12 inch Powermatic or Oliver Jointer

[stan rogowski]

Hi guys and ladies, I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a 12 inch jointer and I know a lot of you will talk about used or different manufactures but I am looking just for advice on two jointers. So it's either going to be the 12 inch Powermatic 1285 or the Oliver 4260. They both have carbide cutters not knifes. they are both on sale so Im not concerned with the prices. I have mostly Powermatic and for no good reason I like having all the same machines but heres the issue the Oliver has a Baldor motor, and it 4 inches longer and it says the bed is 12-1/8 wide I don't know if the cutter is that wide. The Powermatic is 4 inches shorter and it says the widest cutting capacity is 11-3/4. I know all these machines are made over seas and probably in the same factory but I was just looking for some other opinions. Thanks

[David Kumm]

If you can inspect them, the one with the most flat tables. An old oliver 166 would be my first choice. Dave

[stan rogowski]

Thanks, they are new machines and Im buying online so I can not inspect them.

[Darcy Warner]

Thanks, they are new machines and Im buying online so I can not inspect them.

Same basic things, both built overseas with same basic materials, parts, motors, etc. Neither one will be significantly better than the other.

[Todd Solomon]

I was just looking at 12" machines as well. I saw one negative review on the Powermatic, stating that it was advertised with a 6" dust port but came with a 4" port. It also had minor shipping damage. He says that the machine clogs with chips on any cuts wider than 6", and the 4" port is insufficient. Just looking at the pictures, looks like the Oliver has a larger dust port (looks like a 6"). Other than that, they both look awesome. Parallelogram beds, Etc. Oliver comes with a Baldor motor, not sure about the Powermatic.

[Matt Day]

A 4” port should be fine for 12” - look at all the 12”+ lunchbox planers with them.

6” would be better though.

Honestly, if you’re considering buying Powermatic, also consider buying Grizzly and save some money. The PM is $6k even with the discount, and the Grizzly G0834 has the same size beds and is almost $2k cheaper.

But if it were me, I’d look for some old iron on the cheap and fix it up, like I did with my Northfield. Cost me $600 and another $500 in materials to restore it, though that price isn’t common. Or, buy one from Darcy already fixed up and have some American machinery with history in your shop.

[Gustav Gabor]

As David mentioned, try and get a jointer that has tables as flat as possible with no twist.

Ordering a jointer sight unseen can be a bit of a gamble. Some machines may be perfect, while others might leave a lot to be desired with respect to accuracy.

If at all possible, perhaps ask the dealer/seller to check the tables for flatness and twist, assuming they have very accurate tools and knowledge to do that.
I'd even go as far as offering $50 - $100 for that service on top of the asking price. Well worth it to know you're getting a good one, or can pass on one that isn't within the specs you deem reasonable, without dropping over 6K on a potential headache.
Most dealers probably won't do that, but it never hurts to ask....

I happen to have a Taiwanese version of the 12" Powermatic 1285. It's most definitely an off shore product branded under various different names.
My jointer works well, but the tables are not perfectly flat. Within .002", so not too bad, but could be better.

As far as I'm concerned, brand name doesn't matter as much as nice, flat, parallel surfaces with either a Tersa or helical/spiral cutterhead.
Oh, and if you have the room and the budget, 16" or bigger would be better yet!

[Patrick Kane]

If they are the same price, id maybe lean towards the Oliver. I like handwheels for fine tuning the outfeed bed. The powermatic has levers, which arent my favorite. I borderline hate PM gold too. Awful machine color.

[Bill Space]

If I were looking for a new jointer first question I would ask is it a parallelogram or dovetail style.

Parallelogram seems to offer easier adjustability.

Second thing would be which has the longest beds.

Third, does it have rabbiting capability? Not that I want to rabbit anything, but I do sometimes want to flatten a wider board and use a sled to run it through my planer before flipping over, which results in a flatter board than my jointer can produce by itself.

[Jim Andrew]

I have a Grizzly parallelagram 12" jointer, G0609, with a Byrd cutterhead, and it will only joint 11 3/4". Should have gone with the Grizzly head. Mine is a fine jointer and is about an 07 model. Only problem I have had was the set screw holding the pulley to the motor shaft came loose. Tightened it, it is fine. I flat plane all my boards through the jointer, then surface. All my lumber is rough sawn.

[Stewart Lang]

I also had a Grizzly G0609x that worked very well. Table adjustment stayed put. Beds were flat and gave me a perfect joint on 5' boards.

A jointer is a very simple machine.

I don't think brand really matters as much as just finding one with the "closest to perfect" tables you can get. At the end of the day, that's all you'll care about when you put it to use. You could find a used Grizzly that had the tables machined just right, and get better joints day in and day out vs. spending 3x as much on a higher-end name that has beds slightly out of flat. I'd shop for a used one you can see first.

Although ideally get an old iron. I sold my 12" Grizzly and kept my 16" Moak that I will love 10x as much as I ever did that Grizzly. You can usually get them cheap enough to where you can have the tables custom milled to be dead flat. The history and look on those old iron machines is worth something too.