Jointer Planer Combo Machines

[Matthew Curtis]

What does everyone think of these? Are they worh the money. I have looked at the grizly and the Jet. What doyou think?? Anyone have one??

[walter stellwagen]

I have an inca with extension arms .It is wonderfull.

Walt

[John Coloccia]

What does everyone think of these? Are they worh the money. I have looked at the grizly and the Jet. What doyou think?? Anyone have one??

I have a 12" Jet, and I love it. I believe they may offer it with a helical head, now, if you're into that sort of thing. Planing quality seems fine, but not as nice as a "finish" planer, like the Dewalt 735. I can say that about a lot of planers, including stand alones, though. I don't get much snipe at all..if any... but I'm very careful about feeding the boards properly, also. If you put the boards in nice and flat, like you're supposed to, everything comes out fine.

I have 0 problems with the tables drifting out of alignment when I lift it or lower it. I've had it a couple of months, and it's a great little machine so far.

Be aware that I haven't seen the 10" machine in person, and my impression is the 10" may not be in the same league, quality wise, as the 12".

[Todd Burch]

I have one. I think the concept is fantastic. Most of us who frequent this board are not professionals who have a full blown shop, so we work in our basements or garages, some of us our shops. The biggest bonus of a combo machine is the space savings, and, that it is stationary.

Looking back when I had a lunch box planer, and then a 12" planer on wheels, it is now so nice to not have to lug it around from here to there. (I have a pallet jack to move it now, which represents storage issues itself, unfortunately).

[Curt Harms]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=73478. (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=73478&highlight=fell+truck)
If you do an advanced search using "jointer planer" as search terms, you should find quite a bit. I need to get going but briefly the Jet J/P does what you'd expect it to do. The changeover aspect is overblown in my opinion, it doesn't take long at all-less than a minute. I do think some sort of Digital Readout is a good idea because you may plane some stock, switch to jointer then have to plane another piece or two the same thickness. A DRO helps with that. There's talk of Jet coming out with a helical head but I haven't heard anything definitive. I work with domestic hardwoods mostly and haven't had any tearout issues that would cause me to look at helical head machines. The only time I've had snipe is planing very small thin stock, e.g. <1/4" thick and < 3/4" wide; the head doesn't have pressure bars on the outfeed side like the large planers have and the last 3-4 inches will vibrate and cause rough cuts on the end. Snipe is not an issue with larger pieces. Byrd heads are available for the Jet machine but at $1095, not for me thanks. The little suckers are heavy, 500 lbs+ so that may be something to keep in mind. Good luck with your shopping.

Curt

[Jason White]

Todd,

Do you feel like you've sacrificed anything with the combo machine? I've looked at those and lusted for the 12" jointing capacity, but always thought the beds looked a bit too short.

Jason



I have one. I think the concept is fantastic. Most of us who frequent this board are not professionals who have a full blown shop, so we work in our basements or garages, some of us our shops. The biggest bonus of a combo machine is the space savings, and, that it is stationary.

Looking back when I had a lunch box planer, and then a 12" planer on wheels, it is now so nice to not have to lug it around from here to there. (I have a pallet jack to move it now, which represents storage issues itself, unfortunately).

[Todd Burch]

Todd,

Do you feel like you've sacrificed anything with the combo machine?

No, I've sacrificed nothing. Now, I have:


One sets of knives and backup knives, instead of 2 sets and 2 backup sets
One set of machine specific tools
One dust collector fitting / hose instead of 2
One cord that is always plugged in
One home for the machine instead of rearranging shop


I think I gained in every way.

[Jamie Smith]

Matthew, thank you for asking the question for me ;)

I am on a quest now to figure out if I will ever be able to do woodworking as a hobby, or if I should just stick to painted stuff (think: caulk covers up mistakes).

I have a ridgid benchtop planer (which I swear weighs a gazillion pounds), but no jointer. I have been toying with the jet, grizzly, and even the hammer lines. Can't decide until I know that it won't be a waste of money.

Let us know what you decide!

