Questions on Jointers

[Ray Bahr]

Hi All,

I am seriously considering a jointer. I would want minimum of 8" and a helical cutting head. In general I prefer older machines - as they are made to last, so I guess an older Delta is a choice

open ended question, but what are the better choices out there, and what is a good budget.

Along these lines are there opinions on the bench top models like Cutech 40180HCB-CT (https://www.cutechtool.com/product-p/40180hcb-ct.htm)

Thanks

Ray

[Rod Wolfy]

I would not buy a bench top jointer. They are generally of a cheap construction & have short beds, for convenience.

If you are really getting the bug, start out with an older, used 8". Flat beds are what a jointer is all about. If you can't support a 5' piece of wood on the infeed table, it won't make the board flat, which is the whole point.

I started about 20+ years ago with a new 6" Jet. It wasn't long before I realized that a lot of the 8/4 wood I used was around 7" wide. I got a 12" J/P Felder, used from a couple states away. I sold it & moved. Got a 12" J/P Jet with helical heads. It was great, but I retired & sold it to a friend for $2.5k. I now have a 16" J/P with helical head by Hammer. It's perfect.

Spend once of you can. I've waited 4 years for a used deal to come along on CL. It was well worth it, rather than throwing money after upgrades.

[George Yetka]

I have the 12" hammer and love it, should have went 16,but they are perfect for limited space. Though they are pricey. As for budget friendly any of the big names in 8" HH should do you well, prior to the hammer I was looking at grizzly

[Scott Bernstein]

Agree with avoidance of smaller machines, like a bench-top or a 6" floor-mounted machine. I made this mistake and purchased a 6" floor-mounted unit as my first jointer. No issues with the actual working of the machine, but I grew out of it in about 3 days. It was just too small. So definitely get the widest machine you fit into your budget and your space. If you have money and smaller shop, a Euro-style combo machine is a very efficient use of space and cheaper than individual large jointer and planer machines of similar quality. I have a 16" Hammer jointer/planer combo machine now and it's been amazing.

[Mark Gibney]

I bought a lightly used Delta DJ-20 8" jointer and put a helical head in it. Works great, but Grizzly make a clone that I've read good things about, and it may have a couple of extra features that are useful, I'm not sure.
So weigh the $ cost and time cost of going with a used machine. New might be attractive to you once you've looked at the figures.

[Bill Dufour]

Do not lift by the table ends or it may break as you load up a bargin.
Bill D

[Ray Bahr]

There is a Hammer A3-41 for sale nearby, look like a beast! But that is not a price point I can live with!
https://nh.craigslist.org/tls/7562076648.html

Ray


I have the 12" hammer and love it, should have went 16,but they are perfect for limited space. Though they are pricey. As for budget friendly any of the big names in 8" HH should do you well, prior to the hammer I was looking at grizzly

[Ray Bahr]

What do folks think about Grizzly as a brand. I am always hesitant to buy anything Chinese as the quality is often lacking... That said, I have a Chinese DRO on a mill that has worked flawlessly for 7 years or so...

Thanks

Ray

[James Jayko]

I bought an older 3hp Grizzly 1018 (I think that's the #?) and put a Shelix on it. Works great, no complaints. The only issue I have had with Grizzly stuff is that some of them use odd motors (eg on my bandsaw, it had an odd diameter output shaft), so if something comes up, you can't just upgrade it to a Baldor or whatever.

[Steve Demuth]

If budget is an issue, I would personally forgo the helical head in order to get a wider or heavier jointer. I love the helical head on a planer, but for a relative narrow (10" or under) jointer, I don't see much advantage in them - certainly not enough to justify the extra cost for most hobbiest woodworkers (all my opiniion, of course).

[Mark Gibney]

I've read good things, as I wrote above, about their clone of the Delta DJ-20 jointer.

[Ray Bahr]

Thanks James - do you mean that the output pulley has a non-standard bore so mounting it on a different motor would be difficult?

Thanks

Ray

[John Kananis]

Not all grizzly is made in China. The Taiwanese machines are a great value.

[Ray Bahr]

Not all grizzly is made in China. The Taiwanese machines are a great value.

Thanks John,

What differentiates a "Made in China" machine vs a "Made in Taiwan" machine like a paint scheme or ???

Thanks

Ray

[John Kananis]

It's been a short bit since I shopped them but I don't remember a paint difference. Certain models are made in one location or another. I honestly don't remember how I differentiated.

[Ron Selzer]

Thanks John,

What differentiates a "Made in China" machine vs a "Made in Taiwan" machine like a paint scheme or ???

Thanks

Ray


Look them over closely. The spec sheet tells where they are built and what the warranty is. priced from 2k to 3.5k 12 different machines in floor models, 3 different brands.
I have a Shop Fox and am very happy with it. I also am in the process of replacing a motor on a MinMax 12" jointer/planer, once this is working it will be interesting which one becomes my favorite. I think the Shop Fox will always have a place due to the lot longer tables. I started on a 4" jointer, then a 6" and the Shop Fox tables feel so much longer, defiantly nice to use, segmented head is nice also.
Ron

[Brian Runau]

What do folks think about Grizzly as a brand. I am always hesitant to buy anything Chinese as the quality is often lacking... That said, I have a Chinese DRO on a mill that has worked flawlessly for 7 years or so...

