To all 6" jointer owners -

[Rick Schubert]

I am debating between a 6" and 8" new jointer purchase. There has been a lot posted here in the past on why 8" is so important and useful.

But I'm curious how many 6" jointer owners really wish they had an 8" and how many are satisfied with their 6" and rarely have need for anything larger.

Thanks in advance, Rick

[Rick Whitehead]

I have a 6" Grizzley in my home shop. I bought it to replace my first jointer, a 4" Delta Homecraft.
I wish I had an 8", but I can't afford one right now. If I had the money, I would definately replace it. There have been many times the extra width would have come in handy.
The size jointer you need depends on the work you intend to do.If you build primarily kitchen cabinets or small pieces of furniture, you could probably get by with a 6" jointer.If you build large furniture, or pieces with large panels, you will need the extra width of the 8" machine.
Hope this helps,
Rick

[Cecil Arnold]

I have a 6" and wish it was an 8" or even larger. The current project in the shop is two leaves for a dining table and the customer wanted them as wide as possible. With a 6" I could only give her a 12" leaf (or 18" if I jointed three boards) and to get a true 12" it was still difficult after face plaining the boards then the edges. If space and money weren't an issue I would love a MM combo with a 12" jointer/plainer, along with the other goodies included.

[Mike Stanton]

:D I use my planer more than the jointer but I still use it for edges. Mikie I have a dewalt 735 planer Mike :D

[Scott Donley]

If you are buying all finished lumber, with no warp, then 6in. will probably work fine for you. I have a 6in. floor model with a 43" bed, great for edges, but as I have started using more rough lumber I really need (want?) a 8, 10 12,$$$$!!!

[Tom Hintz]

I have a 6" Delta Industrial floor model jointer and can't remember the lst time I ran out of capacity. I do not do much commercial work so my wood needs are strictly for shop and home projects.
Besides, I don't have the money nor shop space for a much bigger jointer especially since I would actually need that big of a machine so infrequently. A little thought here and there, a little prep work and I can handle all of the wood on my current machine.

[Mike Cutler]

Rick. I have a 6" Jet Jointer, and I wish I had one twice that size.
The defeciencies of the 6" were really brought to light in my last project. I had to joint Jatoba boards, which are very heavy, that were 10' long and 12-16" wide. The weight of the boards was pushing the jointer all over the place and caused it to start tipping a time or two, Definitely a pain in the keester.
You never know what project will come up next, so in my opinion, bigger is better when it comes to jointer.
An 8" or larger jointer will take up more floor space than a 6", but it's a moot issue really because the board you are jointing needs the same amount of space in the shop regardless of the size of the jointer underneath it.
My jointer is a very nice little machine, but it is at the top of the list to be upgraded due to size/weight alone.

[chris toomey]

i vote 8 inch.....have a 6 inch jet and love it, but wish it was bigger.

[Dale Rodabaugh]

I have a Delta 6 in.An 8 in would be nice,but in all fairness the 6 in.does the job.It just means a little more work when gluing up panels,6 in.versus 8 in.Although an 8 in.would be nice I cant justify the price.If you can afford the 8 in.go for it.:cool: :cool: :cool:

[scott spencer]

Rick - There was never space or money for an 8", so I never seriously considered one. I get by fine with the 6", but I've ripped many a board that would fit nicely on an 8" machine. Also, even at 210# or so, a 6" machine has more tendency to move than an 8" machine.

If I had the space and $, I'd definitely lean toward the 8".

[Tom Jones III]

I've got a Powermatic 6". If I did not have a jointer now, I'd buy an 8", but it certainly isn't worth the trouble of selling my current just to upgrade.

[Doug Shepard]

I wish I had room to upgrade to an 8" (or bigger). I can justify the money, but not for adding an extension onto the shop (garage) to fit it in. However, I think no matter how big of a jointer you get, you'll always end up wishing you'd gotten the next larger size. There's always something that won't quite fit on the one you own. A 6" will work well for an awful lot of stuff though.

[RichMagnone]

I have a Delta 6. At the time I got it, an 8 was way too expensive. With the new Griz and special on the old Griz as well as the Yorkie, an 8 is more economical today than it was 5 years ago. My delta may end up on ebay before long.

[Mike Weaver]

I have a 6" and am in the process of upgrading.

There have been numerous times my 6" has hampered me - I've had to cut wider boards down (that would have fit on an 8") AND, the bed length is too short.

Most 8" jointers have longer beds (around 6'). My 6" has about a 38" bed...

Cheers,
-Mike

[Mike Parzych]

I use a sled on the planer for widths over 6". It takes some time to set the stock up, but the number of times I flatten boards between 6" and 8" makes me think I'd rather stick with the 6" jointer and buy more wood with the cost difference between 6 -8" jointer.

