*Researched* Jointer/ Planer purchase

[Justin Jones RDH]

I have spent the last few hours reading about this particular topic on MSC and I would just like some thought checks here.

I will be purchasing an 8" jointer and probably a 15" planer. Probably both grizzly. Due to my budget, getting both in a spiral config is not really an option. It seems like if I was going to buy a spiral cutter it would make more sence to buy it on the planer. I plan to mill all of my wood from rough stock. Typically a board it jointed flat and then alternated on both sides to final dimension (not on the same day of course). So it sounds like that spiral jointer would be purchased for cutter longevity and ease of blade (insert)change only since that original surface will later be planned off, correct?
Im not particularly interested in combo units either.

Best Regards,
Justin

[keith micinski]

Justin I agree with everything you stated and is my plan in the future. I will say though my 6 inch jointer hasn't limited me very much though so that will be more of a luxury going to an 8 and the only way I am getting a spiral head on the jointer is if I can find one used with it already on it.

[glenn bradley]

We all respond based on our own type of work and methods that we use. That being said; a lot of your satisfaction with the machine configurations you are planning will depend on what materials you use. It takes a lot of planing to get rid of some occurances of tearout and tearout is a known occurance in highly figured woods. That is to say that your theory of jointer knifed / planer spiral would not work for me. This is how I ended up with spiral on both.

Again emphasizing that what I do is not what you do and different things are important to different folks (thank goodness :)). I first mill my stock to 1/8" or (often) more over-sized. The next run I will bring things to within 1/32" sometimes closer depending on material (I hand plane, scrape, etc. from there). At this second milling step a tearout that was 1/16" in depth would send that board to the cut-off bin for a smaller future use. YMMV.

[Rick Fisher]

I have not checked the Grizz site for a while, but recall that its usually a bunch cheaper to get the machines with the helical heads, rather than upgrade later. Any chance you could wait until finances permit ?

[Don L Johnson]

I'll go along with Glenn on this one. When I first set up my shop about 15 years ago, I originally purchased a 6" Jointer and a 15" planer. As I have progressed through the different phases of woodworking, I find myself drawn to woods that are more prone to tearout. Unfortunately, I've never gotten into the hand tool area, so am dependent on my electrical friends. I did purchase a 36" drum sander to help me with figured woods. With that background, I really see the need/desire to have spiral head cutters on both the jointer and planer. I can't affort to do it all at once, but my first choice is going to be the Grizzly 12" 5' short bed planer...due to room constraints. I too like to mill my lumber, so my first step is to flatten one side on the jointer, then take it to the planer to cure any warp that might exist. I can't cure the warp on the drum sander because it just compresses the board flat as it sands, so the jointer is my best bet. Just my ramblings on a day after Christmas.

[Matt Meiser]

I'm struggling a bit with similar thoughts myself. I'm considering 12" J/P units. I really like the Jet but the HH is $1000 more than straight knives and I'm really wondering if its worth it. A future upgrade to a real Byrd head would be about the same net cost at current prices.

Remember that the helical heads are a recent trend--the world got by without them for a long, long time. I usually could control jointer tearout before by just slowing feed rate to a crawl and planer tearout by taking a really thin cut (which might not be possible with a serrated infeed roller), skewing the board, paying attention to grain direction, and sometimes, wiping the board with a wet sponge. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the one I have in my 6" jointer. Regardless of how I go above I'll be keeping that machine.

[Rod Sheridan]

Justin, is there a reason you're looking at such a great mis-match in jointer and planer widths?

I had an 8" General jointer and 14" planer, and since I never planed glue ups, I always had too much planer and not enough jointer.

I sold them and purchased a Hammer A3-31 12" jointer/planer.

It's heaven, I can joint wide stock, or skew narrower stock if it has difficult grain.

The 4 HP motor allows the planer and jointer to take very deep cuts if required, and the planer has zero snipe, not a little, zero.

Couple that with a digital height gauge, knives that take 5 minutes to change with no adjustment required and fantastic customer support and you have a great combo.

As Matt indicated, plain knives have been around for more than a century, and still work well.

If you want a Helical cutter the Hammer has one available.

MinMax also make an excellent jointer/planer.

Regards, Rod.

[Kent Chasson]

Justin, is there a reason you're looking at such a great mis-match in jointer and planer widths?

I had an 8" General jointer and 14" planer, and since I never planed glue ups, I always had too much planer and not enough jointer.

I sold them and purchased a Hammer A3-31 12" jointer/planer.

I just did the same thing except I bought the Jet. But I have gone from building mostly furniture to building guitars full time and I just don't use a planer very often any more. Not sure if I would have done the same otherwise. The change over is easy but still an interruption.

As for the original question, if you plan to plane all jointed surfaces, then yes, it probably makes more sense to get the helical head on the planer. Another reason is that retrofitting them on the jointer in the future is way easier than doing a planer. But as others have said, if there's any way you can swing it, get the helical cutters on both. If you have them on one machine and not the other, you will be constantly reminded of how much better they are.

[keith micinski]

Justin, is there a reason you're looking at such a great mis-match in jointer and planer widths?

I had an 8" General jointer and 14" planer, and since I never planed glue ups, I always had too much planer and not enough jointer.

I sold them and purchased a Hammer A3-31 12" jointer/planer.

It's heaven, I can joint wide stock, or skew narrower stock if it has difficult grain.

The 4 HP motor allows the planer and jointer to take very deep cuts if required, and the planer has zero snipe, not a little, zero.

Couple that with a digital height gauge, knives that take 5 minutes to change with no adjustment required and fantastic customer support and you have a great combo.

As Matt indicated, plain knives have been around for more than a century, and still work well.

If you want a Helical cutter the Hammer has one available.

MinMax also make an excellent jointer/planer.

Regards, Rod.

I'm guessing the price of the Hammer is one big deterrent. With just a little bit of looking he can probably find some really nice used Grizzly equipment for half the price of the hammer. Plus I would guess that for most people 8 inches on the jointer covers 99 percent of the work they do. I would rather have 3 inches extra on my planer then 4 inches on my jointer.

[Greg Portland]

I'm guessing the price of the Hammer is one big deterrent. With just a little bit of looking he can probably find some really nice used Grizzly equipment for half the price of the hammer. Plus I would guess that for most people 8 inches on the jointer covers 99 percent of the work they do. I would rather have 3 inches extra on my planer then 4 inches on my jointer.
With a bit of looking he could find some used Hammer equipment for the same cost as new Grizzly :) .

[Scot Ferraro]

+1 on the Hammer J/P. It is a dream machine and Rod pretty much covered everything. I would never go back to a narrower jointer after using this and I think that a 16 inch would be even better. You can order a Byrd head for this machine now and it is installed in Delaware. I believe the pricing is a little better going through Felder than going direct too. Personally I find the straight knives very adequate and easy to change so I am not sure if it is worth the upgrade cost.

Scot

[Justin Jones RDH]

After taking some time to look at my options I hear what all of you are saying. I changed my mind completely and ended up purchasing the G0634Z. I agree that the hammer j/p looks like a stellar machine but I just cant justify its expense. Honestly I have a bit of buyers remorse just after this purchase but I have a large list of things I want to do with it. I am just starting woodworking and also just recently purchased a G0690. I am sure I will have more questions in the future. Thanks for all of your input.