16" jointer

[David Kumm]

The Tersa head is a pretty nice deal on a jointer. On a 16" I would prefer it to a byrd type. As Frank said you can't deal with really screwed up boards that are wider than the jointer by flipping but you can get pretty close with decent lumber. The oliver swing away guard is nice in that it swings away but also can be a pain and hang up.. The Porter swing away lamb chop is better. If you intend on using it for wider boards you want a guard that dismantles easily. The Oliver doesn't have jack screws so it is a little tougher to set knives. You do get pretty fast at knife changing but the Tersa is still the easiest. The 60+" fence that is 6" high spoils you in a hurry and on a direct drive machine you need a brake of some sort as the head will spin for about 5 minutes which happens to be longer than either my attention span or long term memory. There was a SCMI auctioned in CA just recently and one in WI for sale. Dave

[Scott T Smith]

I'm not in the same camp as everybody else. I presently own a 25" Oliver jointer/planer (carbide insert), and a 16" Scheppach combo machine (Leica cutterhead - similar to the Tersa). Previously I owned the 3 phase carbide insert spiral cutterhead Grizzly version of the one that you listed.

The Oliver is great because it's a production machine. However, I much preferred the 16" Grizzly over the Scheppach. For one, IMO the pork chop style cover is easier (and safer) than the sliding extrusion, and the carbide inserts are most cost effective in the long run (as well as much more quiet in operation).


If you can find some older American Iron, then check to see if a carbide insert cutterhead is available for it.

[joe milana]

There are several 12 & 16" jointers on ebay right now (sort price: highest first). Would be interesting to hear comments from those who know these machines.

[Van Huskey]

I wish someone would put this idea to rest. You cannot flatten a cupped or twisted board in this manner.

.

PUT TO REST! Though no one will listen...

Buy used, plenty of plug and play Oliver, Yates, Porter, Moak, Northfield etc in the price range and they will be worth the same or more in 5 years. If you don't overpay it will be a non-depreciating asset, ain't gonna happen with anything new. Jointers are SIMPLE machines if they are still running well after 20-30-40-50 years they will continue to run well as long as they are maintained.

Of the ones you list the SCMI/MM would be my choice.

[David Kumm]

There are several 12 & 16" jointers on ebay right now (sort price: highest first). Would be interesting to hear comments from those who know these machines.

I have both an Oliver 166 and Porter 300 CM and prefer the Porter but the reality is any good well tuned jointer of these types with good tables and bearings will be impossible to distinguish from another. Get whatever comes up and feels right.If it doesn't feel right look some more. The quality differences among the old jointers mentioned are minimal. Dave

[Van Huskey]

There are several 12 & 16" jointers on ebay right now (sort price: highest first). Would be interesting to hear comments from those who know these machines.

Before I went to eBay I would go to Ben at Pleasant Street or Bill Kerfoot @ CS Machinery. Bill has an AWESOME 24" Northfield but it is $7k but might be something OP would be interested in, Bill has a very nice Porter CM300CM 16" for $3750 both SERIOUSLY good machines. Another good source is Woodweb both Ben and Bill post in the classifieds there.

[Brian Weick]

Oliver, Northfield, porter, American,Fay & Egan, MOAK.........American made Machinery... and ...built with quality in mind back in the day........3ph.....yes their heavy.....

But if you can work it out....

You'll never look at new equipment again..........

As long as you have 220s single ph....you'll be Ok...up to 21 amps......VFD....modern marvel of electronic engineering...

After that..you'll need an RPC......

JMPO....


Best of luck to you.....whatever you get,,,,,

B,

[David Kumm]

Fred Rehak is another stand up dealer who prices fairly and describes his stuff accurately IMO. May be too far away in MI though. Dave

[Andrew Joiner]

I'm not in the same camp as everybody else. I presently own a 25" Oliver jointer/planer (carbide insert)

.

Scott ,
Is that like the old straitoplane? Does it flatten and straighten both faces of long boards in one pass?

[Rick Fisher]

I think my dream Jointer would be a General Canadian 880, 16" Jointer..

I am Canadian, so I am biased..

To the OP .. I think it would be disappointing to buy a new Asian jointer for $8000 .. There is so much more bang for the buck available.. After you own it for a month, its worth probably less than 1/2 what you paid .. Buy a good used machine and you can sell it for very close to what you paid ..

The mini-max or SCM jointers are typically 3 Phase... and I believe 6.6 hp .. or more .. That is a bit of a hiccup but you can easily overcome it for the price spread..

[Scott T Smith]

Scott ,
Is that like the old straitoplane? Does it flatten and straighten both faces of long boards in one pass?

Andrew, you nailed it - it's the new version of a straitoplane. Great machine too.

[Andrew Joiner]

Very cool Scott. Must be real time saver.

[Richard Coers]

Seriously? Have you actually done this Frank? It seems highly unlikely to work considering grain direction reversal and actually getting the board flat. You would be reversing contact points on a twisted board, etc.... I'd have to see a video of a successful run to believe it, and then probably would dismiss it as video "trickery". On your theory, all we would ever need is a 6" machine.

Steven,

16" is nice, and the tables are usually nice and long (a big plus), but you can face joint boards up to around 23+ inches on a 12" machine by flipping end for end after every pass, so unless there's a compelling reason to get the larger one you might find a 12" is all you need.

I'd also strongly agree with David's suggestion to at least look for good quality used. I had a Northfield, Oliver is, IMO, the class of the field, but I'd also look at Crescent, Moak, Yates, etc., and I've never heard anything but praise for any machine from Martin (but they do tend to be pricey).

[Erik Loza]

On a not-unrelated note, I had a customer once call me because they were experiencing issues in flattening boards on a big SCMi jointer they owned. In my mind, I couldn't understand why they were having issues until he mentioned that he was feeding the machine with a power feeder. All the feeder was doing was flattening out the stock as it ran across the cutterhead. Of course, the wood "popped" right back into its original shape once it came out. Remembered this while reading the above ^^^ post.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[David Kumm]

I face joint wider boards regularly. You are correct that twist and cup are bad things but if the board is relatively straight and particularly if less than 8' long it works pretty well. I buy a lot of maple that has been glued up from 4" strips in rough form- the supplier uses up his waste that way. The glue ups are 14-22" wide and I use them for drawers and anything paint grade as I don't like poplar much. They are uneven but pretty flat and while the jointer won't provide a finished surface it gets the board flat enough to go in the planer. I realize I have a pretty specific application but pre glued up maple for less money and a fold away jointer guard make life pretty sweet. Dave