dsaracini Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Hello All, I'm looking at purchasing my first jointer... I'm very much a beginner and a hobbyist, but plan on making some basic furniture and hope to graduate to more ambitious projects in the future. My budget is approximately $1,200 (but, could wait and go higher if needed). I've been looking at several brands... including: * Powermatic -- currently out of my targeted price range... is it worth waiting a few extra months? I read good things about Powermatic, but occasionally some complaints that the quality is not what it use to be. I guess I'm a bit concerned about paying for the name and reputation of years gone by. * Steel City -- looks good, with a cheap price and has a helical head, but don't really know much about the company - also, they seem be one of the few manufactures out there using granite for a surface... not sure how I feel about that either. * ShopFox -- like Steel City, I don't know much about the company. But, the price is pretty cheap. * Grizzly -- again, cheap with mixed reviews. I bought a scroll saw from the a while back for a little project, and I'm ready to put it in the trash, so I'm pretty leery of them. Is there a brand that I'm missing that I should evaluate? So, let me just say this... I've learned my lesson with cheap tools in the past. I try to buy the best I can afford, but don't want to pay more than I have to If I should just keep my money in my pocket and try and get a better machine in 6mos, please just tell me. Thanks in advance for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 well this is just me but i would get a 6 inch jointer with a decent counter/table for feeding and holding stable and then purchase a decent drum sander. if your a hobiest then you probably wont need a such a big jointer. most iteams that you make will be made with smaller boards. if you are going to do biger boards i always like to work with a drum sanders mostly because it does a fine touch at sanding and removes like.005 of a inch every pass and i usualy work with wood that tear out prity easily so sanding is better to remove and not rip out the wood. often when i have a big project to work on i take my boards to a profesional cabinet maker who has a huge drum sander and he can do it better then i can do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 A drum sander is not going to face or edge joint a board. An 8" is as small as I'd go for hobby or pro use. The powermatic parallelagram jointers are sweet and the beds are loooong. The only other jointer I would suggest taking a look at is the Oliver. Most of the imports are made in the same factory with very little differences. The helical cutter makes for a pretty clean cut and really doenst care to much about grain direction. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 I don't know anything about a Grizzly scroll saw, but I know they make a great series of jointers. My first jointer was a Grizzly 8" with spiral cutterheads. It's a sweet machine but I outgrew it. I now own a Grizzly 12" jointer that also has spiral cutterheads. You'll find several people in the forum who own Grizzly jointers, so maybe others will chime in. I sell wood on the internet for a living, so I use my jointer almost every day. Both the 8" and the 12" are great machines that have given me no trouble and the spiral cutterheads do a GREAT! job on the wood. Just starting out, I'd suggest nothing smaller than an 8". Believe me, you'll find a use for every inch it offers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsaracini Posted August 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 I don't know anything about a Grizzly scroll saw, but I know they make a great series of jointers. My first jointer was a Grizzly 8" with spiral cutterheads. It's a sweet machine but I outgrew it. I now own a Grizzly 12" jointer that also has spiral cutterheads. You'll find several people in the forum who own Grizzly jointers, so maybe others with chime in. I sell wood on the internet for a living, so I use my jointer almost every day. Both the 8" and the 12" are great machines that have given me no trouble and the spiral cutterheads do a GREAT! job on the wood. Just starting out, I'd suggest nothing smaller than an 8". Believe me, you'll find a use for every inch it offers. Hello Keggers! Thanks! I appreciate your reply... especially, since I see you are from SE MO. My father's side of the family is from Poplar Bluff, and so I know a bit about that part of the show-me state. Just out of curiosity, if I was to go with the Grizzly, would you recommend the G0656X or the G0656PX (Polar Bear Series). I can't see any difference in the specs (same HP, RPM and weight, etc)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 The only difference I see is color and the mobile base. I agree, everything else seems to be the same. You'd like either of them. I've lived in Poplar Bluff most of my life. Good chance that I know some of your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bois Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 I started out with a Rikon 6" jointer and quickly outgrew it. I found that the vast majority of stock I milled was between 6" and 8", which makes an 8" jointer ideal for the home shop. I basically went through the same set of brands a year and a half ago, and ended up going with Powermatic. I got a deal for free shipping which made it just a few hundred dollars more than the comparable Griz, so I figured the little extra money was worth the improvement in quality. I will say though this is the one tool that I think a granite bed and fence could make a ton of sense so the Steel City could be worth a look for that reason alone. This is one tool where mag jigs are of no use, and jointer fences are also notorious for twisting over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 This is one tool where mag jigs are of no use I agree that a granite bed and fence are worth considering, but just wanted to say that I saw Norm use magnetic featherboards with his jointer on an episode of TNYW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 In my experience, I've used a mag featherboard when edge jointing a long 8/4 piece of wood. It served as another hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkers Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hello Keggers! Thanks! I appreciate your reply... especially, since I see you are from SE MO. My father's side of the family is from Poplar Bluff, and so I know a bit about that part of the show-me state. Just out of curiosity, if I was to go with the Grizzly, would you recommend the G0656X or the G0656PX (Polar Bear Series). I can't see any difference in the specs (same HP, RPM and weight, etc)... Take a looks at the comments about parallelogram jointers at the recent thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bachambers Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 Don't forget about powermatics brother...Jet, I have a 6" jointer, got it for a good price during one of Jets sales at woodsmith store. I've had it a few years now and its performed great and met my needs. I'm sure some day I'll wish I had an 8" model, but then again, if I had an 8, then I would want a 12...never happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronteti Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 Though I dont own any Stel City Tools myself. By the time the company was created I already had the major power tools I need. However from what I understand, Tool City was created by ex delta engineers who at the time delta was in a down turn in quality wanted to keep the quality in their tooling. So they created that company. I only know one person who bought anything from them and they were extremeely happy and satisfied at the quality and workmanship of it. If I were to buy a new tool like you are, I would look very hard at Steel City. They would be my first choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 I would recommend buying one you can see before you bring it to the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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