Should I wait for an 8 inch planer

[Joe Mioux]

My local wood supplier will be having a clearance sale on some equipment. Among the items on sale is a PM54 6 inch planer for $660.00 and a Delta 6" planer for $469.00.

Should I wait and buy an 8 inch planer or jump and buy one of these 6 inch models?

Thank you (in advance for all of your expertise)
Joe

[Frank Pellow]

I don't have much expertise but, from what I have read (including threads here), I have decided to start with an 8" jointer rather than 6".

[Charlie Plesums]

Good quality hardwood (the kind you need a jointer to flatten) must be over 6 inches wide for the better grades in most species. With a good saw blade, a table saw does as good or better a job on edges than a jointer. Therefore I have found my 6 inch jointer of limited use, and am looking at 16 inch replacements.

Much of the wood I buy would fit an 8 inch jointer - it would be far more useful than a 6 inch. I recommend 8 or more inches.

[Larry Crim]

I waited and got the griz 0500 8" four blade and glad I did, I don't think I would have been happy with anything smaller.

[Dave Malen]

Bigger is better. Think of it. Your building a 32 inch table top. Wouldn't you want to build it with 4 eight inch boards rather than 5 or six smaller boards? Look for a jointer with a long bed. I've had a Delta DJ-20 for about 5 years with no problems.

Dave

[Allen Grimes]

Grizzly has an 8" jointer for $773 including shipping.http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?ItemNumber=G1018HW

EDIT: I dont know about the quality

Also Yorkcraft has one for $650 + shipping (dont know how much that is)
http://www.bridgewood.com/Yorkcraft.tpl I also don't know how good this jointer is, but in the 2005 FWW Tool Guide, Yorkcraft got best value for there 6" jointer.

[Jim Barrett]

I would save for an 8" jointer and if you could swing a 12" jointer...even better!

Jim

[Brian Austin]

Grizzly has an 8" jointer for $773 including shipping.http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?ItemNumber=G1018HW

EDIT: I dont know about the quality
I've had that one for over a year and used it regularly with no issues. Haven't touched it lately due to other projects, though.

Sturdy, well built without the low quality flashing, etc., you might find on some cheap stuff.

Grizzly came out with the 0500 a few months later. Given a choice, I'd go for that one first. Bigger motor (1/2HP+?), four blades instead of three, and longer tables. Nice buy.

[sascha gast]

wait until you can get at least a 10" jointer. i just sold my 6" jet to get the 10" oliver jointer. i couldn't be happier. find it at WWW.Sunhillmachinery.com, awesome jointer. about the same price as a DJ20 X5edition.

sascha

[Christopher Stahl]

wait!!! You'll be glad you did.

chris

[Arnie Grammon]

I have a 6" jointer and I have to say it limits me more than any power tool I have in my shop.....I should have bit the bullet and bought an 8"

If most of your stock was 6" wide or less, then you would be fine........but how realistic is that?

My 2 cents: wait

AG

[Norman Hitt]

After being limited for Many, Many years with 6 inchers, I finally got fed up and went to a 14".

My advice...........WAIT!!!!

Cheers..........Norm

[Maurice Ungaro]

Man...go for the 24" jointer!!!

Two Foot Mambo (http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4656)

It'll cost you about $90, and yes , you MIGHT have to flatten the sole, but, it's gonna pay of in the end. Of course, you may want a more expensive brand, and that's up to you. :rolleyes:


Maurice

[Joe Mioux]

AUGH!!!!!! lol:confused: :eek: Jointer Jointer Jointer...., thanks for all of you who read my weary mind.:)

[John Miliunas]

AUGH!!!!!! lol:confused: :eek: Jointer Jointer Jointer...., thanks for all of you who read my weary mind.:)

Actually, Joe, I happen to HAVE a 7" planer! Don't know if you recall the WH molder I restored a while back, but it's really a planer/molder, complete with 7" knives! :D Now, why anyone would want just 7" in a planer is beyond me, but there you have it! BTW, if you have the room and the ca$h, hold out for an 8" or better! I picked up the DJ20 not too long ago, because I now have the room for it. With all the milling I've done from rought lately, I doubt I could go back to a 6"! :cool:

[Brad Olson]

Just a small galoot note....


I routinely use a #6 plane (or you could use a #7 or 8) to rough flatten boards that won't fit on my jointer. Once the board is more or less flat I run it through the planer on both sides. With the hand planed side it doesn't have to be finsih perfect, just flat enough for the planer. You use the planer for that. I found this method works very fast, compared to complete surfacing with a hand plane, but not too much slower than using a jointer.

I can usually surface 10" wide stock in about 10-15 minutes good enough for the planer, and have the board miled in about 20 minutes. As a bonus it is faster to remove a twist from a board this way than a power planer because you can inteligently remove the twist with less waste.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Joe... it actually is the original JOINTER!
Try a non-plugged jointer first and get the basics of it. You may find it takes up less room and costs less too!

Maurice

[Dan Gill]

You have had lots of advice advising you to wait for an 8-inch and even a 10-inch jointer. Let me be the contrarian.

If you wait, you still won't have a jointer. I have struggled along without a jointer for a couple of years now, and If I wait for an 8-incher it will be another couple of years.

You will ALWAYS find lots of people who will tell you to wait for the best, pay more, get something that will do more. That may have worked for them, but for some folks that extra money will never come. And they will still be doing without a tool that will help their woodworking.

Let me point out that a 6-inch jointer is still a jointer. And a wait for an 8-inch jointer is no jointer at all . . .

[Maurice Ungaro]

Dan brings up a good point. I recently got into the bandsaw game, and bought a Delta 14" (made in the USA...) with the riser. It's 1 hp. It's not 17", or 18", or 20". But, it's still a bandsaw, and it was a screamin deal, as it is a factory refurbished item that has been replaced by a newer model. Point is, I HAVE a bandsaw that is extremely functional, and will be a good machine for some time to come, plus it fit our budget.

Make the best choice you can based upon money and time constraints, and DONT have buyer's remorse!

Best of luck!

Maurice