PM dovetail jointer vs. PM parallelogram jointer

[Jtraugh]

Hey Marc:

The reason this question is directed only towards you is because I have found people have typically only purchased one type of jointer in their woodworking careers: dovetail ways or parallelogram. No matter what side of the fence people are on, they tend to vouch for their specific jointer. You are the only person I know that has had both. In your earlier shop videos, I thought I saw a PM 8 inch jointer with dovetail ways. Currently (jointers jumpin), you use a parallelogram jointer. My questions:

A) Which is better? Mainly, I mean getting things adjusted and coplaner and general maintenance (I hear the cut quality is almost indistinguishable).

Is the several hundreds of dollars worth it to save up to get the parallelogram?

C) Do I really NEED to get in with .001 with a straight edge? You mentioned more than .002 is starting to push it - is there any wiggle room (pun!) here?

Keep in mind I a hobbyist, but I am slowly becoming more... uh.... obsessed (wife's term). And, I had a Ridgid 6 inch I bought off Craigslist awhile back and spent a total of 10 hours cleaning it and trying to get in within .001 like you recommend in your video (J's J). I ended up selling it because I was so frustrated. The shimming process was a nightmare and .001 was just a pipe dream, it seemed...

Thanks. Love the site - part of what got me into this.

Jeremy

Houston, Texas

[thewoodwhisperer]

Hey Jeremy. In my opinion, the parallelogram jointers are "better" simply because they are easier to adjust and calibrate. As for calibration, my rule of thumb is to get it as close as you can. Don't spend three days on it but if the best you can do is 3-4 thousandths, then that's good enough. I don't exactly how far out a table needs to be before bad results start to rear their ugly head, but its probably a little more forgiving than we think. Every time I replace my knives, I calibrate the beds. The beds are almost always off and need to be adjusted. But I can safely say that there wasn't anything in the performance or results that gave me an actual problem. I should also add that my tables aren't completely flat. So my report of a 1-2 thousandths variance is only my best estimate based on the areas where I took the measurement.

So in short, I do think the parallelogram jointer is worth the asking price. And yes you do indeed have wiggle room.

One of the best things you can do when it comes to tool calibration is simply get it as close as you can. Don't spend all day on it but get it reasonably close. Then use it. Use it a lot. There is a huge value in actually using the tool and having the experience that tells you whether your setup was "good enough". Too often, we chase our tails during these setups.

[toolanddieguy]

I'm looking to purchase a new jointer very soon. Whats different about the adjustment on the parallelogram style? Was looking @ the steel city 8" jointer with dovetailed ways. Would parallel adjustment be needed on a granite top jointer? Granite is supposed to be more stable right? Sorry if these seem like stupid questions still very new to this.

[Mike M]

I too have had both types of jointers. My first was a Woodtek 8" with dovetail ways. I spent hours trying to get it set up and found that it was only properly aligned at one depth of cut. If I changed the depth, I got tapered edges. I finally got it set properly and locked it at one depth of cut for the 8 years I owned it.

I now have a Grizzly 8" parallelogram machine. It took about an hour to get it set up and I have no problem changing the depth of cut.

I agree with Marc - spend the little extra and get the parallelogram system. Also, I strongly recommend the spiral carbide cutting heads.

Mike

PS - Toolanddieguy - The issue is not one of stability, once a jointer is aligned in the shop it should stay that way. The problem is when the machine is shipped and manhandled during unpacking, there is a good chance things can shift a little. Whether the tables are iron or granite won't make a difference. They will still need to be checked and tweaked before the machine will perform its best.