Jointer / planer question

[Scott Cenicola]

So, in a previous post I told the creek about my recent reclaimed lumbef purchase. This could produce a new tool in the shop, as I am considering a planer purchase. I have always bought s4s lumber, and never owned a jointer or planer. I do some light jointing on my router table and it seems to work for me.

So now I'm hunting through cl and come upon Craftsman Professional 1-1/2 hp 6-1/8''Jointer/Planer - $425.
http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/tls/3904831046.html

I haven't even researched if it's a good value yet, because I'm not sure of it's capabilities. The question i have is if it's a 6-1/8", can i plane any board under 6" and eliminate the need for two machines? I don't think I will have the need to plane boards over 6" in the immediate future, so i can save on money and space.

Kind of an embarrising question, but I have no experience in this area. Thanks

[Myk Rian]

It's a jointer, and not a planer.
You'll still need 2 machines, or a real combo jointer/planer.
Jet 6" jointers go for about $300.

[Gordon Eyre]

A jointer will flatten one side of the board and a planer will dimension the thickness while following the flatness of the jointed side.

[Mark Carlson]

I know Craftsman called it a Jointer/Planer but its a Jointer and not a combo machine. It will flatten a face or an edge of a board but wont dimension like a planer will. If you goto youtube and type "how to square lumber" you will find a good series on how to mill lumber using, a jointer, planer and tablesaw.

$425 seems steep for that machine by a lot.

~mark

[Jim Matthews]

Check your area for a woodworking co-op.

The purchase of a planer or jointer, or both for a one time project is not cost effective.
Start with an established vendor, and ask if someone would mill lumber for you.

You'll pay for time, and replacement knives if they're damaged by embedded metal.
You'll also have money left over to buy things that won't sit around while you're building.

http://www.craftsmensupply.com/

[Mike Cutler]

Scott.

If your going to stay involved in woodowrking, you will eventually need both a jointer, and a planer.
$425.00 is too much for that jointer used. There are too many 6" jointers for sale used, well under that amount.

A 6" jointer is small, and you will have no problems reading thread upon thread of guys that purchased bigger jointers to replace their 6" jointers and are now left with a second jointer. Get ahead of the curve and get an 8", or larger, right off the bat.

[Myk Rian]

Get ahead of the curve and get an 8", or larger, right off the bat.
+1 An 8" is a great start.

[Michael W. Clark]

I think that is too much for that jointer too. You should be able to find a good 6" for the $200 range on CL. If you get a good price on a 6" and you decide to upgrade later, you are not out much money because the 6" will still have some value. The Rigid 6" jointers are good. I have an older Delta 37-220 that I like because the fence arrangement takes up less space, allowing me to set the jointer closer to the table saw.

Mike

[glenn bradley]

IMHO the C-man price is steep; someone's hoping for a sucker. The lumber you showed is longer than I might like to try with a planer sled but, you don't need to mill the lumber as a whole, you just need to mill parts. A jointer makes things flat, a planer uses that flat side to make the other side parallel. A planer sled will get you by on many tasks and will save you having to sell the 6" jointer you shouldn't have gotten when you discover that you need an 8" or larger ;-).

[Curt Harms]

Along the lines of what Glenn said, if you can cut your rough lumber to length plus an inch or two, you may have to remove less material to get it flat & square. I learned this lesson when face jointing some poplar that had bowed. It was 4/4 (1" thick) rough to start and by the time I got the bow out then planed the other side, the thickness was the same, the ends were less than 3/4". It was poplar so a cheap lesson.

[jim gossage]

You can get lumber squared up with a planer alone (accompanied by a planer sled and table saw ripping jig) but not with a jointer alone. However, using those jigs is a bit on the tedious side. I suspect you can find a used 6" jointer and lunchbox planer for $400 total on CL. As others have said, a 6" jointer will be fine for a while, but if you get serious about woodworking, you will most likely want an 8".

[Jim Neeley]

Before you start feeling deceived that what they're advertising as a jointer / planer is really just what we call a jointer, here's a little background.

In the Us we call a device such as this, which provides on flat side and another side at 90* to it a jointer. We call something that reduces thickness a planer or thickness planer.

In other parts of the world they use better logic than we do. :D They look at this tool as a planer because it takes a non-flat board and cuts it toall be in the same plane. They call the tool that decreases thickness a thicknesser.

It's confusing because we in the U.S. haven't used common terms to name these two tools.

That's not to say that other countries don't have their quirks but this is one of ours.

Jim in Alaska