But sure.....give me a 12" jointer anytime. Just don't send me the bill.

[Aaron Montgomery]

I was originally going to get an 8", but I have a used 6" Jet because I couldn't pass it up for the price. If you're debating between 6" and 8" I think it's a no brainer - get the 8". Every time I watch David Marks run something accross his 16" jointer I think - OMG, who has a 16" jointer.. Then I think.. Maybe I should have one.. My next jointer won't be less than 10".

[roy knapp]

I have a 6" jointer with a 46" oal table length and it does all that i need it to do, but i mostly work with 6" wide material or less.
there have been occasions when a 8" would have, but i just went about it another way.
I can't justify the aditional cost for a 8" and don't have the floor space required for one.
The 8' is a nice size without a doubt but i personal feel don"t buy what you want, buy what you need.:)

[Michael Gabbay]

Rick - I have a Bridgewood 6" jointer and it works ok about 75% of the time. I also do a lot of table and cabinetry work and other than table tops, 6" is fine. If I had the space I would definately get an 8" jointer. If I had a few extra dollars I would definately get a 10" or 12" jointer. But I'm in an enclosed ground basement so I'm restricted to what I can bring in and out.

If you have the space and access then 8" should be your minimum to look at if you want to use it for tops and other large glued up panels. If you have to live with a 6" then I doubt you'll be regretting it all that much. Also, bear in mind that table length is also a key factor for jointers so buy the longest you can.

If I were going to move to an 8" the Bridgewood would be my first choice closely followed by the older DJ20 (non X) or new PM. They are all made in Taiwan so the quality is about the same.

Mike

[Kevin Post]

I'm pretty sure the answer from everyone here, when asked "Should I get a bigger <fill in tool here>?" will be a resounding YES. It's our nature... http://home.centurytel.net/rockyroad/images/drool.gif

I think you'll find most of the people with a 6" jointer in the shop, me included, get along just fine. I have a 6" Jet that continues to serve me well. Don't get me wrong. I still want a bigger jointer. I just don't have the money. :D

There are some alternatives to buying the bigger tool:
Do it with hand tools.
Use one of numerous jigs that will allow you to use a router to flatten stock.
Make a sled for your planer. (Assuming you have a planer.)

[Lee DeRaud]

I'm pretty sure the answer from everyone here, when asked "Should I get a bigger <fill in tool here>?" will be a resounding YES. It's our nature... http://home.centurytel.net/rockyroad/images/drool.gifMost of the people take their guidance from Tim Allen: "If it doesn't say 'Binford' on the side, it isn't big enough.":cool:

Of course, if you look in my "shop", you'll realize I take my guidance from Yoda: "Size matters not." Yeah, right.:p

[Ron Jones near Indy]

If space were not a consideration, I would have a 12" jointer. But that is not the case, and my 6" Delta does a good job. It just takes a little more planning on my part. A sled and shims for my planer solves the problem if I need it to.

[Ryan Ricks]

I am another one in the minority. While I would never stand in the way of someone purchasing a larger tool, I have a Powermatic 6" and have never desired anything larger. Of course I am another home project only, and on the occasion my rough lumber is wider than 6", it usually has an edge that needs to go anyhow, getting it to less than 6" wide.

Ryan

[Adam Howard]

Wish I had an 8.

8's are wider, and usually longer, so it's the best of both.

[George Summers]

I have a 6" and don't want an 8". I don't think that the two inch extra capacity (even with longer tables) is a cost effective trade up from a 6". When and if I do trade up it will be for a minimum 12". How many boards that you want to joint fall between 6" and 8" vs how many are either under 6" or over 8". From my experience, I think you will find a significant percentage are under 6" or over 8" vs the 6"-8" range.

George

[John Lanciani]

I started with a 4" shopsmith jointer, moved to a 6", and shortly after that an 8. I soon realized that I love to use wide boards, and can't bear the thought of ripping and regluing. I bit the bullet and went for a 16" combination machine and could not imagine ever going back to something smaller. Now my jointer, planer, and bandsaw (MM20) all match each other in capacity.

[Dan Stuewe]

The defeciencies of the 6" were really brought to light in my last project. I had to joint Jatoba boards, which are very heavy, that were 10' long and 12-16" wide.

Mike, if you haven't already, please post pictures of what you made that required 10' long 12-16" wide boards. I can't even imagine trying to use any size jointer with a board that big (unless a power feeder was involved).

[Matt Meiser]

I also recently upgraded from 6 to 8 and am glad I did.

Think about this: its pretty easy to find 6" machines used, but 8"'s are pretty hard. There must be a reason. Most of the machines I saw for sale were from people upgrading.