[John Coloccia]

Todd,

Do you feel like you've sacrificed anything with the combo machine? I've looked at those and lusted for the 12" jointing capacity, but always thought the beds looked a bit too short.

Jason

What pushed me over the edge to get the Jet was exactly the length of the jointer beds. I could have done a Grizzly jointer + some other planer. I wasn't too concerned about spending a little bit more. Their 12" and 10" jointers are HUGE. Combine that with the additional space of a dedicated planer, the Jet won hands done. If I had a much larger shop, I would have gotten a seperate jointer and planer. When I thought long and hard about the size of my shop, and exactly what it was I was jointing 99% of the time, the Jet was a no brainer. With some good technique, the shorter bed is a non-issue for even huge boards.

[Todd Burch]

Ditto on what John Coloccia said.

My old 8" Powermatic Jointer had a pretty decent length bed - 67" I think. But, my Parks 12" planer had, comparatively speaking, squat for bed. It was on wheels, and with a long board, I had to rig up a system to not flip it over. A long bed is not needed for the planer, per se, but without it, the operator (me) is needed to travel from front of the machine to the back of the machine at each pass, else the machine would have tipped over.

Which reminds me - there were several times, SEVERAL times, when the 8" jointer, being on a mobile base, tipped over while I was using it - outfeed bed down. Pretty much every time I made a pass with a 8/4 mahogany board, 5"+ or wider, and > 8' long. It was quite a dance I had to do. Frightening to say the least the first time it happened.

With my current aircraft carrier, weighing in at 1200 pounds, it won't tip over.

I also bought an extension wing that will work with the jointer tables (infeed or outfeed) or the planer bed (infeed or outfeed). I move the wing around, or move it out of the way if not needed.

[Wilbur Pan]

Todd,

Do you feel like you've sacrificed anything with the combo machine? I've looked at those and lusted for the 12" jointing capacity, but always thought the beds looked a bit too short.

Todd already answered you, but I thought I'd chime in. I have a (no longer available) Rikon 10" jointer/planer, which is the type of machine that every woodworking tool company in Europe makes, much like how everyone sells a lunchbox planer here. The jointer bed length is about 40". There's a rule of thumb that you can joint a board twice the length of the bed, which makes my "limit" 6' 8" long boards.

I know I can easily joint 6' long boards on my J/P combo. I can't think of many projects that would require me to joint boards longer than that except floor to ceiling bookcases or very long dining room tables, neither of which are on my to do list any time soon.

On top of that, I've easily done 8' long boards with the help of a friend. I could do the same if I built an outfeed stand. So I would say that the short beds really aren't much of a limitation, unless you have no scrap wood and no friends. ;)

[Brian Tax]

I just went through the same decision process, and I went with the Hammer A3-31. I have not received the machine yet, so I can't speak to the use of the machine yet. I was all set to go with the Grizzly, but there have been some reports of their quality slipping. I am not sure if they are justified or not, but it raised doubt in my mind. I figured that a J/P combo machine is a pretty complex machine and Hammer has been doing it a lot longer than Grizzly or Jet. Also every Hammer owner I talked to, absolutely loved their machine, they did not just say it was fine, but absolutely loved it and would buy it in a heart beat. The thing that put me over the top was the spring sale for about $1000 off, so for about $1000 more than the Grizzly or Jet, I felt that it was worth it. This was just my experience of looking at the J/P combo for about a year.

[Jamie Smith]

I just went through the same decision process, and I went with the Hammer A3-31. I have not received the machine yet, so I can't speak to the use of the machine yet. I was all set to go with the Grizzly, but there have been some reports of their quality slipping. I am not sure if they are justified or not, but it raised doubt in my mind. I figured that a J/P combo machine is a pretty complex machine and Hammer has been doing it a lot longer than Grizzly or Jet. Also every Hammer owner I talked to, absolutely loved their machine, they did not just say it was fine, but absolutely loved it and would buy it in a heart beat. The thing that put me over the top was the spring sale for about $1000 off, so for about $1000 more than the Grizzly or Jet, I felt that it was worth it. This was just my experience of looking at the J/P combo for about a year.

