Jointer/Planer/DC

[eric buggeln]

I have finally bought every finish carpentry tool, most Festools and some doubles, an Incra LS positioner with Triton 3 1/4 HP. I have two CT-22s from Festool and a JDS Air cleaner in a 2 bay garage that my wifes car lives in. I was thinking of getting a G0452 6" jointer, a DW735X planer, and G0703 Cyclone D.C. 1 1/2 HP- 2 stage. This package shipped with hoses and acc comes in at a little over 2 grand. Which I could wing this summer.

Right now I pay my distributor to do all my milling, but would like to start doing it myself. My one concern is am I going to kick myself for not making larger investment and going bigger? Should I hold out for a little longer and get machines that will eventually be used professionally later on or get smaller ones as mentioned and sell when I outgrow them?

I plan to use it initially for poplar and oak on built ins and some furniture projects. I plan on making all my own doors and drawers. I am trying to move from General remodeling to custom woodworking and will probably be using these more and more as time goes on.

Any thoughts on these machines or similar sized machines versus bigger ones would be appreciated, Eric

[Steve Schoene]

I'd look for an 8" jointer if you can swing it--those extra 2" adds a great deal to the usability.

Or, if that's not in the cards right now, spend a little time on Craig's list or the like and find a used 6". They are often available since a fair number of people do upgrade to the 8". That way, when you upgrade, you will be able to sell the 6" for nearly what you paid for it.

[eric buggeln]

Steve, thanks for the reply. I look at Craigs List tools section for Hartford area at least once a week. Never really see jointers, but it seems like all I hear is people with 6's upgrading to 8's. If I end up getting a Grizzly 8 inch, I would probably get the upgrade spiral head too and be out another $550 with shipping. Seems to be worth it, Eric

[Jim Terrill]

Steve, thanks for the reply. I look at Craigs List tools section for Hartford area at least once a week. Never really see jointers, but it seems like all I hear is people with 6's upgrading to 8's. If I end up getting a Grizzly 8 inch, I would probably get the upgrade spiral head too and be out another $550 with shipping. Seems to be worth it, Eric

I would recommend using the RSS feeds of craigslist searches. Many good deals are gone within minutes or hours of posting, if you are looking manually something may be long gone before you go to check. You can use Firefox to read RSS feeds, although my choice is to use apple mail (mac only). I got my 6" Jet for $50 by seeing the listing and emailing him 15 minutes after it was posted, he said that he got over 30 emails in less than 24 hours. Granted I had to drop another $50 or so on it to get new knives and a link belt, but the key was the RSS feed to be the first one to respond.

[Steve Schoene]

By the way, it may be useful information that road salt does less damage to automobile underbodies if the cars are not garaged. The extra warmth accelerates corrosion, just as it does almost all chemical reactions. My "garage" has never ever seen a car.

By the way, check New London and New Haven Craigs lists too. CT is a small state.

[Myk Rian]

If I'm looking for something in particular I'll use craiglook.com. When searching for a jointer, I'll input jointer as well as joiner.