Are really old jointers worth buying?

[Dustin Keys]

At a flea market this weekend, I found a really old jointer that I passed on as I didn't know if it was something that I should pick up.

There was a nameplate on the side of it, however part of it was worn off so I couldn't find a company name or any other indicator on it. It did say that it was made in the US, but that was about the only legible portion remaining. The top was cast iron. The blade (forgive my ignorance if that isn't the proper name for it) was rusted, but I don't believe it was so bad that it couldn't be cleaned up.

The sticker said $50 which was more than I wanted to lose if it was a pile of junk. If it might be worth my time though, I can stop by next weekend to get it as it's almost certainly still there.

I've searched around a little for info on old jointers, but didn't find anything.

Thanks,
Dustin

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dustin,

A website that specializes in Old Wood Working Machines would have more information for you I bet....try OWWM.com

[Kirk Poore]

When you say "old jointer", you are talking power tool, aren't you? I mean, you mention "blade", and hand planes (like the Stanley #7 or #8, which are jointer planes) have only one blade and all power tools have at least two.

How old is really old? Just a general guess is good enough here.

Do you happen to have a picture you can post?

Kirk
who will get back to you after things are narrowed down a little.

[Brad Patch]

Dustin,

Are we talking about a Jointer size hand plane or a powered stationary electric jointer?


If the later it would be nice to know weather its a 6 or 8 inch or something else. As stated the folks at owwm.com are the standard for info on old USA made machinery.

[Dustin Keys]

Thanks guys! The owmm site was exactly what I needed.

If my memory serves me well, it was very much like this model:

http://owwm.com/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=196

The difference being that it was mounted on a wooden cart and not on a pole as the linked unit was.

So the question now becomes, should I get it? The picture in the link above is a good representation of the condition of the unit I was looking at with regards to rust and such. I'm new to wood working, so I don't know if an old 4" jointer like this is worth buying.

I am primarily interested in using hand tools right now, so I was actually at that flea market searching for hand planes (and found a few). I don't want to pass on this jointer though if it's something I should grab.

Thanks,
Dustin

[Rich Fletcher]

I got a free Walker-Turner 6" combo jointer/table saw that I used for a while. Whole thing was cast iron, table saw was 8", so a smallish table. I was planning on setting up the table saw to be a dedicated dado setup. It worked well enough, but I cracked a piece coming home (moving it was...difficult), and getting it dialed in took quite a lot of time. I finally got rid of it (to another woodworker, thankfully), to free up garage space since the table saw addition made it a bit bigger than a dedicated jointer.

So, the short answer is "maybe". A lot of people do. The older stuff can last forever, but it may take a bit of tinkering first.

[Kirk Poore]

Ah. Now we can talk.

I have both a 4" and an 8" jointer. The four incher is nice for short stuff.

If it looks just like that, it's probably a late 40's/early 50's Delta or Delta Homecraft jointer. Quite restorable. Probably will need new bearings, but they aren't expensive or hard to change. Wood stands can be good or bad, depending upon the design, execution, and condition. Does it have a motor? 1/3 to 1/2 hp is all these need. The rust on the table or other machined surfaces can be removed with a razor blade or other methods. Elsewhere, a knotted wire cup wheel in an angle grinder works great.

Frankly, unless it has the motor & switch, the guard and fence are there, and the stand is something you want to use, I think $50 is too high. Offer him $25, or if the motor is there and moves easily (or can be demontrated under power) offer $35.

Kirk

[Dustin Keys]

Ah. Now we can talk.

I have both a 4" and an 8" jointer. The four incher is nice for short stuff.

If it looks just like that, it's probably a late 40's/early 50's Delta or Delta Homecraft jointer. Quite restorable. Probably will need new bearings, but they aren't expensive or hard to change. Wood stands can be good or bad, depending upon the design, execution, and condition. Does it have a motor? 1/3 to 1/2 hp is all these need. The rust on the table or other machined surfaces can be removed with a razor blade or other methods. Elsewhere, a knotted wire cup wheel in an angle grinder works great.

Frankly, unless it has the motor & switch, the guard and fence are there, and the stand is something you want to use, I think $50 is too high. Offer him $25, or if the motor is there and moves easily (or can be demontrated under power) offer $35.

Kirk

It does have a motor attached. The wood cart is okay. It didn't look or feel particularly unstable, but it's construction was far from ideal in my opinion.

This is exactly what I needed to know, thanks! Now that I know it's likely a serviceable machine, I feel pretty comfortable with it if I can get it for around $35. I'll try to stop by there next Saturday to negotiate.

Thanks again!
Dustin

[Gary Radice]

That is indeed a 4" Homecraft jointer, made by Delta. I had one just like it. They are a little less beefy than the Delta 4" jointer of the same vintage, but very nice. As Kirk says, clean it up and put some new arbor bearings on it and it should be good to go IF all the other parts are there.

Make sure there are gibs in the cutter head to hold in the knives. Replacement knives are easily available if you need them, but the gibs are another matter. Also make sure the fence is straight and all the fence parts are there.

I bought it for $25, with the motor but without a base.

Here is mine all cleaned up and with a mobile base and motor. I used it happily for a year or so and then sold it a couple of years back for $125, when I got a larger one.

[Pete Bradley]

Those are nice little machines within their limitations. If it has all its parts, no damage, and a decent motor, the price is about right maybe a little high (especially if it's a Homecraft). Replacement knives would cost a chunk of what it's worth so if it needs them your offer should be considerably lower. If it's got an old washing machine motor or anything under 1/3 HP, it should be lower unless you really need it and have a motor. If it's missing anything else of consequence, it should be practically free.

