six (6) in jointer

[shelby delaney]

Very shortly I expect to purchase a jointer and would like suggestions as to the best 6 inch. Wood magazine suggests Grizzly and since they also have Grizzly advertising, I wonder how much faith I can put in their recommendation,

[Tim Morton]

grizzly makes a nice jointer, and currently they have one on sale for $325. With prices expected to rise very soon, it is worth taking a look at.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G1182Z&

[Jeremy Gibson]

No personal experience yet (may be purchasing soon), but Wilke has a Yorkcraft 6" for $339. It's similar to the Grizz - 1 HP, 110/220V, 3 knives - but also has mobility built into the cabinet. It also has the handwheel for the outfeed and lever for the infeed.

http://store.wilkemachinery.com/default.tpl?action=full&cart=1103413884343825&id1=7&--woSECTIONSdatarq=7&--SECTIONSword=ww&--eqskudatarq=2339
No affiliation - just a fellow shopper. :)

[scott spencer]

Wood also has advertising from nearly every other jointer manufacturer, so I'm not sure how strong that argument is. The Griz has been a good machine in my experience. Hassle free for three years. It's made in the same factory as the Jet, Sunhill, Bridgewood, Woodtek and others. It also has a very similar design to the GI and Ridgid....jointers are pretty simple machines. If the beds are coplaner, and the surfaces flat, you should be all set.

The Yorkcraft gets positive comments too, and has a built in mobile base. It's a clone of the better Delta 6" (37-275), but goes for ~ $350 plus s/h. These jointers have a rack and pinion fence adjustment that works very well, but takes up additional space in the back.

Pick a color, a price, and the circumstances you're comfortable with and you can't go wrong.

[Jim Becker]

I know the fellow in charge of reviews at WOOD personally and can tell you that advertising doesn't enter into the review process...even the timing is different by many months. (Reviews are done nearly six months before you see them in the magazine) He's very, very careful on this point and take great care to keep things separated, using independent reviewers when it makes sense, too. Most of the other magazines work the same way because it's the ethical way to proceed.

That all said, just about any of the 6" jointers are nice machines. Jointers are pretty simple in design and many of them come from one of about three factories/manufacturers, either in Taiwan or mainland China. Buy on things like bed length, fence design and vendor reputation. Local retailer service can and should also enter into your decision if it applies...all of my Jet equipment, for example, came from a local dealer and they have been a pleasure to work with over the years.