Baileigh jointer planer

[David Gutierrez]

I am looking at jointer planer purchase and came across a good deal on Baileigh JP-1250. I do not have any experience with Bailiegh tools so i ma reaching out to this forum to see if any of you have experience with their equipment or with this machine?
i am reluctant to put up the big $$ for equipment from a manufacturer i have little knowledge of.

Thanks

[Richard Coers]

They are not a manufacturer, they are an importer.

[Mike Kees]

David I have no experience with Baleigh machinery. I did however check out their website. They are an importer and reseller of machinery that direct sells to the consumer. Looks and smells a lot like Grizzly's business model. The online price of the jointer/planer you referenced is $5100. For that kind of money I would be looking at Minimax or Felder. They at least have a proven track record. Not saying the Baleigh is an inferior product in any way, just for that kind of money I personally would pass.

[Keith Outten]

I have some experience with Baileigh machines.
I own their 6 by 80 edge sander, spindle sander, metal cutting band saw and one of their mag drills.
Every one of their machines was shipped to me in perfect condition and ready to work. I have not had to align or adjust any of the Baileigh machines, they were ready to go to work right out of the crate. Early on I owned one of the magnetic Baileigh sheet metal benders that was an amazing machine but I didn't have enough work for the machine to keep it in my shop. Sold it it one of my close friends so it is still available to me when the need arises :)

Baileigh rates 10 out of 10 in my book. A bit pricey but well worth the expense IMO.

[derek labian]

David I have no experience with Baleigh machinery. I did however check out their website. They are an importer and reseller of machinery that direct sells to the consumer. Looks and smells a lot like Grizzly's business model. The online price of the jointer/planer you referenced is $5100. For that kind of money I would be looking at Minimax or Felder. They at least have a proven track record. Not saying the Baleigh is an inferior product in any way, just for that kind of money I personally would pass.

They are part of Grizzly, so the machines will be similar to Grizzly but have extra features and higher quality parts. Its their top end brand recycling the name, like Bugatti.

[Jim Becker]

They are part of Grizzly, so the machines will be similar to Grizzly but have extra features and higher quality parts. Its their top end brand recycling the name, like Bugatti.

I think you have them confused with South Bend, a brand that Grizzly recently adopted at the high end.

[Ray Newman]

No experience with a jointer/planer combination. But if I was starting out, I would do some serious research into a jointer/planer combination.

For some reason, I seem to recall one of the woodworking periodicals (??possibly Fine Woodworking??) doing a tool review of several such machines a few years ago. Cannot recall which machine(s) rated best. I do recall though the important features considered: were how long and how easy it was to change the machine from one function to the other; and the number of handwheel revolutions it took to move the cutter head and/or planner table up/down.

[David Gutierrez]

Richard - I thought they were a manufacturer...i will check on this.

Mike - I have a line on a JP1250 for $1700 below list. I have done my research and actually prefer the A3-31 but is it worth the $1700 price difference? The other issue is Felder machine is not available until April 2022. the machine i am looking at is available now.

Keith - thanks for sharing your experience. how is their customer service? Are parts available?

Ray - i have been looking at JP for a few years. I have read everything i can find and watched many youtube videos. part of the issue is felder has no retail outlets were I can see touch and operate the machine. The Jet JP was on my list until I found one at Berlands house of tool. I was not impressed with the grooved table castings. They seemed very rough.

My dilemma is that I am a hobby level wood worker with limited skill and want to move up to the next level. Recently looking at wood at Owl hardwoods which has opened my world to myriad of hardwoods which require require surfacing.

So trying to wrap my head around spending the extra $1700 when my skill level is likely to be served well by the Baileigh machine. I am recently retired thus have more time to spend in the shop. I have tendency to "want" the nicest equipment such as the A3-31 but not sure if that is what I "need". If Baileigh provides a quality machine, granted a older design, which will meet my needs at significant cost savings I need to explore it. There are no negative comments above on Baileigh so that is a good thing.
I have a quote from Felder so I know the exact cost of the A3-31. I am going to look at the Baileigh machine this week.


Thanks to all for your feed back and comments.

[Mike Kees]

David, after Keith's post on the Baileigh machines he owns and his endorsement of them I would feel way better about owning one. Definitely worth checking out. As a guy with only one machine in my shop that I purchased new I understand the financial end of your situation well. I hope that this works out well for you and you like what you see when you check it out. Good luck .