I hope that spring comes again... they are like $4k now.

When do you expect it? I want to set a reminder to watch for your post!

[Brian Tax]

They said it takes like 90 days, but we are moving this summer so the extra time is better for me. They even said that they could hold it their warehouse a few extra months if necessary. I really don't want to have to move it myself. Rest assured when I get it I will gloat.

[Richard McComas]

What does everyone think of these? Are they worh the money. I have looked at the grizly and the Jet. What doyou think?? Anyone have one??

I have ran across some negative information on the Jet 10".



http://www.woodmagazine.com/dgroups/index.jsp?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3a97186dc4-8565-4d1a-acb0-8c53ed988d12Forum%3a733f3829-0f29-496a-b5f6-45814f521765Discussion%3a6c3732c5-17b7-4581-ab24-2e4a22e6772a

[Chris Padilla]

I have a monster J/P like Todd although his is bigger than mine! ;) :D

I simply did not have the space for two separate dedicated critical woodworking machines in my 2-car garage.

Wide planers are cheap...wide jointers are expensive. When you have the J/P, your jointer and planer are the same width...that is very handy. I got a width (16") that I thought would serve me until I die as I didn't want to want for more later on so I bit the bullet and plunked down 6 large for my Minimax FS-41Elite (410 mm = 16"+) jointer/planer and it has been simply wonderful. It has Tersa knives which take a grand total of 1 minute to change...no setting needed.

Changeover for the MM is no big deal and moving the planer sled back to a previous point is reasonable. You may have to rethink how you use your jointer and planer just a bit since set up for one messes up the other (to a certain extent).

[Todd Burch]

So the question becomes, is 4" worth an extra 8 large? Moot point now - it's all paid off.

[Jim Becker]

For me, I'd not go back to separates in my shop, that's for sure. I love the J/P combo arrangement, especially since I'm a fan of having a wide jointer available. (I own a MiniMax J/P combo and have for about 6 years now)

[Matthew Curtis]

So does anyone have the Grizzly?

I can choose form 10" or 12" or 16". Is the extra 2" worth the $700 or 6" worth $4000 for the Grizzly anyways. The Jet is about $2000 for 12", Grizzly $1200 for 10", $1900 for 12".

Will I really ever need a 16" jointer?? Hopefully once in my life, but is it worth the $$?

[Paul B. Cresti]

I had separate jointers & planers for quite some time and did the upgrade from a 6" jointer to an 8" jointer and lunchbox planer to really nice 14" planer. I now own a 16" j/p with a mortiser attachment. In my opinion the tersa head alone is worth it but now that my j/p does three functions (jointer, planer & mortiser) it is irreplacable in my shop. It is a pleasure to use, actually quite mobile for a 1000Lb+ machine and saves a huge amount of space (especially when I move it out of the way on large assembly jobs). The only thing I regret is not getting the 20" version......

[Todd Burch]

The only thing I regret is not getting the 20" version......

Neener, neener, neeeeener. :D

[Scott T Smith]

So does anyone have the Grizzly?

Will I really ever need a 16" jointer?? Hopefully once in my life, but is it worth the $$?

I have a 16" Grizzly, and have found it to be a very high quality machine. It is made by Sheppach in Germany for Grizzly, but they have discontinued it.

What I like about it is the small footprint, the weight, not having to mess with knife setting (they are self centering), the quality of cut and the grooved tables.

What I dislike is that I have to remove the fence in order to switch between J and P (and it's bulky and heavy), the fence is not as ridgid as a typical jointer fence (if I put too much pressure against it when edge jointing it might move), and that you have to hand screw the planer table all the way down each time you switch between jointer and planer and back.

My previous machines were a 16" spiral cutterhead jointer, and a 20" spiral cutterhead planer (both Grizz 7.5 HP machines). The combo has less snipe than my old planer, but that long bed on the jointer sure was nice.