Jointers: What size do you have

[Lucas Moore]

I am thinking of purchasing a new jet jointer but I am torn between the 6 and 8 inch versions. I can afford the 8 but am curious as to everyone's opinion on the size of jointers one would need for hobby woodworking.

So here it is: What size and brand do you currently own and what size and brand do you think would fulfill the majority of your needs?

I personally have a 6 inch older craftsmen jointer that has a warped table and fence!

[Kevin Godshall]

I do a lot of work from rough cut, so I do a lot of face jointing, therefore the 8" suits me best.

If you're just having to do edge work, the 6 would be sufficient IMO.

[Chris Gombola]

I just upgraded to an 8 spiral head, well worth it IMO. I had a delta 6" and I found myself trying to face joint a 6.5 or 7" board a few too many times.

Bad news is I'm already eying the 12" models!

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Shouldn't even be a question...if you can afford the 8", then go get it.

I started with an 8" and am extremely happy i did. Everything I've been using has been 7 inches or so wide, so it only made sense to buy the 8inch. (I had the lumber before i bought the tools.)

I purchased the Grizzly 490x (spiral inserts cutter) and am pretty happy.

[Marlin Williams]

Yes 8" seems to be the best bang for the buck. I looked into 6" models but everybody said to get the 8". I am glad I did but I also need to fix something on mine, dang motor is running backwards. :rolleyes:

[Louis Rucci]

I have a Grizzly 12". Also purchased the spiral cutter head, but still looking for someone to press the bearings for me.

[Paul Ryan]

Buy a 3 footer, then you will never need a larger one!







In all honesty there is nothing wrong with a 6" jointer if you can get it for a decent price. But if you do a search on which jointer you will get dozens of threads. This question has been asked as often as which came 1st the chicken or the egg. If you can afford the 8" and have the space for it. But if the 8" leaves you a little tight on other tools and can get a 6 for a good price than buy the 6".

But it all comes down to what you are going to use your jointer for. If you will do a lot of face jointing, then you are crazy to go less than and 8". But if you will use it primarily for creating joint ready edges, then I would but the 6". I have a 6" and it is just fine for me. I looked at a couple of 8" last week because the prices were so low, but at the auction they went higher then I wanted to pay, but were still cheap. The reason i didn't buy is because the 6" has been large enough for 98% of everything I have done to this point.

[Jason White]

I have a 6" and often wish I had 8". More for the bed length than the width.

Jason


I am thinking of purchasing a new jet jointer but I am torn between the 6 and 8 inch versions. I can afford the 8 but am curious as to everyone's opinion on the size of jointers one would need for hobby woodworking.

So here it is: What size and brand do you currently own and what size and brand do you think would fulfill the majority of your needs?

I personally have a 6 inch older craftsmen jointer that has a warped table and fence!

[Ron Jones near Indy]

I have the 6" and wish I had the 8" not only for the width but also for the longer bed. Having said that, I wonder if I had the 8" if I would wish for larger?:confused: Maybe it's kind of like a shop. You always wish it were just a little bit larger.

[Joe Mioux]

12 inch combo

[Jason Stein]

I had a 6" short bed for a long time and never really needed more capacity, but it was too light and I couldn't run long boards through it without nearly tipping it over. I got a deal on a used 12", and at 700 lbs. it's not going anywhere.

[Paul Greathouse]

I have a Grizzly 12" with the spiral head and I am very pleased with it. I don't work with highly figured wood now but if I ever decide to I will have the option of skewing a 6"-8" board to avoid tearout. I do work with alot of rough lumber, so the ability to face joint wide stock comes in very handy.

Another point in favor of the larger jointers is table length. I know many will say that increased table length is really not that important but in my case it is. I make alot of my own moulding and have recently edge jointed some 8' plus boards. The extra long table on the 12" wide jointer really made this task easier.

If you can afford the 8" I would go for it. Even if all you are doing is edge jointing now, you never know when a pile of roughcut lumber is going to land in your lap and then you may have trouble face jointing wider boards with a 6" jointer.

[Jim Becker]

My J/P is 350mm wide (~13.65")

[Tom Veatch]

I have a 6" Jet and have occasionally wished for more width. In your shoes, if it's within the budget, I'd go for the 8" without question. The 6" handles the majority of my needs, but there are times I'd dearly love to have the extra 2". (No wisea$$ comments, please!)

