, workflow and starting material...

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

That is crazy talk.

I use my 16" jointer all the time along with the 24" planer.

I want an even larger jointer, something 24" to 36" wide.

 

[hhh]

==> even larger jointer, something 24" to 36"

????

 

[Brice Burrell]

That is crazy talk.

I use my 16" jointer all the time along with the 24" planer.

I want an even larger jointer, something 24" to 36" wide.

Don't get to caught up in comments like Darcy's.  That might work best for him but your workflow is probably different.  I'm with you on buying the wood already milled.  It's a better value for the clients if I spend my time making the project and not milling wood.   

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

That is crazy talk.

I use my 16" jointer all the time along with the 24" planer.

I want an even larger jointer, something 24" to 36" wide.

Don't get to caught up in comments like Darcy's.  That might work best for him but your workflow is probably different.  I'm with you on buying the wood already milled.  It's a better value for the clients if I spend my time making the project and not milling wood.   

No way.  Buying rough sawn lumber is way more cost effective for me and my customers then buying already dimensioned lumber.

Buying hardwood lumber that is already S4S is on average 3-4 times more then buying it rough or skip planed.

It takes me under an hour to surface, plane and dimension a couple hundred BF of lumber.  Milling the lumber is the fun part of the whole process anyways.

You can really save money when you can buy 8/4 and larger stock and then re-saw it into smaller blanks.

I make a decent amount of money each month  just from dimensioning lumber for people that can't handle the stock themselves.

The real value of lumber comes after it is dimensioned for use.

 

[hhh]

==> Don't get to caught up in comments like Darcy's. 

i'm with him on purchasing rough lumber, but i'm still stuck on 24-36" jointer...  mine is about 450mm, 7.5hp, 3phase and weights about 1500lbs.  I could not imagine something like 24" outside an industrial application.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

==> Don't get to caught up in comments like Darcy's. 

i'm with him on purchasing rough lumber, but i'm still stuck on 24-36" jointer...  mine is about 450mm, 7.5hp, 3phase and weights about 1500lbs.  I could not imagine something like 24" outside an industrial application.

I have a 16" Fay & Egan, 5hp DD, 2200lbs or so, it is nice, but I long for a Clement or American in the 24" to 36" wide range.  I have come across several in the last couple months, but they had cutter heads that I really don't like running in them.

 

[BillG]

Go with a cordless model.  [laughing]

Seriously though, if you only need one rarely, these take up a lot less room, and do a great job once you get it figgered out.  I've got a very nice 12" jointer, but a lot of times I will just use a hand plane because it is faster.  It is a lot quieter too.

 

[MrToolJunkie]

I agree with Darcy that the bigger the jointer the better...I have a 12 inch and would love a 16 inch or bigger...space being the biggest factor for me to be able to set-up such a thing.  I try and buy lumber in the rough so that I can control the milling process and I feel like I get better results, but this is not to say that buying pre-milled lumber does not have its place - time is money and if you can build something utilizing materials that have been pre-milled and save time, then that's great and is probably worth the extra cost.  For my projects, I prefer taking extra time to mill stuff myself. 

Scot

 

[hhh]

saw a youtube vid on the 20" --- what a beast.  not sure of the absolute utility these days.... 16+" boards were the norm 50 years ago... can count on 1 hand the number of 16"+ boards that i have received in the past 2 years (probably gone through 2000bf).  That I can remember: 2 boards genuine mahogany at 17.5", 1 red oak at 21" and 1 purple heart at 17".  unfortunately, think that 12" jointer we be "more than enough" as time goes on...  nice stock is getting more and more scarce...  In the '40s, my grandparents commissioned a Cuban mahogany dinner table that is 23' long and almost 9' wide -- with only 4 boards...  can you imagine doing that today...

 

[nickao]

Yeah you can do that if you want to pay the price.

Owl Hardwoods in Des Plaines IL has wood sitting there that is up sometimes  to 60" wide and 4" thick and 16 feet long, it's fantastic, but as expensive as heck.

They leave the bark on the edge for those large pieces. I would just take a piece cut it to size, finish clear and slap some legs on, gorgeous.

They have a load of 36" wide pieces 12 feet long I think have been there at least 3 years. Not many people buy, but everyone looks at them and touches them.

 

[hhh]

yea some species, but genuine mahogany?  if i could get a decent live edge of 60" x 12' 8/4 genuine mahogany, i'd do $20/bf.   i'll have to look these folks up...

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Anything over 16" is probably overkill, but I want one. [cool]

I don't really trust much lumber that is wider then 8" to 10", I would rather glue up my wider panels.

I do run some glue ups over the jointer before giving them a light pass in the planer, that is one reason.

I like wide jointers for the long tables, I routinely run 12' stock and the long tables pay off.

When I find my 24 or 36" clement/american I will probably try and find one of their "bench top" 6" models.  I think they still weighed about 600 pounds. [big grin]

 

[sancho57]

I buy my lumber S2S straight lined ripped. I have a jointer, but really dont use it much. Ive been considering selling my too. I did buy a 850 planer and Im getting the stand so if I need to joint face frames etc I can use that.

 

[ericbuggeln]

I just go to my mill with number in feet for FFs, door stock, and drawer stock. The dude just tosses lumber through their Weinig Molder and then i drive it to my shop, further process it to length and build. Very easy. You cant let it six months and then build, but if you do right away, i have had no problems. I have no room for Jointer or Planer, but if i did i would invest in some big machines and do it all myself. I could rip all the FFs and door stock, but why? Eric

 

[lablover27]

Yea, they are history!

Just gotta find a buyer now.....ughhhhh

 

[nickao]

Jointer and planer are a must for me, I get my domestic lumber straight line ripped too. All the lumber has to do is sit a month and the jointer is needed.  I buy in bulk(meaning some of that lumber is going to sit). I am not paying for shipping every time I order a small load. It's just far cheaper buying a couple hundred board feet min anyhow.

For the exotics I save over 65% getting it shipped by freight across the country in the rough. I could never use ebony or the other exotics and charge what I charge buying it ready planed and straight line ripped.  I guess for a hobbyist no jointer and planer might work.  I use my jointer and planer everyday as I do my band saw, drum sander and a bunch of other tool Festool doesn't make and probably never will.

I bet you sell that jointer and you will come to regret it one day.

 

[lablover27]

I don't think I'll regret it.  The mill can do anything I need.  The lumber does not move too much, it's about a 30 min ride from me so it's not like the climate is changing too much    What I did last time is I brought it home, cut to length with some wiggle room then let it set.  Brought it back and they face jointed and planned.  Was well worth the time savings as I could focus on the kitchen job (mine)  The last pass they do is on a widebelt sander witch saves me even more time not sanding (that much).

They will also widebelt sand all my glue up's etc.  Last trip of 100 B/f cost me like 20 bucks for plane and sand