Would like 6-8" Jointer Recomendations for home shop?

[3PedalMINI]

Ive been practicing my glue ups lately and have been ordering some s4s lumber, which is pricy and i want to step up my game for my home projects by milling my own lumber. It has become apparent that i need a jointer, even for some of the s4s lumber ive been purchasing.

Im about to make my kitchens countertop out of cherry so will need alot of lumber and the cost i can save by going with rough sawn over the pre milled stuff is enough to pay for a jointer & planer.

Ive chosen my planer to be the dewalt 3 cutter model, however im having a hard time choosing a jointer. I like the jet 8" 230v one but i keep seeing the grizzly jointers getting some great reviews to at nearly half the price. Im wondering for a home hobby shop if i would be ok with the grizzly G0656P?

Thoughts, recommendations?

TIA!

 

[Loren Woirhaye]

You might consider a used INCA 570 jointer combination.  They come up for sale in your part of the country often enough.  Mine has a Tersa cutterhead.

I think any regular 6" jointer is adequate for making furniture with skillful operation and a willingness to use bench planes.  If you want to try doing it all with machinery, as many wish to, an 8" or wider jointer does make a difference.  Usually in milling longer boards I'm using bench planes here and there to rectify twist that is tricky to eliminate on the jointer without removing a lot of stock thickness, sometimes leading to boards with big bellies in the center and tapered ends if one isn't paying attention.

For me, any jointer is better than none.  I would just buy a used one personally. They aren't very complicated.

 

[jacko9]

I would recommend at least a 8" wide Jointer and if possible get as long of a bed as you can find.  I have a 8" Poitras long bed jointer and often have to use indeed and out feed rollers with long 8/4 stock.  A good used machine might be your best bet.

For your planer, I would suggest that you look at the spiral cutter heads with carbide inserts (like the Bryd Shellix).

Jack

 

[jbasen]

I'll just throw out some food for thought.  I'm a hobbyist and I just sold my 6" Powermatic jointer.  It was an old model 50 that I bought used and found that I very rarely used it.  6" was just too small to face join lumber of any decent size and the cost of a larger jointer was such that it was much more economical to pay the hardwood supplier to put 2 square edges on a board.  With 2 square edges I just need a planer and a table or track saw to work with it.

Additionally, even a 6" jointer takes up quite a bit of floor space; especially in a home shop.  A larger jointer, especially one with a long bed, would have taken over the space.

If I was working in a production shop turning out projects quickly on a schedule I would probably go the other way and the jointer would be a good investment. 

Hope this helps

 

[Wooden Skye]

If you already bought your planer, you could probably disregard my post, but why not look at the grizzly combo machine, you could get the 12 inch for $2000 to $2400 depending on whether you get the spiral head or not.  The dewalt 735 is around $600, and the jet is about $1500.  I would rather have the combo machine for basically the same price, plus you would gain more capacity for face jointing.  Space and electrical obviously would factor in.

 

[Stephen B]

If you already bought your planer, you could probably disregard my post, but why not look at the grizzly combo machine, you could get the 12 inch for $2000 to $2400 depending on whether you get the spiral head or not.  The dewalt 735 is around $600, and the jet is about $1500.  I would rather have the combo machine for basically the same price, plus you would gain more capacity for face jointing.  Space and electrical obviously would factor in.

[size=14pt]
Whilst I agree that combo machines can offer value and save space, they can inhibit work flow. With seperate machines, joint one face then plan/thickness, joint another face then plan/thickness. With a combo you will have to reconfigure the machine at each stage. Or you are gluing up a table top and find the edge of one timber length needs rejointing, but find the combo has to be reconfigured.

As others have said get a jointer with the longest and widest bed you can afford.

.

 

[otis04]

+1 for the Grizzly option.  I don't have the machine but it has gotten good reviews and I am considering the same machine.  I own some of their tools and have found them to be of good quality.  By that I mean they are straight where they need to be and run true where that is important

 

[Billedis]

I have a 10 year old Grizzly 6" joiner and have had no problems with it.  Just last year I upgraded to the Byrd Shelix head and it really runs quieter and much smoother.  All my platform tools are Grizzly, 10" table saw 16" bandsaw, 15" planer, drill press and a 3hp 4 bag dust collector.  I am planning on upgrading the planer to the byrd shelix head as soon as I can afford it.  Bill

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Best 8" jointer I ever had was a Frank Clement. 1100 pounds, nice long tables, nice long fence. 

I have moved up to a 30" jointer now.  Probably my most used machine. 

 

[John Broomall]

Check out a Delta DJ-20. Terrific long bed jointer. Goes for $800 to $1300 used.

 

[Gary in Texas]

Check out a Delta DJ-20. Terrific long bed jointer. Goes for $800 to $1300 used.

I will agree on the DJ-20 from Delta.  I upgraded from a 6" Jet years ago, never regretted spending the extra $$$ on the upgrade.  I found the 6" lacking, and often not wide enough. The 8" jointer is wider than most boards you will get from the mill, and the longer beds really make a difference.....

 

[grbmds]

Ive been practicing my glue ups lately and have been ordering some s4s lumber, which is pricy and i want to step up my game for my home projects by milling my own lumber. It has become apparent that i need a jointer, even for some of the s4s lumber ive been purchasing.

Im about to make my kitchens countertop out of cherry so will need alot of lumber and the cost i can save by going with rough sawn over the pre milled stuff is enough to pay for a jointer & planer.

Ive chosen my planer to be the dewalt 3 cutter model, however im having a hard time choosing a jointer. I like the jet 8" 230v one but i keep seeing the grizzly jointers getting some great reviews to at nearly half the price. Im wondering for a home hobby shop if i would be ok with the grizzly G0656P?

Thoughts, recommendations?

TIA!

I have a Jet JJ-8HH (Helical Head) for 1 -2 years. I was never sorry I bought it but it wasn't easy getting it into my basement shop. I would certainly have considered the Jet 12" combo Jointer/Planer, but could never have gotten it into the basement and wouldn't want to store it in an unheated garage, especially in winter. The 8" helical head does a great job. It was a choice between a Powermatic with regular knives and this one. I'm glad I went for the helical cutters. Wait for a Jet sale.

 

[jacko9]

Wait for a Jet sale OR look for a used 8" Jointer from Powermatic, Delta, General or Poitras all of those machines are top quality and can be had below a new machine.

Jack

 

[fshanno]

I'll just throw out some food for thought.  I'm a hobbyist and I just sold my 6" Powermatic jointer.  It was an old model 50 that I bought used and found that I very rarely used it.  6" was just too small to face join lumber of any decent size and the cost of a larger jointer was such that it was much more economical to pay the hardwood supplier to put 2 square edges on a board.  With 2 square edges I just need a planer and a table or track saw to work with it.

Additionally, even a 6" jointer takes up quite a bit of floor space; especially in a home shop.  A larger jointer, especially one with a long bed, would have taken over the space.

If I was working in a production shop turning out projects quickly on a schedule I would probably go the other way and the jointer would be a good investment. 

Hope this helps

How long do you wait before you thickness a board that someone else has flattened?  I've found that I can get warping if I don't go to the planer pretty quickly and take some off the other side.

 

[jacko9]

I face joint a board and then thickness cut it to parallel pretty quickly.  If I want to reduce the thickness of the board after that I make sure that I remove the same amount of material from each face to balance the stresses.

After I run the board through the thickness planer, I normally sticker the wood for a few days before I finish to final thickness to allow the wood to reach an approximate state of equilibrium.

Jack