Pete

[johnny means]

Walk away, there's a reason why that thing is sitting in a flea market. Believe me it's been looked over by plenty of experienced woodworkers who surmised it as not worthy. Usable jointers are not hard to find. You'll plow a hundred more dollars into this thing and still wish you had a basic modern 6"machine. Personally, though I would buy it and use it for a hallway table.:D

[Phillip Pardue]

Walk away, there's a reason why that thing is sitting in a flea market. Believe me it's been looked over by plenty of experienced woodworkers who surmised it as not worthy. Usable jointers are not hard to find. You'll plow a hundred more dollars into this thing and still wish you had a basic modern 6"machine. Personally, though I would buy it and use it for a hallway table.:D

I beg to differ. There were plenty of wood workers who couldn't even comprehend the Sidney 16" jointer I bought. It is ~1920s vintage and is an incredible machine ment to run 24/7/365. For most people, the size of this machine scared them away.

Then of course, we won't discuss the 24" Crescent planer that I got at auction. No one else even bid and I got it for the starting price. Guess all those experienced wood workers knew it was worthless. Seems to serve me alright. :)

[mark kosse]

Not getting into the right or wrongs of buying a machine like that, if it is fairly rusty, I'd pass. I've seen them in like new condition for 3X that price this past week. I bought and own a 1968 rockwell that I paid 60.00 for in fine shape, rockwell stand, nicely tagged motor, and all. A 4" jointer is for looks only.

IMO, Mark

[John Coloccia]

You can get a brand new, 6" benchtop jointer from Grizzly for $200, just as a comparison. Personally, unless I was actually into restoring old tools, I wouldn't take it if they gave it to me. If it were a 12" jointer I'd be interested, but I would have a hard time justifying the time and expense of restoring an old 4" jointer when I can buy a modern jointer so cheaply. I'm not even talking used equipment yet.

There's something cool and nostalgic about those old tools, and many of them perform well when restored. If that's your thing, I agree with Kirk that $50 is just a bit steep. For $25 or $30, maybe you can replace the knives and bearings, spend some time restoring it, and end up with a nice jointer for $100. Then again, maybe it's a basket case and you'll end up throwing it out. I'm not feeling this one.

[david brum]

So the question now becomes, should I get it? The picture in the link above is a good representation of the condition of the unit I was looking at with regards to rust and such. I'm new to wood working, so I don't know if an old 4" jointer like this is worth buying.

OK Dustin, think hard about this purchase. Aside from the fact that a 4" jointer will make you really frustrated with anything over 3-4' long, you could easily be buying an albatross that costs you lots of money and time to restore. As others have said, if you like to restore tools, then great. If you're looking for woodworking tools for cheap, this would probably not get you there. For $100-200 you could easily get a fully functional, more capable machine from craigslist. As others have also said, jointers aren't that expensive.

If you're gonna buy something to restore, make it something you'll want to use around the shop for the foreseeable future. Bigger is really better with jointers.

[johnny means]

I beg to differ. There were plenty of wood workers who couldn't even comprehend the Sidney 16" jointer I bought. It is ~1920s vintage and is an incredible machine ment to run 24/7/365. For most people, the size of this machine scared them away.

Then of course, we won't discuss the 24" Crescent planer that I got at auction. No one else even bid and I got it for the starting price. Guess all those experienced wood workers knew it was worthless. Seems to serve me alright. :)

If he were looking at a 16" Wadkin I would have a different opinion. But one has only look as far as this very forum to find that most of us quickly meet the limitations of a 6" jointer. A 4" machine would have severely lower limiations.Imagine putting a bunch of time, effort, and resources into a machine only to find that is won't even flatten a jewelry box lid.

Add to that the fact that the OP is new to this and it makes for a difficult entry into the hobby.

[Phillip Pardue]

If he were looking at a 16" Wadkin I would have a different opinion. But one has only look as far as this very forum to find that most of us quickly meet the limitations of a 6" jointer. A 4" machine would have severely lower limiations.Imagine putting a bunch of time, effort, and resources into a machine only to find that is won't even flatten a jewelry box lid.

Add to that the fact that the OP is new to this and it makes for a difficult entry into the hobby.

4" jointers have their place and as long as everyone realizes that it is ok. My point is not size here but that every old machine I have come across has been of exceptional quality and well worth the money I spent. If you want a 4" jointer, this one will be of exceptional quality for that class. If you realize that 4" is too small for anything you would be doing, don't buy it, that would not make much sense.

Restoration is another thing. Restorations of these machines are not hard. The only reason that my 16" was not finished in a weekend is because of the time it took for the sandblasters, powder coaters, and motor rewind shop to complete their respective tasks. Yes, this costs money but I am making a "hotrod" out of this thing. If you just want functional, time and money invested are very small.

If it were me, I wouldn't buy it simply because it is too small for my needs. This, however, does not mean that someone else wouldn't find it the perfect tool for their work.

[Larry Edgerton]

I lost the end of a finger on one of those. One of my guys took off the guard on the backside of the fence for some reason and did not put it back on. I was holding the peice to the fence by hooking a finger over the fence, and when I got to the cutter, bzzzttt......

Make sure the guard is in place and if not fabricate one would be my suggestion.

Great little tool, served me well in the beginning of my journey.

I just gave away a 12" Porter Jointer, didn't have room any more.:rolleyes:

[Dustin Keys]

I've decided to pass on this one.

The reason I initially walked away is that I was unsure of the condition (what it would take to restore it), and that I wasn't sure a 4" jointer would really be all that useful to me in the end. Had it been $20, I would have bought it just for the heck of it probably.

Even though I could probably get it for less that $50 if I tried, I don't think I would be very happy with a 4" jointer in the end. I've bought my fair share of things that needed a little fixing up which took far more time and money than I had planned. I don't really want to go through that for a 4" jointer.

Thanks for all the help,
Dustin