12" Cresent jointer on Ebay

[rob louvasz]

Has anyone seen this style of Cresent jointer with Fafnir bearings? I've been looking for an older style 12" jointer and this one is close to where I live.:confused: Any kind of info would be great.

[Chip Lindley]

This jointer has been on eBay for a looooong time! It might be worth $1000, but never the asking price. There is a chunk of CI out of the table-end. Also some nicks in tables close to the cutterhead. It does, however, appear to have a 4-knife cutterhead. These old jointers normally do not have jack screws for knife adjustment. The fences are not easily set to an exact angle except by trial and error. Once you set it at 90deg. leave it there! Are you set up to run 3-phase in your shop? Lots to consider. Personally, I would pass.

[Carroll Courtney]

Is it like this one?Chip is correct,they do not have jack screws,but a simple tool can be made to aid in setting the blades.The only thing to was out for on these jointers is the style of cutter head.I think that the fence works nice,just acouple of hand screws.Stay away from the clamshell.Even though this jointer and newer one's cost 3Ks plus,I think that 1K is to much,800 would be tops----Carroll
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=118442&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1242437456 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=118442&d=1242437456)http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=118443&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1242437456 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=118443&d=1242437456)

[Jerome Hanby]

This is a little off subject. There has been a jointer similar to this one on the Atlanta CL for a long time. No motor and it's been sitting outside for a while. How far gone can a piece of iron like this be and still be brought back with a reasonable amount of effort?

[Ben Martin]

This is a little off subject. There has been a jointer similar to this one on the Atlanta CL for a long time. No motor and it's been sitting outside for a while. How far gone can a piece of iron like this be and still be brought back with a reasonable amount of effort?

If you go on the OWWM forums there is a Before and After thread, I would suggest looking through that.

In their vocabulary there isn't a such thing as "too far gone."

[Chip Lindley]

Old Iron Outside, usually needs the tables and fence reground or hand scraped to remove any pitting. Journal bearings must be apprised as to their usability. A good sandblasting or wire brushing will remove the rest of the old paint/rust from the carcass. Dovetailed ways must be cleaned up for a sliding fit. If a motor is included, bearings will be suspect also. Dirt Dobbers love to pack open frame motors full of mud! As long as old iron is not cracked or deeply pitted, it cleans up very well and is still serviceable !

[Rick Lizek]

The Crescent is my favorite jointer. Simple and easy to work on. The angled inclines is one of the best designs for ways. It has the advantages of the parallelogram jointers for four point table adjustment but is so much simpler if you had to remove a table for grinding or getting it in your basement. Dovetailed ways machines must be ground as a complete unit or you will never get them aligned.

I wouldn't worry about a little pitting. It's not going to make the slightest difference in performance. Bearings are no problem. Even if it was babbitt I'd still think highly of the machine.

Crescent had the modern 4 knife head even in the early days. No jackscrews but you don't need them. I typically use a gauge that straddles the head and set them off the head. I typically set the knives 1/32" high and bring them down on all jointers. I don't even bother with jackscrews even it they are there. The tables slide apart to make this an easy task. Old oliver jointers were like this as well. It's easy to align the tables to the head so there is no alignment issue. One could even put a Helical head on it with no problem.

The small footprint of the base ensures that if you move it around your shop the tables will stay in alignment. You could even put it on a mobile base.

Adding a guard is no big deal. A standard pork chop can easily be fabbed from plywood or you can add a modern style Euro jointer guard by retrofitting a grizzly from their combo machine. Price was about $122
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0675/parts/4


I can't say enough good things about this jointer. I've been repairing and restoring machines for over 25 years and never saw a bad Crescent. In my opinion it's one of the best designed jointers out there. I'd take it over a new one anyday.

[Steven Satur]

I came across a 8" Crescent afew months ago, direct drive, 4 knife cutter head. It replaced the Delta DJ 20 that I had for years. Maybe one of the better upgrades I ever made. 13" wide tables that adjust both ways. The knives are easy to adjust, alot better then jack screws. Years ago I replaced the knives on my planer with jack screws and the wrench slipped off the cheap square head wedge screw and I ended up with 22 stiches in my hand. That jointer even if it needs some work is a good one. All I did to mine was 4 new knives and a couple cans of paint.

[Carroll Courtney]

I with Rick, and sounds like he speaks from experience.I'm not a restorer of old machines much less to call myself a woodworker,but the Crescent line of machines are pretty simple to restore.This jointer that I post pics of is acturally my first of such vintage.(1960)It went so well that when I came across a Crescent BS,I could not pass it up due to the simplicity of the way it was constructed.If you ever come across a Crescent machine,at a decent price jump on it.It won't last long!! My next project---Carroll
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=130058&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1255471528 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=130058&d=1255471528)

[Jim Eller]

Here's a 16" jointer in my area for $400. Have no idea what it is.

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/tls/1533697052.html

I just saw it on the local Craigslist.

Should I rush over with a couple of forklifts and get the behemoth? Enlighten me.

Jim

[Steven Satur]

Another good one depending on the model. Some of them have the same table adj. that the Crescent has, some are sort of like a wedge bed. That is a good price. But might need something. Bearings are the easy part.

[rob louvasz]

I'd like to thank all of the members on their comments concerning this jointer. About a week or so ago the seller had this jointer for sale with a starting bid of 895.00. When it didn't sell, he relisted with just the price of 1995.00 or best offer. Considering I'd have to put it on a mobile base it seems the way to go if he comes down on price. After looking through the Crescents on OWWM, it seems that the original bearings have been replaced with Fafnirs. That's the only thing that concerns me. I can always get a phase converter.

[Kirk Poore]

Here's a 16" jointer in my area for $400. Have no idea what it is.

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/tls/1533697052.html

I just saw it on the local Craigslist.

Should I rush over with a couple of forklifts and get the behemoth? Enlighten me.

Jim

At that price it's worth a look, if you have the space. Fay & Egan was around for a very long time, so you won't know what you've got until you've seen some pictures--it could be a square head, modern round 3-knife head, clamshell, or something else. You may not need a forklift, but you better figure moving at least 2,000 lbs, so a good trailer is in order.

Kirk