landslide Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I live in southern Indiana, and have been looking to start my shop. I bought a used DW734 planer off CL. But it's been difficult to find a good jointer on CL in this area (slim pickins). The one jointer I keep seeing is the Delta JT160 Benchtop. I've read mixed reviews. It's pretty cheap - $200 new-ish. That price is about right given the fact that I need to equip my "shop" with other essentials -- clamps, table saw, etc. Not sure what to do. I've read some reviews where the user can't get the tables to be coplanar. I've read other reviews that say the jointer is great. THanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbrown Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I faced the same decision about three years ago as I got started. Honestly those bench top jointers are almost never worth it. Get yourself a #7 or #8 hand plane and joit with that untill you can find at least a 6" wide floor standing one. I love my power jointer but you will always find a board you need to joint that is too long or wide to do with your power jointer. Any skills you pick up with the hand plane will serve you well in the future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I have this jointer, and cannot in good conscience recommend it, nor the Porter Cable rebranded version of it. To start the bed is too short. It is possible to over come this using roller stands, but the doesn't help its other limitations. The tables are cast aluminum rather than cast iron and often need shimming to get them coplaner. The fence adjustment is junk. I am always having to fight it, just about evertime I use it, to get it 90* to the table. It never stays that way either. I have the same planer you do as well, and it is very capable. For face jointing, consider making a planer sled. A jointer plane will work well for the face and edge as well. I have found when using a hand plane, you don't need to make the face perfect, just flat enough to go through the planer. The planer will clean up any imperfections from your hand planing. If you are still looking for a good jointer that won't break the bank, consider this one: http://www.grizzly.c...6-Jointer/G0654 It is $500 after freight, but you will be far happier with that one then any of the bench top jointers. Lowes sells the PC 160JT for $249. If it were me, I would save up a little more and get the grizzly floor model. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave's Not Here Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I see by your profile that your interests lie in tables and benches. IMO, you'll struggle with both using that jointer. I saw on another Board that Harbor Freight retail stores have their 6" Jointer marked down to $200, use a 20% off coupon and take it home for $160. That price may not be offered at all HF locations but if you have a HF store near you it might be worth checking out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walnut_weasel Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Nice to see a fellow Hoosier around! I am over near the Columbus area. Have you checked Craig's List? I have been seeing some old 6 and 8 inch jointer on there recently for reasonable prices. I watch the Louisville, Cinncinati, Bloomington, and Indianapolis lists. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landslide Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Nice to see a fellow Hoosier around! I am over near the Columbus area. Have you checked Craig's List? I have been seeing some old 6 and 8 inch jointer on there recently for reasonable prices. I watch the Louisville, Cinncinati, Bloomington, and Indianapolis lists. I check the B-Town, Indy, and Louisville CL (I live in BTown). Honestly, the other major issue I have is that I'm not sure how to assess the old jointers on CL. I see rust, I see age, and as far as I know the thing could work just fine, but I'm not confident to go look in person because I'm not sure how to assess if the thing produces flat planes and edges... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landslide Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I have this jointer, and cannot in good conscience recommend it, nor the Porter Cable rebranded version of it. To start the bed is too short. It is possible to over come this using roller stands, but the doesn't help its other limitations. The tables are cast aluminum rather than cast iron and often need shimming to get them coplaner. The fence adjustment is junk. I am always having to fight it, just about evertime I use it, to get it 90* to the table. It never stays that way either. I have the same planer you do as well, and it is very capable. For face jointing, consider making a planer sled. A jointer plane will work well for the face and edge as well. I have found when using a hand plane, you don't need to make the face perfect, just flat enough to go through the planer. The planer will clean up any imperfections from your hand planing. If you are still looking for a good jointer that won't break the bank, consider this one: http://www.grizzly.c...6-Jointer/G0654 It is $500 after freight, but you will be far happier with that one then any of the bench top jointers. Lowes sells the PC 160JT for $249. If it were me, I would save up a little more and get the grizzly floor model. Thanks for the excellent information. It's unclear to me why the benchtops are so inferior from just about anything with a stand. But I'm about as new to woodworking as you can be, so I know relatively little. However, I have to say that that planer sled looks very interesting. The costs looks near minimal, except for the roller stands which I'd have to get. Seems worth it in the log run, however, since I don't have a table saw and ripping boards to 6" only to re-glue them seems like a pain in the butt. Have you made the sled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Size matters with a jointer. If price is the driving factor, IMO you'd be better off with a full size 6" stationary jointer like the Harbor Freight Central Machinery model. It's on sale for < $200 right now. It may not be state of the art in 6" jointers, but it works and it's got a lot of advantages over the majority of benchtop jointers....a lot quieter too. read this and this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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