Jointer Advice

[Chris Lee]

I am in the market for a 6 inch jointer. I would love an 8 inch but I don't really have the room or the money. If the LOML has to park her car outside, it could seriously hamper my tool budget!!! I was looking at the Yorkcraft and the Rigid. Both machines seem to have pretty happy owners. Anybody have any thoughts on these or any others in this price range. I may have a line on an older powermatic 50, but we will see how that comes out. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

[Mark Singer]

Get the DJ 20 and be done with it!

[Roger Myers]

Chris,
I second Mark's opinion and I'll expand on it just a bit. It's not just the extra 2" of width that is nice...The extra table length is even more important, in my opinion. I can always rip and reglue narrow stock, and even with an 8" jointer, you will often have to do that. But to edge or face joint longer stock, the longer table is a real serious advantage. Add to that the table adjusting mechanism on the DJ-20 and you have an incredible machine. I upgraded a couple of years ago, and wish I had done so many years before. The jointer is one of the machines that sees almost every piece of wood that goes into a project - don't sell it short. Mobile base makes it easy to move if you have to.
If I were to do it all over again, I would make do with my hand planes (which I often use anyway) until I could afford the DJ-20 or a comparable machine from another reputable mfgr. In any event, all exposed surfaces still see a hand plane to remove the tooling marks left by any jointer or planer.
Just my 2cents worth...
Roger

[Ted Shrader]

Chris -

Given the choice of the three you listed, hopefully the PM Model 50 will work out. The fence and its adjustment is more stable on that than the otehr two.

Understand your parking problem for SWMBO's car. Is there any way the garage/shop can be rearranged to get the larger jointer in? I have a PM50 in my garage and many times has wanted for a greater capacity - both bed length and cutter width - and parking is at a premium too.

Ted

[Tim Farrell]

I agree that the bed length should be a big part of the decision here. The extra stability it provides is worth the space.
I recently bought the powermatic 6 1/8" jointer with the 66" bed. I have been very happy with it and have seen the quality of my work improve greatly.

Consider the powermatic if you have not already

[Michael Gabbay]

Chris - Since you are in Fredericksburg, I would take the drive up to York PA and look the Yorkcraft and Bridgewood. I ended up with the BW since it has 2 wheels to adjust the tables vs. levers. I do adjust the infeed table more than I thought I would. The fit and finish on both are great and well worth the money.


Mike

[Richard Ferment]

:) If you get a 6 in. you will probaly kick yourself later.As for room, put it on a mobil base then you could move it around to acomadate the car. I myself have a Grizzly GO500 8in with 75in bed&4blade cutter head. I am very happy with it.It is probaly the best tool in my shop. I am very glad I desided for a 8 instead of a 6. Which ever one you pick I'm sure you'll enjoy playing, er I mean working with it ;)

[Chris Lee]

How does everyone around here feel about the Yorkcraft 8" Jointer? I have been working on the wife and we ended up getting a few hundred more back on our taxes then expected. I showed her the price of the Yorkcraft and she said I can get that if it is what I wanted. I have to move some things around in the garage to make room but I think I can work it out. Any opinions would be appreciated. I wish I could swing a Delta or Powermatic but that is just not an option at this time.

Chris

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Chris,

I have a 6Inch benchtop model that I have been very happy with, sure I want a bigger machine, but I got this one on sale ($100) and it sure does the job. It is more work, as I have to set up aux tables, but I couldn't swing a bigger jointer. My uncle has the Craftsman Professional 6inch that is frequently on sale and really loves it. They are NOT a DJ20, but they work for me.

[Chris Lee]

Well I ordered the Yorkcraft, but it is out of stock until the first week of March.:( But that does give me time to make some room!! I also have to add 220 to my garage. My main panel is in my garage so that should not be too hard!!!

Chris

[David Dixson]

Chris,

I've researched the Yorkcraft 8" jointer quite a bit lately, as I also am in the market for an 8" jointer. As near as I can tell, it's an exact clone (I suspect probably made in the same factory.) as the Delta 37-380 Professional Jointer, except it has an added benefit of having a bult-in mobile base. On the negative side, this jointer's fence has a rack and pinion mechanism which sticks out the back about a foot, thereby taking up room that might be an issue in a tight garage space.

Another jointer that you might want to consider is the one I'm thinking about buying right now, the Oasis MB203H sold only by Toolmart. It, I'm told, is a clone of the Delta DJ-20 but has a built in base. The initial order of the Oasis Jointer came in a horrible lime green color, but has already sold out with the next batch they are coming in a more tolerable cream color. This jointer comes with a built in mobile base also.

I am in pretty much the same boat you are about costs and shipping, as I live on the East coast in Georgia. You are farther north, so the shipping from Yorkcraft may be low enough to swing the decision. I found the Oasis jointer to be $200 more expensive to my door than the Yorkcraft, but I'm willing to pay that difference for the DJ-20 design. I would rather have a DJ-20, but with a tight budget, I need to spend that money on other things.

Dave

[Chris Lee]

Dave,

Thanks for the tip on the Oasis. I am close enough where I can pick up my Yorkcraft. I think that was on eof the major factors for me. I also looked at the Sunhill, which was already more expensive and the nearest dealer is in NC.What steared me away from the Oasis was that I had never really heard anything about them and I have heard good things about the people at Wilke and the Yorkcraft products. Good luck with your purchase.

Chris

[David Dixson]

Chris,

I wish I had that option. That's about a $138.00 difference, assuming you don't have to pay Pennsylvania tax. Here, tax is 7% and costs more than shipping by a good bit. The tax, combined with the high prices the local outfits charge for their machinery in most cases, discourages me from buying local. In all honesty, if I could work it into my budget, I'd probably buy local. But I have $3000.00 budgeted this year for major power tools, as I'm upgrading from a Ryobi BT3000 and a Harbor Freight 6" jointer and my intention is to spend it on a 8" jointer, a 15" planer, a 10" cabinet saw and a 2HP dust collector with Wynn Filter.

I'll have to wait and see, but I suspect any upgrades from what I currently have will feel wonderful. I am able to do the job with these tools, but they are small in size and just not much fun to work with. The object now is to get "affirmation" from other owners of the tools I'm interested in that my choices are good ones. Which is what makes forums such a good thing.

Dave