[Bruce Page]

I have the PM 64 (shorter bed) jointer. It has done most of what's been asked of it, but I wish that it was larger every time that I use it.

[Tim Sproul]

I am debating between a 6" and 8" new jointer purchase.


What do you make?

I had a 6 inch jointer. I'm happier with hand planes for the moment.

I primarily build with solid wood so 6 inches was quite limiting - both bed length and width.

If I were a kitchen cab/built-in fabricator, I'd be more than happy with a 6 inch jointer. If I enjoyed using plywood as my primary wood, I'd be happy with a 6 inch jointer......

If I were a maker of small boxes, I'd be more than happy with a 6 inch jointer.

If I liked to make beds and large dressers and armoires and solid-wood topped dining tables and such....I'd pass on a 6 inch jointer.

[John Gregory]

I have a 6" jointer. I would buy the largest size you have money and space for.

[RichMagnone]

I am another one in the minority. While I would never stand in the way of someone purchasing a larger tool, I have a Powermatic 6" and have never desired anything larger. Of course I am another home project only, and on the occasion my rough lumber is wider than 6", it usually has an edge that needs to go anyhow, getting it to less than 6" wide.

Ryan

Ryan, the PM is just about top of the line as far as 6" go. It seems that there is kind of a break point between 6 and 8 where people are comfortable (ie. get a low end 8 or a high end 6). People are not generally recommending anything bigger than 8 (although we can all dream, right?). In any event, I think a fair argument could be made for a PM6 over an 8. As for the Delta or Jet 6 over an 8, I'm not so sure.

[Per Swenson]

We have a 1958 delta 6 inch.

We will always have a 1958 delta 6 inch.

Works wonderful, I have also edge jointed 14 foot long

boards with it sucessfully. Well me and Rube Goldberg.

We will be building a new shop in the not to distant future

And then will purchase a aircraft carrier. In my opinion

if I was going to jump in size I would not stop at 8 inches.

Just my two pennies.

Per

[Mike Cutler]

Dan. The only power feeder involved was me :eek:. Sometimes it's difficult to work in the shop alone. I had to align the jointer with the tablesaw, and use the tablesaw as an aux outfeed table for the jointer. I used two Rigid portable supports with an old set of bicycle rollers for the infeed. Two pieces of MDF, 99"x12" and placed back to back were used as the jointer fence. Like Per said, Rube Goldberg, all the way. Although the bicycle rollers worked amazingly well. :cool:
Here are the links. The first, is the stand alone shelf. the shelves are 13" x75" and the top is 14" x 80", each one is all one piece. The second link is a shelf system. Finished dimension are 110" long with a max width of 24" the top is a two piece glue up the bottom shelves are 3 piece glueups. The shelves that sit on top are 12" wide. I wanted to match all the grains and tones through out, hence the large wide board to help ensure uniform color, and grain texture.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=10801
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=21243
Just so that we don't hijack the thread. This is why I'm an advocate of large jointers. These boards couldn't be face joined by me alone on a 6" jointer. I had to use a router and a floating trammel system that I made to face joint the first side, and then a 15" planer for the opposite side. Even the edge jointing caused the jointer to start to tip a time or two. I think that larger machines aid the person that works alone in the shop, and may possibly make it safer. It's great if you have two people, and two that are experienced is even better, but most of us work alone.

[Dev Emch]

The 6 in an 8 in jointers are actually STICK JOINTERS. They earn their keep mainly edge jointing boards. Now they do have rather short tables relatively speaking. For most furniture projects, the length is just fine. If your working on very long items such as 6 or 8 or 12 foot boards, the extra length of a facing jointer comes in handy.

The vast majority of all jointing can be done on either a 6 or 8 in stick jointer. My main jointer is 20 inches wide and takes much more effort to keep it in trim than say a 6 incher.

Another thing to consider. When I cut stickley spindles, I often have to joint the board and then rip the spindle. Joint the board and rip the spindle. As my shop is run off a phase converter, I cannot run both the large jointer and the table saw at once as both have 7.5 HP motors. This feature is also something I do quite a bit of in my stickley kitchen designs. So its nice to have a 6 inch stick jointer that runs off of single phase power. So that is why I am restoring an older wallace jointer with a 6 inch cutter head. This way, I can keep both machines running at the same time and keep the jointer one step off center of the table saw. Saves on time and foot leather!

So as you get started, keep in mind that 6 inch jointers are still useful and convenient. So for most work, you will find that either a 6 or 8 inch jointer will work just fine. The only major difference between the two is that you cannot face joint a 7 or 8 inch board on the 6 incher. But you can do it with a #7 or #8 stanley jointer plane. So in my book, the 6 and 8 inchers are more or less about the same. Its not until you get to the 12 inchers and wider that they begin to behave and perform way differently.