Jointer Suggestions

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penbros

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Location
omaha, NE, USA.
im looking for jointer suggestions. im looking for a jointer withe the largest capacity and greatest quality for about $200.

any suggestions taken
 
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That may be a challange with the budget you have set. Have you given thought to jointing on a router table or table saw?
 
well im gonna get a shopfox 6" bench jointer for 192 dollers. get it while the sale at my woodworking store lasts
of would a cabinet foinder(also 6") for 400 dollers be better? 100 dollers ofF!
 
First, I say the following paragraph to everyone asking about jointers. Just in case :)

Be sure you understand the role of a jointer. It is made to give you your first true (straight) reference surface. Then it uses that surface to give you a second surface at some angle to that face (usually perpendicular). That's it. It won't thickness very well. If you try to thickness with a jointer, you'll probably get a wedge instead of a rectangle. This is because jointers don't make faces parallel. They reference on the outfeed table the freshly cut surface. To get parallel, you'd have to reference an opposing face. That's what planers are for.

If you already knew all that, no offense meant. Jointers are a commonly misunderstood tool. :)

Anyway! When choosing a jointer, big and heavy are the best bets. Big is a two-part deal. Heavy means cast iron. I wouldn't suggest you settle on anything less than cast iron for at least your beds. There are some out there that use aluminum for the beds and the fence. While aluminum won't rust, it will scratch. I've heard many folks complain about their benchtop delta scratching under even the softest of boards. If it'll wear that easy, how can you trust it's surface? Plus, aluminum is pretty lightweight. Not alot of vibration dampening going on, there. Really try to find cast iron for at least the beds. Craftsman makes a decent 6 1/8" benchtop jointer that is ALL cast iron, including its base. Weighs a TON. I had one for a coupld years. My biggest problem? It was too short. I couldn't joint anything longer than about 3-4 feet with much accuracy. Never did I find it lacking, it just wasn't cut out for what I wanted to do.

Width and length are both important. I'd say length is most important, but width can be a factor, too. 6" width is most common. I have an 8" Grizzly now, but i'm not sure i've ever used all 8" at once. 6" usually fits for almost everyone out there. Length is your big thing here.

The length of the beds (infeed and outfeed tables) will determine the longest board you can accurately straighten. The general rule is usually about twice the length of the beds. So if you get a benchtop jointer with only 23" of bed, the longest board it'd handle accurately is about 46" and that might actually be pushing it. Some guys setup auxiliary infeed and outfeed tables and claim good results. I've never seen this work myself. The auxiliary tables need to be DEAD flat and DEAD coplanar to the factory tables of the jointer to be effective. I'm sure with enough effort it could be done. I just never seen it :D

For your $200 budget, if you live anywhere near a good sized city, you can probably find a good deal on a used 6" delta or jet. It might take some looking, but they're out there. These are the sweet spot jointers for most of the hobbyists i've seen. Just about everyone has a 6" freestanding delta or jet or harbor freight or grizzly or ... etc etc etc. I see used ones on my local craigslist.com site for around 150-250 at least once or twice a week. If you live near a city that has a craigslist.com site, I'd strongly suggest going the used route. For the kind of money you're looking to spend, you should be able to find a very nice 6" jointer with at least 42-44" long cast iron beds and a stand. Maybe even a spare set of blades!

I didn't go into all the other options jointers come with like spiral cutter heads, parallelogram vs dovetailed ways and all those things. I don't normally, because most hobbyists that i've found have no real need for these features. It's no accident that these things are usually found on much more expensive machines. If you had $2000 to spend on a jointer, then sure, we can talk features :p

Good luck in your search! I hope you find the right tool for you :D
 
thanks, i never thought about used. but i do have a size issue. maybe i could find like a 36" table cabinet jointer used round here
if anyone here watches woodworks on diy did you happen to notice that he has a 16" jointer with 3 hp and he can still balance a nickel on edge when he turns it on
 
I know several people have suggested in the past that penbros pay more attention to grammar and punctuation to make it easier for the readers. I was wondering why you won’t use capital letters at the beginning of each sentence?
 
I was in a hurry then, all the time, uhhhh.... i gotta go. I might go to harbor freight because I know that their tools are pretty cheap and I thought I remembered a 6 1/8" cabinet jointer.
 
What Jason said......

To add.......

I use a jointer primarily for making a perfectly flat edge for glue-ups. This is probably the most common use. However, with this tool you can easily create a perfect 90 degree angle so that you can use your table saw then to rip longer pieces - and join - such as the checkerboard blanks that are so popular these days.[:D]

I have used a 6" Jet Jointer for the past 8 years with very rare need to use all 6 inches. However - I have found that that the length of the table is so very important - sometimes I just need another foot or so of table length - and perhaps weight - for that reason, if you find an 8" jointer that is used and in good shape (Powermatic, Jet, Delta, or Grizzly) - buy it and get a good mobile base for it.

Best,
Roger Garrett
 
Originally posted by epson
<br />I know several people have suggested in the past that penbros pay more attention to grammar and punctuation to make it easier for the readers. I was wondering why you won’t use capital letters at the beginning of each sentence?
Click to expand...

Hey I would like it if people wrote <b>too</b>when they mean too but write to. That annoys me <b>too</b>.

BTW I fixed my problem for you.
 
I've been eyeing the HF 6 1/8" Jointer (floor model). It goes on sale for about $199 or less several times a year. I checked one out pretty throughly not long ago and I liked the look and functionality of it.

Oops, I meant the 7" Rabbeting Jointer.

Edit: In fact, it's on sale for $219 now.
 
This reply is in response to penbros. I do not claim to be perfect, because I make mistakes. I was making a request to make it easier to read your posts. There were other requests prior to my request. This was not a personal attack. I thank you for changing to capital letters.

I however do not understand your remark that I wrote to instead of too. Check my July 11 post, and show me where there should have been the word "too".
 
I think maybe he was just expressing a similar pet peeve, but I could be wrong. I have a pretty big list of language foibles that bother me, too (then/than, where/were/we're, the list is HUGE).

I also have trouble understanding folks who don't use the basics (punctuation, proper spelling of ambiguous words, etc.) But for the most part I speak fluent jibberish msyelf :p

Sorry that this is so off topic :(
 
Ya I wasnt suggesting anything about any one i was just listing a pet peve(not being sarcastic)sorry bout that.

I hope i have met your request epson. if not tell me please.(not trying to sound like a jerk) I came here to seek help and help others not to complicate the readability of my posts.
 
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