Your experience if you ditched your jointer

[Larry Fox]

I recently upgraded from a Unisaw to a small Euro Slider (SCMI SI12) and am starting to get the feel of it and all the things you can do with a slider - including making that initial straight edge on a flat board. This makes me wonder if I still need my jointer. I am not an expert with a #7 hand plane or scrub plane but am pretty handy with them and can see myself being able to get a passably flat face on a board and would likely get better over time. I currently have a DJ-20 8" jointer and am contemplating sticking it in the corner for a while to see how I would make out without it and thought that I would solicit the input of those who have gone down this road to see if you miss it. To be clear, I am not morally opposed to using a power tool to do the work, just wondering if I can get by without it or if am going to sink the ship if I sell it.

I realize I am asking you if I will miss my jointer which you can't possibly answer because you don't know anything about how I work but, again, just looking for some opinions.

Thanks in advance for your time.

[John Lanciani]

Best thing to do is just unplug it and see how long it takes for you to plug it back in. If it ends up covered with cobwebs send it down the road then.

[Andrew Joiner]

I recently upgraded from a Unisaw to a small Euro Slider (SCMI SI12) and am starting to get the feel of it and all the things you can do with a slider - including making that initial straight edge on a flat board. This makes me wonder if I still need my jointer. I am not an expert with a #7 hand plane or scrub plane but am pretty handy with them and can see myself being able to get a passably flat face on a board and would likely get better over time.

I ditched(cobwebed) my jointer in 1979. At that time my lumber yards delivered kiln dry graded S3S lumber for way less money than the cost of me flattening and straightlining it.

These days I use sleds to process rough lumber. I prefer sawing to get the initial straight edge on a board hands down over a jointer.
However hand planing faces flat takes to much energy and time for me. I use a light, simple planer sled.

[Stan Smith]

As you said, we don't know how you work. I had to downsize my shop and get rid of my 8" jointer when we moved. However, I bought a little Delta benchtop jointer which I use on rare occaisions.

[keith micinski]

Unless you never face joint anything I don't see how this can be accomplished short of a planer sled which seems like a waste of tone to build and store when you have a jointer sitting there.

[Jeff Duncan]

If I ditched my DJ20 I'd be pretty bummed out.....I'd be stuck having to do everything on my 16" jointer:rolleyes: realistically I've thought about going back to a one jointer shop.....but that just ain't gonna happen:D

JeffD

[Bruce Page]

Larry, I upgraded from a Craftsman contractor to my Unisaw in the late 90’s. I rarely ever used my jointer after that. The purest will diss me but I found that I could easily flatten & square up boards just using my Woodmaster sander and my Unisaw. I sold my jointer and 15” planner a few months ago to make room for a new machine, I don’t have any regrets.

Edit: I want to add that I rarely mill severely cupped or warped stock, and on the few occasions that I do, I pre-flatten them using neander methods.

[Matt Day]

I wouldn't ever give it up - I buy rough lumber and don't use hand tools to face/edge joint.

And I really enjoy working with rough stock, so surfaced lumber is out for me.

Depends on how you work, what you enjoy, size of your shop, and what type of projects you do.

[pat warner]

".........how I work but, again, just looking for some opinions."
*****************************************
Joinery, design latitude, and your whole woodworking experince depends on
good material prep (http://patwarner.com/images/7_steps_2.jpg).

[Rich Engelhardt]

If it's paid for, you don't need the money it would bring to buy something else @ the present & have the room to store it for now, why rush?

I have quite a few "occasional tools" that come in ever so handy when a situation rolls around where I need it.

[Matthew Hills]

I've got a 6" jointer, but end up using a hand plane for initial face flattening on most boards...
I think your proposal makes sense and you should give it a tray.
It works for me, but I don't work terribly fast.


Matt

[Jim Andrew]

I saw my own lumber, and won't be giving up my jointer. I have a G0609,with a Byrd, and my concern when I purchased it was is it big enough?

[Terry Beadle]

Unless you really need the money, I would keep the jointer.
A jointer is a huge labor saver. It's the first tool used to flatten stock in my shop.
I have a really good selection of hand planes but I use them in conjunction with my power tools because I like spending my time in the shop productively and not as punishment.
A Delta 20 is a really nice jointer too.
IMO there's too many rough stock situations and too much time saved by having a good jointer available in the shop.
Just because you can physically prep stock with out it doesn't make it useless. As you get older, any thing to help in getting stock ready for final build efforts is a keeper.

[Steve Wurster]

Well if you do decide to sell, let me know. I'm not that far from you. :)

[Erik Christensen]

don't have a euro slider but do have a tracksaw that does the same thing - lets me put a perfect straight edge on a board. I still use my jointer a lot even though I have a LN #7 and like to use it. squaring up a big stack of boards for panel glueup is too much work to do by hand; but fitting an inset door into a cabinet is what i use the #7 for.

[Larry Fox]

I think you guys have convinced me - hanging onto it. Not a $$ thing, more a use and space thing. The thought of flattening a pile of wood by hand does seem like unnecessary drudgery that can easily be avoided.

Thanks again for the opinions

[Chris Fournier]

My jointer is a primary tool in my shop and unless I had lots of time, little expectations of output or very small scale projects I would NEVER consider giving it up. Bandsaw, Jointer, Planer - the woodworker's "trinity"! Oh, I like using handplanes too.

[Jason White]

I had to sell my jointer due to a cross-country move. I miss it every single day!!

[Jim Tabor]

It may depend on the type of woodworking you do. Most of my work is rocking chairs that require few if any perfectly stright edges. I find that my new table saw and good blade will give me the edge I need. I have an 8" Grizzly but seldom use it.

[glenn bradley]

I recently upgraded from a Unisaw to a small Euro Slider (SCMI SI12) and am starting to get the feel of it and all the things you can do with a slider - including making that initial straight edge on a flat board.

How do you flatten the face to use it as a valid reference surface? Hand planes and winding sticks are certainly doable but, I don't always have the time for that. If the surface from the yard or the mill is okay with you as a reference, you're good.

[Jim Barrett]

I sold a 12" jointer about 3 yrs ago and kept a small lunch box planer figuring I would use my hand planes to face joint my stock and thickness it with the planer...hahaha...sure it is doable but it is a lot of hard work. What I did learn is how to accurately use my hand planes and winding sticks....a great exercise and very gratifying but it takes lots of time...do yourself a favor and keep the jointer...use your hand planes for a while just to learn how to use them...even with my new Hammer A3 31 I will take a few swipes with a hand plane to get the surface really nice after going through the planer...no planer will provide a finished surface like a fine tuned hand plane will.


Jim

[scott spencer]

To get a truly straight edge that's 90° to the face, you're still going to need to flatten a face. There are multiple ways to do that, but none easier or more efficient than the jointer.

[Jim Becker]

Larry, I use my jointer extensively for flattening faces of boards and pretty much "never" for doing edges...the slider gets that nod since it gives me a sanding ready edge perpendicular to the flattened face every time. (Note that I have a wider J/P)