[Chris Rosenberger]

I have a 16" Unitronix & an 8" Powermatic 60.
Go with the 8".

[Cary Falk]

I went from a Jet 6" open stand jointer to a Shop Fox W1741 8" jointer. I did it mainly for the length. I also wanted to go to a spiral head and didn't want to spend the money on the 6". It didn't hurt that I got the Shop fox for $600. I will probably add the spiral head towards the end of the year.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/DSC_0441.jpg

[Howard Norman]

I have an old Craftsmen 6" that I bought many years ago. A few years ago I bought a Grizzly 0490 8" jointer. A very good jointer.

[Chip Lindley]

Lots of work can be done in a 6, but EIGHT is 2 inches BETTER! I finally have an 8 after 25 years of woodworking!

[Don Bullock]

I went through this a couple of years ago. After searching the forums I settled on an 8" Grizzly G0490 and am very happy that I did. The 8" jointer provides extra length as well as width over a 6" machine. The very first board that I sent through it would have been a struggle on a 6" jointer. The longer bed made the task very easy.

[Peter Quinn]

I have an 8" DJ-20 in my home shop, I use a few 12" (powermatic, scmi) and a 20" at work. Bigger is very much better. I started with a General 6" long bed that works well. Still have it. I'd say if a 6" fits your budget and space it will do some good work and serve you well. BUT, most of the models in the 8" weight class are a BIG jump up in performance from the 6" in terms of weight, length, quality of cut, smoothness and power. For my needs 8" is the shear minimum at this point.

[Larry Fox]

8" DJ-20 Wonderful tool.

[Dick Mahany]

I am thinking of purchasing a new jet jointer but I am torn between the 6 and 8 inch versions. I can afford the 8 but am curious as to everyone's opinion on the size of jointers one would need for hobby woodworking.

So here it is: What size and brand do you currently own and what size and brand do you think would fulfill the majority of your needs?

I personally have a 6 inch older craftsmen jointer that has a warped table and fence!


I have a Jet JJP-12 combo J/P machie and REALLY LIKE IT! I have had a Jet 6" jointer that has served me well for 10 years, however I have often needed a wider machine. This new combo tool is 12" and the change over from jointer to planer is trivial. I realize there is much debate on this subject but having a 12" jointer for nearly the price of a good 8" dedicated tool was the best for my money and I am very glad I went that way.
:)

[Tom Leasure]

Select the size you want then buy the next larger one - saves buying a bigger next year

[glenn bradley]

Select the size you want then buy the next larger one - saves buying a bigger next year


I like Tom's style. I have an 8" Grizzly G0490X with the spiral head. Love it.

[Phil Harding]

I started my hobby shop with a Jet 6" jointer. Over the course of the last ten years I've upgraded to a Grizzly 8" and then last year to a Grizzly 12".
I went from the 6" to 8" because I didn't like having to rip 8" wide lumber just so I could face joint it and then glue it back together. Surprisingly that's the same reason why I decided to move up to the 12". The extra length of the bigger jointers was also a big plus for handling longer stock.

Based on the projects I like to make I doubt that I'll ever want anything bigger than the 12".

-- Phil

[Dave Cav]

Grizzly G0593 8" with the spiral cutter head. I had two 6" jointers over th3 last 20 years but there's no comparison to the 8. I'd love to have a vintage aircraft carrier, but I don't really need one or have the room.

[Jim McFarland]

I have a 6" Powermatic 54A with Byrd head and very rarely wanted a wider jointer. IIRC, the 54A does have a longer bed than most 6" jointers. I'm sure I could have purchased a good 8" jointer with what I paid for the 54A + Byrd head --- that said, no regrets.

[tim mathis]

hi,
i have a 8 inch steelcity industrial jointer. it does everything i need to do at this point and does it very well.
tim mathis

[Dar Lounsbury]

I have a 8" Griz and it has been fine. Would like to upgrade with one of the newer Griz with spiral head but it is not a priority.......yet.


Dar

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I think Paul R has the best answer so far. Everybody works a little different, so a 6" may work well for some. I had one for 8ish years, and built some decent projects. Prices are so low now though, that it may be a good time to buy bigger if you think you may need it in the future.

My jointer is a 16" Felder combo.

[Mike Heidrick]

12" Delta DJ-30

It is my last one.

