Mike Corwin Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Hey All - So for the last few years I've had the combo Jet 12" Jointer/Planer with helical heads in my shop. Looking to move to separates, but wanted some advice. Near me I can get General or Powermatic, specifically looking for a 15" planer and 8" jointer both with helical heads to replace the jet. That being said, anyone have any experience between both the new General and Powermatic machines that can chime in on any pros/cons? Also, is it worth the added expense for the parallelogram beds on jointers or should I just stick with the traditional dovetail way beds? Thanks for any info! Also, I'm a one-man shop and I prefer to "buy nice, cry once" for all my machinery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Hey All - So for the last few years I've had the combo Jet 12" Jointer/Planer with helical heads in my shop. Looking to move to separates, but wanted some advice. Near me I can get General or Powermatic, specifically looking for a 15" planer and 8" jointer both with helical heads to replace the jet. That being said, anyone have any experience between both the new General and Powermatic machines that can chime in on any pros/cons? Also, is it worth the added expense for the parallelogram beds on jointers or should I just stick with the traditional dovetail way beds? Thanks for any info! Also, I'm a one-man shop and I prefer to "buy nice, cry once" for all my machinery. Hi Mike, I have had both a general planer and jointer and now have powermatic. I had the 20" general straight blade planer. It was a beast. I had no complaints. 2 jointers ago i had a general 6" jointer. It definitely did the job but wasnt amazing. Then again it could have been a lack of experience 10 years ago in terms of tuning it. I dont remember even ever checking beds for coplanarity. Now i have the powermatic pj882hh jointer and its is absolutely phenomenal. This thing arrived coplanar within 2-3 thou and that is perfect for me. It does an amazing job and does it effortlessly. It looks good and sounds good. The byrd head leaves a great finish. I have the powermatic 15hh planer and it does a great job as well. It does have some snipe but locking down the table and feeding wood on an angle seems to tale care of that. Again, the byrd head leaves a wonderful finish and does so effortlessly and quietly for a planer that is. I didnt buy general this time around because most suppliers didnt seem to have great things to say about them. New ownership and really long wait to get their orders. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Corwin Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Thanks for the advice! The dealer near me has both of the new models of General and Powermatic Jointers and Planers, interestingly enough the General is considerably more expensive than the Powermatic. I'm actually looking at the same jointer and planer that you got, my biggest consideration is that the jointer takes up more space than the regular non-parallelogram version. Hate to be this guy, but if you find yourself in your shop is there any way you could measure the depth of the cabinet's footprint? Specs online don't provide this and my dealer doesn't have this model in stock. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Thanks for the advice! The dealer near me has both of the new models of General and Powermatic Jointers and Planers, interestingly enough the General is considerably more expensive than the Powermatic. I'm actually looking at the same jointer and planer that you got, my biggest consideration is that the jointer takes up more space than the regular non-parallelogram version. Hate to be this guy, but if you find yourself in your shop is there any way you could measure the depth of the cabinet's footprint? Specs online don't provide this and my dealer doesn't have this model in stock. Thanks again! Thats very weird that general is more expensive. Maybe because im in montreal quebec where general was founded but general is waaaaay cheaper than powermatic here. Powermatic is pretty rare up here. Everyone has general. I think part of the draw to powermatic to me was to avoid the green paint...lol. I will get the measurements for you soon, im just at the hospital as my wife gave birth to our fourth kid last night! ! So happy. When i go home to get the rest of the clan to bring them to meet their new sibling i will run into the shop and get that measurement for you. My advice for you is make it fit! It is well worth it! ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Corwin Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Hey, big congratulations to you and your wife on your newborn! That's wonderful news. I indeed am trying everything I can to "make it fit" however every inch counts and I'm having to totally rethink most of my shop now. That being said, I'll never regret buying up in quality in case one day I move to a bigger shop, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Congrats Shane! Four kids...sheesh...you're a patient man. I can hardly handle two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Congrats Shane. No wonder your wife is being so accommodating with the new shop. I have 1 and that is more than enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Not to swipe Mike's Thread here but congrats Shane... No sleeping for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Thanks guys! Much appreciated! 4 kids will be a handful. I will definitely need to choose my shop time very wisely... Ok Mike i got the measurements for you. The jointer base is 46-1/2" and with the mobile base it is 57". And here is a little eye candy for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Thanks guys! Much appreciated! 4 kids will be a handful. I will definitely need to choose my shop time very wisely... Ok Mike i got the measurements for you. The jointer base is 46-1/2" and with the mobile base it is 57". And here is a little eye candy for you rps20150421_193604.jpg Now that's a helluva guy! A new youngin waiting to be seen and takes the time for measurements. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Corwin Posted April 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Thank you so much for the dimensions. I hate to ask with the newborn but do you offhand know the front to back depth of the jointer in the mobile base? I called up Powermatic and they couldn't tell me! Thank you again for taking the time, I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Thank you so much for the dimensions. I hate to ask with the newborn but do you offhand know the front to back depth of the jointer in the mobile base? I called up Powermatic and they couldn't tell me! Thank you again for taking the time, I really appreciate it. My pleasure. I will have to get that measurement for you tomorrow. Still in hospital untill tomorrow morning. Should be released if we get green light from pediatrician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Grats on the new family member Shane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Grats on the new family member Shane! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oquinonez Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Hi Mike, I actually just ordered the Powermatic 60HH 8" jointer and it's supposed to be delivered today. Unfortunately after wrestling with an electrical issue the cost of putting in a new 230V outlet is proving to be too costly for me. Any interest in getting the 60hh vs the parallelogram? online the cost is $2,300 but I'm looking to sell it for $2K. Shane, Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Corwin Posted April 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Hi - Thanks very much for the offer. My dilemma at the moment is in trying to figure out if I can fit separate jointer and planers in my shop. I got a combo machine because of space consideration but after being frustrated with it I'm seriously trying to figure out if I can make the separate route work. Thanks for the offer, and serious bummer that the 230v is proving too expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Thank you so much for the dimensions. I hate to ask with the newborn but do you offhand know the front to back depth of the jointer in the mobile base? I called up Powermatic and they couldn't tell me! Thank you again for taking the time, I really appreciate it. Hey Mike, the mobile base itself is about 24" front to back. But the top of the jointer protrudes quite a bit at the back. So max depth from front to back is more like 29-30" overall. Hope this helps you. Anything else i can help with dont be shy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Corwin Posted April 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Shane - Thank you so much for this! All i could gather from Powermatic was the depth of the mobile base, however knowing that the back protrudes another 6 or so inches makes this jointer unusable in my shop. Thank you for saving me the HUGE headache of potentially having ordered the machine only to find this out at the last minute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Shane - Thank you so much for this! All i could gather from Powermatic was the depth of the mobile base, however knowing that the back protrudes another 6 or so inches makes this jointer unusable in my shop. Thank you for saving me the HUGE headache of potentially having ordered the machine only to find this out at the last minute! All of jointers of this type are going to have the entire fence mechanism hanging off the back wasting space. Mine has a big wasted space so I store sheet cut offs behind the jointer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Shane - Thank you so much for this! All i could gather from Powermatic was the depth of the mobile base, however knowing that the back protrudes another 6 or so inches makes this jointer unusable in my shop. Thank you for saving me the HUGE headache of potentially having ordered the machine only to find this out at the last minute! My pleasure Mike, glad I could help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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