Thanks

Ray

A lot depends on how you will use it. 8 inch min, longer beds floor mounted. I have a grizzly 8 inch g0586 for years. As a hobbyist 8 inch was fine for me. Had it for 13 years works great for me. Brian

[Brian Runau]

Thanks James - do you mean that the output pulley has a non-standard bore so mounting it on a different motor would be difficult?

Thanks

Ray

A lot of Chinese machines have iec frame motors with millimeter Dia shafts.

[Ray Bahr]

Thanks Everyone.

I have a small Delta 6" that I just finished restoring - mostly, but am looking at 30-40 10+ft boards of Hickory, and I don't think I want to use a hand-plane for that many!

I will likely keep looking at CL in the area as I am kinda cheap and would want to avoid the depreciation hit.

Ray

[Mark Wooden]

Thanks John,

What differentiates a "Made in China" machine vs a "Made in Taiwan" machine like a paint scheme or ???

Thanks

Ray

The Taiwanese manufacturers have been at it longer in the world market-
I worked in a shop 20+ years ago where the owner had a blue(their original color) Jet Industrial tilting spindle shaper. He had gone through it and replaced what he considered "crummy" nuts and bolts but other than that nothing else. It was his favorite user among his shapers which included Delta, Wadkin and a large tilting spindle SCMI....
Some years later (12?) I had need of a similar machine and found the original manufacturer of that Jet, now marketing under their own brand name. Same exact shaper, at a good price. I figure if they were still making the same line of machines, they must be up to snuff. I've been running mine for 8-9 years now, no complaints. And I didn't change any nuts or bolts....
Ive heard of many mainland china machine failures in too short a time-burned electronics, cracked castings, inaccurate milling on surfaces etc. . Taiwanese machinery tends to be overall better built IMHO

[Ray Bahr]

The Taiwanese manufacturers have been at it longer in the world market-
I worked in a shop 20+ years ago where the owner had a blue(their original color) Jet Industrial tilting spindle shaper. He had gone through it and replaced what he considered "crummy" nuts and bolts but other than that nothing else. It was his favorite user among his shapers which included Delta, Wadkin and a large tilting spindle SCMI....
Some years later (12?) I had need of a similar machine and found the original manufacturer of that Jet, now marketing under their own brand name. Same exact shaper, at a good price. I figure if they were still making the same line of machines, they must be up to snuff. I've been running mine for 8-9 years now, no complaints. And I didn't change any nuts or bolts....
Ive heard of many mainland china machine failures in too short a time-burned electronics, cracked castings, inaccurate milling on surfaces etc. . Taiwanese machinery tends to be overall better built IMHO
Thanks Mark, would you be able to share the name of the manufacturer?

Ray

[Alex Zeller]

Harvey is a Taiwanese company that makes tools like jointers for a number of brands (Grizzly, Jet, Powermatic). They are now selling some stuff under their own name. What I can't tell you is if Grizzly (which I have several of their tools in my shop) has Harvey build their tools to the same specs and parts as Powermatic. Grizzy use to identify the tools that were made in Taiwan in their catalog. But I'm not sure if they still do.

I currently have a Powermatic 8" HH jointer and a Grizzly 20" planer in my shop. Both work just fine. Both have nice flat tables. However I'm toying with the idea of getting something like that used Hammer you posted a link to to replace the planer. That way when I occasionally get a wide board I can convert it over to a jointer but leave it as a planer most of the time. If you are planning on sticking with woodworking and you can afford it I wouldn't rule out that Hammer. Chances are you'll grow into it.

[Ray Bahr]

Harvey is a Taiwanese company that makes tools like jointers for a number of brands (Grizzly, Jet, Powermatic). They are now selling some stuff under their own name. What I can't tell you is if Grizzly (which I have several of their tools in my shop) has Harvey build their tools to the same specs and parts as Powermatic. Grizzy use to identify the tools that were made in Taiwan in their catalog. But I'm not sure if they still do.

I currently have a Powermatic 8" HH jointer and a Grizzly 20" planer in my shop. Both work just fine. Both have nice flat tables. However I'm toying with the idea of getting something like that used Hammer you posted a link to to replace the planer. That way when I occasionally get a wide board I can convert it over to a jointer but leave it as a planer most of the time. If you are planning on sticking with woodworking and you can afford it I wouldn't rule out that Hammer. Chances are you'll grow into it.

Thanks Alex,

Appreciate the brand name. My problem is that I have "grown into" far to many hobbies / things over the years https://sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon7.png

Ray

[Bill Dufour]

My Jet Mill/drill I dumped the cast iron motor and replaced with a 3phase Baldor. The pulley was metric with no keyway. So I reamed it out to a standard inch size. I bought an adjustable piloted reamer for the job. Surprising how many motor sellers do not state shaft diameter or length. I need a bit bigger diameter then many and the longer the better.
Do not try it with a non piloted reamer, too likely to go askew.
Bill D

[James Jayko]

Thanks James - do you mean that the output pulley has a non-standard bore so mounting it on a different motor would be difficult?

Thanks

Ray

Its been a while (and we're way outside my area of expertise), but when the motor died I took it to an electric shop in town. I was just going to upgrade it since it was out of warranty and wasn't working. Shop indicated that the output shaft of the motor was non-standard, so if I wanted to put a Baldor or something else on there, there was going to be fabrication of pulleys etc to make it all work together. So I ended up just getting the exact same replacement from Grizzly, which worked fine and all. Just something to be aware of.