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Looking for a 6

2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  jacko9 
#1 ·
#2 · (Edited)
You must be thinking of a joiner. 6" is okay but a 8" will satisfy so much more of your woodworking needs. It's usually the last jointer you will buy.

After looking at the CL ad. He is confirming my post. But for $150 it might be a good deal. Joiners need to be tuned and be perfect or they aren't worth turning on.

I would try to find a used Powermatic or Delta. For a machine like this the new ones are not as good as the older models.

Al
 
#8 ·
If all you ever do is edge joint wood then a 6" jointer is all you need. In that case the length of the table is the most important issue. The longer the bed the easier it is to straighten long boards. What a lot of us do though is run the face of wood over the jointer to flatten the wood before planing it. That is when a wider jointer is really needed. What the folks here are afraid of is you will get a 6" jointer and in a couple years start needing to flatten wood and find yourself wanting to upgrade to a wider jointer. Personally I don't think 8" is much of an upgrade. When I upgraded I went with a 12" jointer. Most lumber is 12" or less in width so there isn't much of a need to flatten wider wood.
 
#7 ·
I've had a 6" for 30 years....

I still have one, but on certain projects you need a wider surface flattened. Boards come rough saw in common widths of 6", 8" and sometimes wider. A jointer is needed to flatten rough sawn or twisted boards before planing. For edge jointing only, you don't need a 8" wide jointer.

So, depending on your source of wood, rough sawn or pre-surfaced, your choice of jointer will make a difference in how you prepare the wood.

There are ways to flatten a wide board in a planner using a sled. There are ways to edge joint a board using a table saw and a sled. I have used both with good success.
 
#9 ·
If you have the room for an 8 inch joiner, and 220v available to power it, that would be a good choice. Buy once and forget it. Oh, That's right, you also need the moolah to make the purchase.

Room, power, money. I don't have any of the three, so I bought a used Jet 6 incher. I have wished several times for an 8 incher, but it just won't happen.
 
#10 ·
I'll be upgrading my 6" jointer to an 8" this fall - not because I need to face joint 8" stock, but because of the following problems (in order of annoyance) I have with my Grizzly 6" G0452:

1) Dust shoot clogs constantly. I try to stick to a max 1/16" at most and it clogs up constantly even with direct connection to a 1 1/2hp DC. Maybe I could cut less or feed slower, but I'd rather have a tool that works for me, not the other way around.

2) Beds are too short. I don't often need to joint wide boards, but I do joint long boards. The longer the beds, the better.

3) Weight/Mass. I despise a tool wanting to move while I'm pushing stock through it. Heavier tools are more stable and vibrate less. Just from the friction of a large board getting pushed through makes this thing slide around.

4) Underpowered motor. It does the job, it just "feels" underpowered. Maybe I'm spoiled with my other 220v tools, but the 1hp, 120v motor on this thing will bog down if I push it and that's just discouraging to me.

If your projects are small and you're not going to use anything larger than maybe 3-4' long, 6" wide, the $150 is a good deal assuming there's not something severely damaged...
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the info guys. I think I agree an 8" would give me more options, but from what I'm seeing a 6" is more "moveable". For now edge jointing is all I'll really need it for. If I need a wider on later I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Thanks again
 
#13 ·
NickDIY said:
I'll be upgrading my 6" jointer to an 8" this fall - not because I need to face joint 8" stock, but because of the following problems (in order of annoyance) I have with my Grizzly 6" G0452: 1) Dust shoot clogs constantly. I try to stick to a max 1/16" at most and it clogs up constantly even with direct connection to a 1 1/2hp DC. Maybe I could cut less or feed slower, but I'd rather have a tool that works for me, not the other way around. 2) Beds are too short. I don't often need to joint wide boards, but I do joint long boards. The longer the beds, the better. 3) Weight/Mass. I despise a tool wanting to move while I'm pushing stock through it. Heavier tools are more stable and vibrate less. Just from the friction of a large board getting pushed through makes this thing slide around. 4) Underpowered motor. It does the job, it just "feels" underpowered. Maybe I'm spoiled with my other 220v tools, but the 1hp, 120v motor on this thing will bog down if I push it and that's just discouraging to me. If your projects are small and you're not going to use anything larger than maybe 3-4' long, 6" wide, the $150 is a good deal assuming there's not something severely damaged...
I agree with 2, 3, and 4. If I have it hooked up to my dust collector it never stops up. If I use it without a dust collector it does stop up.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I missed out on a couple of jointers last week, mostly because I couldn't get to them quick enough.

I found these today, and I can get to either tomorrow. Are either of these reasonable prices? Just because it CL I can probably get either down $50.00, but is that too much? The Delta is a couple of your drive, the other is 20 min.

From what I gather, the Reliant is not the highest quality tool, but for occasional use it may be ok. I know Delta's in general aren't the tools they once were, but I still they they are above average.


http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/tls/5160772791.html

http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/tls/5162888772.html

Any thoughts are appreciated!

Thanks guys
 
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