[Scott Bernstein]

I'm a hobby woodworker also. I started with a 6" 120V planer and separate lunchbox planer. I then upgraded to a combo machine. Love it. For a hobbiest with limited space in the garage shop a combo machine gives you a lot of capacity for the space it takes up. The switching of modes is a very minor inconvenience and on my machine is very fast. I have the Hammer A3-41 and I love the 16" capacity (and the 4HP motor). The jointer beds both open together and it takes <30sec to raise the planer bed. The Hammer certainly comes at a premium, but it is a beautiful machine and does an amazing job. The mobile base works great - for larger pieces I pull it a couple of feet away from the wall where it normally rests. They also have the mortising accessory one can purchase separately and the extension tables come in very handy when I need to do very long pieces. I also have the spiral cutter head - I recommend at least considering that upgrade if the Baliegh model you are looking at doesn't already come with one. Also make sure to have a good dust collection setup! With a 12 or 16" jointer/planer you'll create a lot of chips!!

[Robert London]

I thought Baleigh was owned or bought by Jet. The JP-1250 is very similar to Jet's 12 inch jointer planer. Lots of machines in this price range are very similar and made by the same company in Taiwan. Different paint and slight changes.

Most heavy machinery prices have risen $1000-1500 this past year. The JP-1250 was around $3500 a ~year ago. Now it's $5100.

I would probably buy Grizzly's new version of their 12 inch jointer / planer before paying over 5k for the Jet or Baleigh. For under $3500, it's probably the best thing going in that price range on a new machine. I've been threatening to buy it and had it in my cart on several occasions.

https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-12-5-hp-planer-jointer-with-v-helical-cutterhead/g0634x

[Jim Becker]

Robert, many machines are physically produced in the same factories with minor specification differences and testing tolerances, depending on the brand they will sport in the market. Contract manufacturing is the norm for the mass market and has been for a long time. So that can account for the similarity between machines with different names. I do not believe that Baileigh has been acquired by anyone, but I could be wrong.

[derek labian]

I think you have them confused with South Bend, a brand that Grizzly recently adopted at the high end.

Your right, I confused parent companies. They are part of JPW however, so they are the low end of powermatic/jet. My mistake.

https://www.jpwindustries.com/brands/

[Robert London]

Baleigh is pretty expensive. Hope they're not the low end of Powermatic at the prices their charging. They want $4500 for a 20" straight knife planer. Almost 6k for a helical. Same money if not more that a South Bend.

[Jim Becker]

Your right, I confused parent companies. They are part of JPW however, so they are the low end of powermatic/jet. My mistake.

https://www.jpwindustries.com/brands/

Thanks...I truly missed that they became part of JPW.

[David Gutierrez]

Robert
Baileigh was recently acquired, their parent company also owns Jet, no affiliation with Grizzly. the two machines are similar but not the same the Baileigh jointer tables can be raised together, with out removing the fence, and also has more inserts in the cutter head than either of the other two.

i did look at the griz but eliminated it and the Jet because of the fence removal issue. i also prefer the euro guard better than the pork chop guard, it just feels safer to me.

[David Gutierrez]

Baleigh is pretty expensive. Hope they're not the low end of Powermatic at the prices their charging. They want $4500 for a 20" straight knife planer. Almost 6k for a helical. Same money if not more that a South Bend.

went to the Baileigh show room today there equipment seems to be aimed at the industrial user not a lot of hobby level equipment some truly massive industrial metal working machines.

[David Gutierrez]

Robert, many machines are physically produced in the same factories with minor specification differences and testing tolerances, depending on the brand they will sport in the market. Contract manufacturing is the norm for the mass market and has been for a long time. So that can account for the similarity between machines with different names. I do not believe that Baileigh has been acquired by anyone, but I could be wrong.

jim you are correct they do not come from the same factory as the jet or the grizz.

[Larry Edgerton]

My only experience is with an edge sander and it has done its job well, but then an edge sander is a relatively simple tool. I wanted old iron, but did not have the space, not sorry I bought the Baleigh.