[Deck Reagan]

I have the Jet 6" long bed. I love it. It fits great into my limited shop area and does everything I need it to as a HOBBY woodworker. I would for sure buy again.

deck

[Daniel Winsor]

I can't remember the issue, but there was an article in Fine Woodworking within the past year or so that gave some tips on doubling the capacity of your jointer.

Basically you cut the widest rabbet you can with your jointer about 1/8" deep. If you have to make several passes to cut the rabbet deep enough then you may have to make spacer to place over your infeed table on the jointer. The spacer is 1/4" thick and the same width as your infeed table. Cut it about 2" longer than the infeed so you can attach a stop block on the bottom that will keep the spacer from sliding into the jointer cutterhead as you make another pass for your rabbet. This spacer raises your work up high enough that you can run it through your jointer flat on the existing rabbet cut.

Then you use a flat piece of plywood that is at least an inch longer on both ends of your board and is at least the width of the rabbet. Put this plywood face to the flat rabbet face and then run through a planer with the plywood down, taking light cuts until you've got a full width flat face. Then flip the board over, remove the plywood and run through the planer again and you've got a flat board. Then joint one edge and rip like normal for 4 square.

I have a Jet 6" jointer and I'll play around with this technique once I find a planer :)

Dan

[guy knight]

went from 8 to 12 and yes bigger is better

[Steve Clardy]

I used a 6" by 40" bed jointer for 20 years.
I only edge joint boards usually, never flatten.
Last summer I picked up a griz 8" long bed jointer.
Bed length really helps out when doing longer boards for tables and such.

[Scott T Smith]

I had a 16" Grizzy spiral cutterhead until last year (shop fire), and replaced it with a 16" combination machine (also Grizzly - German mfg).

The bed length was nice on the original one, but the combo machine is nice because it requires less room (and produces and excellent, snipe free finish).

I also have a 25" Oliver combo machine.

[Darius Ferlas]

After a few deals on used machines fell through, I ended up with a brand new 6" jointer by King Canada. The model I got (KC-70FX (http://www.kingcanada.com/Products.htm?CD=113&ID=915)) has a 55 1/2" long bed and a 5" tall fence. I am very happy with it and, as a weekend wood warrior, I can't see myself needing a wider jointer, unless perhaps, I quit my day job and go pro. In that case I will get a 10 feet wide jointer.

I get my lumber form various sources and out of the 400 bdf of walnut and cherry I bought recently only one board was wider then 12". The warping was too significant for face jointing even if I had a 16" jointer, so I ended up ripping it and gluing it back together to avoid too much of the thickness loss.

All the other boards I buy are between 7 and 8" wide. With some twisting, knots and such I decided to standardize on 5 3/4" wide boards for all my glue ups. I have enough ideas of what to do with the narrow strips too. For those rare occasions when I'm tempted to face joint wider boards (mostly as a result of so-an-so glue up) I use my 13" planer and a sled.

Again, I'm a hobbyist so my angle may be different than others' in this thread. If I had to make a living as a woodworker then I might see things differently and I would possibly pull the US out of this recession by buying 16" jointers, 54" sanders and such ;)

[Rod Sheridan]

Hammer A3-31..........310mm about 12 inches...........Rod

[Lucas Moore]

Thanks for all the replies. My local craigslist has a powermatic 8" for sale. Now I just have to hide it in the garage from my wife!

[Roger Barlow]

16" Delta/Invicta and 8" Delta, 8" is for edge jointing, 16 for face

[Chuck Saunders]

16 in Grizzly, got it at the tent sale for $100. $600 later it is up and running.

[Rob Calkins]

Lucas,
I was in the same boat a few years ago...6" vs 8" Every one said get the biggest you can afford. I found an American made Powermatic 60 8" on craigs list for $400, how could I pass that up? I have never looked back. The Powermatic is a great machine.
Rob

[Irwin Fletcher]

I'm strictly a hobby woodworker, and I have an 8" Grizzly. In the course of a year's time, there are numerous occasions where it isn't large enough. I wish I had the money and room for a 12".

No question, go with as large as you have the $$ and room for. You won't regret it.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Thanks for all the replies. My local craigslist has a powermatic 8" for sale. Now I just have to hide it in the garage from my wife!


It's good PM uses a very "blend-in", subtle color so she won't see it --- errr wait... :)