TheFatBaron Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 After seeing reasonably frequent positive reviews (and few negatives outside of shipping damage/clear lemons), I was going to buy the Rikon 10" Jointer/Planer w/ Helical Head. Of course, after committing to the electrical work, I go to order it and see that it's on out of stock... until July! Are their dates reliable? Consider it ships from the manufacturer, I assume they're just guessing. And before anyone asks, this is going in my basement, which has limited space and is somewhat hard to access, so a relatively compact, relatively lightweight machine appeals to me. The Jet 10" combos appear to suck, and the Grizzly 12" combo (with helical head) is $1,000 more, weighs 700+ pounds, and supposedly requires a 25A circuit at 220v (I hope that's a typo). The 12" jet is another $800 on top of that, and weighs 600lbs. At that point, I'd just buy a 20" planer and get better at edge jointing. Open to suggestions for other brands to check. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Id buy a 6" jointer and a dewalt planer before any of those machines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Id buy a 6" jointer and a dewalt planer before any of those machines. that is pretty much my set up (except it is a POS grizzly lunchbox). I can't tell you how many times I go back and forth between the jointer and planer. I would not want to keep switching set ups. Also the beds on those combo machines tend to be too short for jointing (although I do not know the specs of that machine). The 12" jet is another $800 on top of that, and weighs 600lbs. At that point, I'd just buy a 20" planer and get better at edge jointing. Open to suggestions for other brands to check. You still want a jointer for face jointing. Jointers are not just for edges. Yes you can flatten a board using only a planer, but it is a PITA, you tend to lose a lot of material, and not something I'd want to do for everyday milling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 I don't think it would be much more money to get an 8" grizzly and a dewalt planer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatBaron Posted April 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 To reiterate, I do not have much room in my basement. Money is less of an object than space if push came to shove. Mike - I have handplanes, which I'm not terrible with. Flattening isn't bad. Removing thickness, I find torturous. Particularly for smaller boards, I can easily take out enough twist/bow to run through a planer. And if a board is that badly warped, I'm normally only buying it if I'm cutting it down further. On the other topic - yeah, I could get an 8" jointer and a lunchbox planer and stay within budget. Space is still an issue, but at least the lunchbox planer is easy-ish to move out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 To reiterate, I do not have much room in my basement. Money is less of an object than space if push came to shove. I think your missing everyones point. The jointer should be suited for the work you like doing. That little Rikon may seem nice and compact but if all your work is not compact then its not a good decision. The reason jointers can get so long is they are made for longer work. One easy way to look at jointers is the infeed table length should be equal to your average board length. Yes you can do longer boards but at a cost of making more sawdust out of them. On another note realistically 4-6" is closer to capacity of a 1.5hp motor for face jointing. So basically in reality your getting the capacity of Grizzlys $500 6" jointer. Personally I don't see any value when a lunch box planer can just be stored under a bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Well if you need any peer pressure I just ordered a refurbished dewalt 735 off CPOoutlet . My grizzly lunchbox was on its last legs and starting to hold me back. I was going to hold off for a bigger 15 or 20" stationary machine but like you my shop space is limited (one car garage) and I want to save room for a nice drum sander (but that is another story). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Staehling Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Are their dates reliable? Consider it ships from the manufacturer, I assume they're just guessing. My Jet thickness sander ship date slipped a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm not quite sure what you are jointing..edges, mostly? if so a router table can do that..or even a track saw. Both light & easy to get into a basement. And of course you can face joint a board with a router too..I've seen many contraptions folks have made plus there are jigs you can buy. All light, all easy to store, all basement stairs easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm not quite sure what you are jointing..edges, mostly? if so a router table can do that..or even a track saw. Both light & easy to get into a basement. And of course you can face joint a board with a router too..I've seen many contraptions folks have made plus there are jigs you can buy. All light, all easy to store, all basement stairs easy. Personally I'd give up woodworking if I couldn't have a jointer. The alternatives are unreliable and time consuming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatBaron Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 My basement stairs were most likely made by a blind person. They vary from 3-7" rise, 3-7" run. And then I'll have to get the machine through a door. I wish I was kidding. Here's the thought: Edge jointing a board by hand isn't terrible, unless the board is badly warped. Solutions? Don't buy bad boards, and get better with my hand planes. Flattening a face? Harder, but not impossible, especially if your goal is to create a stable board to pass through the planer. If I'm getting one machine right now, to me, that says "planer". Honestly, that was the main reason I was looking at the combo machine - it would probably sit as a planer 90% of the time, and switch to jointing when I had a lot of work to do. Ok, how about this? Is there a lunchbox planer that's worth comparing to the dewalt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew-in-austin Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 What's wrong with the Dewalt? Another thought: there might be a lunch box planer with helical head, maybe steel city, but I think they just went under.If you are content to hand plane for face jointing, then I would not bother with a combo machine. Those 10" combos always seem to get a very bad rep. Instead, get the biggest planer you can fit down your stairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatBaron Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Nothing's wrong with the Dewalt I'm aware of, other than questionable knives - but honestly, I'll probably just get a shelix and be done with that entirely (been spoiled by the helical cutter on the planer at the shop I rent space from). Just curious what else is there. I checked out the Steel City a while back. It was segmented, but not a shear cut. Seemed like a decent machine, though. I MAY be able to get a 15" planer down - I actually have to check the width of a doorway to make sure it'll fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 If your worried about weight going down stairs the 15" planer is much tougher than even 12" jointer. Jointers easily come apart into manageable sizes planers do not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatBaron Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 They're concrete, so it's not the weight exactly - more the general hazardous nature of the steps. Interesting that Jointers come apart easily, but that does make sense now that I think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barron Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 I don't think anyone actually answered your question. I think the Woodcraft guys would have a pretty good sense of the reliability of their suppliers. You could also check with Highland Woodworking, they sell Rikon and can give you a sense of their shipping times. As soon as I save up enough $s I will be gettin the 12" Rikon combo machine. I have a 6" jointer and a Dewalt, but I would rather have the space. My experience is that you can joint a board twice the length of the beds with proper technique, and I like the combination of wider bed and helitical head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawdustcreator Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 They're concrete, so it's not the weight exactly - more the general hazardous nature of the steps. Interesting that Jointers come apart easily, but that does make sense now that I think about it. I recently was fretting about how to get all this into a basement down a flight of some rather steep stairs... That's a Drillpress, Bnadsaw and Tablesaw. Now, granted it was in boxes, but the largest was too heavy for me to safely manage on my own. The local Woodcraft guys suggested piano movers - I was amazed at how well they managed to get things down stairs! If it's the stairs that's keeping you from getting better tools, than maybe look into piano movers like I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaneAndDestroy Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Piano movers may as well be Thor's children, blessed with powers of moving heavy $%^&. They can pull off some amazing stuff. Then again, so can 1 guy with some plywood laid down on the stairs and a controlled descent with a rope, or block and pulley, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawdustcreator Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Then again, so can 1 guy with some plywood laid down on the stairs and a controlled descent with a rope, or block and pulley, The difference is that they do this stuff day-in and day-out.... for the average guy it's maybe a once a decade ordeal. Well worth hiring someone else to do it in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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