[Keith Outten]

I was told that Baileigh stocks parts for their machines. Their customers are primarily businesses, probably because of their price and the quality of their machines. Honestly I doubt I will ever need parts for any of the Baileigh machines I purchased given my age :) I am a big fan though and really enjoy the quality of their machines. Note all of the Baileigh machines I own are big time heavy, even the mag drill which is tough for me to lift out of the case. The horizontal metal cutting band saw cuts heavy wall pipe, angle iron and square tubing like butter with no need to wait very long before the material drops. My edge sander is a beast, it cuts my sanding and fabrication time to a fraction of the time I used to spend edge sanding solid surface material and wood for signs.

If I had the money I would own one of their killer pipe benders.

[Ed Fang]

Baileigh is part of JPW industries - which is primarily Jet/Powermatic. They are essentially another "brand" for JPW with some overlap in manufacturing. Baileigh has a heavy footprint in the industrial metal working market, moreso than woodworking. I'm not sure if its equivalent to the powermatic line in terms of good, better, best or slotted a bit below. pricing wise they are pretty comparable to powermatic. It is definitely higher up the food chain than Jet. Service, responsiveness and availability seem to be pretty top notch. The only piece of baileigh I own is the jointer and thats been a pretty nice unit.

Oh hey Keith - havent seen you in 20 years. its been awhile and I find you here. wow, impressive.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

Richard,

I just saw the Hammer is on sale. Might want to compare sale price against your quote.

Cliff

[Keith Outten]

Baileigh is part of JPW industries - which is primarily Jet/Powermatic. They are essentially another "brand" for JPW with some overlap in manufacturing. Baileigh has a heavy footprint in the industrial metal working market, moreso than woodworking. I'm not sure if its equivalent to the powermatic line in terms of good, better, best or slotted a bit below. pricing wise they are pretty comparable to powermatic. It is definitely higher up the food chain than Jet. Service, responsiveness and availability seem to be pretty top notch. The only piece of baileigh I own is the jointer and thats been a pretty nice unit.

Oh hey Keith - havent seen you in 20 years. its been awhile and I find you here. wow, impressive.

Hello Ed, I am surprised that you are a woodworker given your old day job :)
You can find me here every day, I work here at The Creek. The sawmillcreek server is the only one I kept when I shutdown Hampton Roads Online.
I will send you a Private Message with my contact information so we can get together again.

[Curt Harms]

Robert
Baileigh was recently acquired, their parent company also owns Jet, no affiliation with Grizzly. the two machines are similar but not the same the Baileigh jointer tables can be raised together, with out removing the fence, and also has more inserts in the cutter head than either of the other two.

i did look at the griz but eliminated it and the Jet because of the fence removal issue. i also prefer the euro guard better than the pork chop guard, it just feels safer to me.

Fence removal? I have the Jet JJP-12, there is no fence removal and the jointer tables move together. The Jet also has a Euro style guard, yes for jointers I prefer them. I had a 'porkchop' style guard previously on a 6" machine. The 'porkchop' worked fine for narrow stock - less than half the width of the machine. When stock was wider than about 4 1/2", the porkchop guard didn't want to swing out of the way easily.

[David Gutierrez]

Update

I decided on the A3-31, will be placing the order Monday. So the Baileigh JP I was looking at was a show model greatly reduced price because it could not be sold as new. Drove up to the Baileigh Show room, a 2 hr 40 min drive to take a look at the machine. (joel had the machine brought in from the warehouse so i could take a look at it.) Got to tell you the sales guy Joel was a great help.

Also went to see the a3-31 at a private owners shop, the visit was arranged by the Felder rep Steve Taylor. The owner of the machine, Mark, took the time out of his evening to spend 40 minutes with me in his shop. he has very nice shop with a 10 HP martin sliding table saw that is massive.

I was having trouble with the decision but decided on the A3-31. Cut the deal with Steve on the A3-31 the next morning. That afternoon received a call from Joel, the Baileigh rep, that the machine had been sold!! Apparently someone had come into the show room and purchased the JP on the spot from another sales rep. I had no issue with this as Joel had warned me that he could not hold the machine without a deposit.

So I have a A331 on order for delivery scheduled for April 22.

Must say that both of these companies have been very helpful, communicate well, are professional and have quality equipment.

Thanks for all your input.

[Ray Newman]

Good choice! Hope there is no shipping/delivery delay.

[Jim Becker]

That will be a mighty fine machine addition to your shop! Congratulations!