General jointer 480 vs powermatic 54hh

[mark espinosa]

I have both these machines. Both are in great condition, hardly used. Mainly I bought before my shop was built. I only have room for one. I wondering if I should keep the 8” and spend about $600 and put a helical on it or just keep the 6” powermatic that already has a helical. Any thoughts?

[Jim Becker]

My opinion comes from the fact that I flatten lumber on the jointer, so wider is always better. So personally, I'd keep the larger machine and do the helical if you desire that feature. But unless you work a lot with highly figured stock that is really subject to tear out, the only major advantage of the helical head on a jointer (which is just an initial part of the machining process) is lower noise levels. IMHO, of course. Run it with the current configuration for a bit to see if "you" can justify the helical upgrade. I'd rather have the helical on a thickness planer because that's going to hit both wide surfaces of the material, even after initial face jointing.

[Michael Burnside]

My target products are usually fine furniture with hardwoods. So I would rarely build anything larger than 6" planks because wood movement alone would be a problem. So, I usually rough rip to 5-6". Personally the 12" or larger jointers I find exceedingly annoying, but that's me. I prefer 8" as it gives me the option to have a little wiggle room for ripping to rough dimension first and I don't have to lean way over a large bed. I'm not familiar with the General 480. If it's an equal in quality to the Powermatic, then I'd opt for that, but I wouldn't pick width over quality of machine/cut/etc. As Jim mentioned, HH isn't explicitly needed and can be added anytime if you need/justify it.

[Andrew More]

Keep the 8" and put in the helical. The main advantage of the helical is not wasting hours sharpening blades, and then trying to get them setup correctly in the flipping jointer only to have the next board you run through nick the darned blades again. Never straight knives, NEVER AGAIN!

[Justin Rapp]

Keep the 8" and put in the helical. The main advantage of the helical is not wasting hours sharpening blades, and then trying to get them setup correctly in the flipping jointer only to have the next board you run through nick the darned blades again. Never straight knives, NEVER AGAIN!

I agree with this - no more straight knives, unless quick set type that are indexed (like a dewalt planner) or a setup like JET's quick-set knife jointers. It used to take me an hour to get my jointer set perfect. It was a royal pain.

[Jim Becker]

Let me revise my comment about the cutter head I made above as the other folks do make a good point and I'm spoiled with having Tersa knives rather than traditional straight knives...use the proceeds from selling the smaller jointer to fund the helical head upgrade.

[Michael Burnside]

Oh, I'd opt for Tersa knives over HH any day if it were an option! You are spoiled!

[mark espinosa]

My target products are usually fine furniture with hardwoods. So I would rarely build anything larger than 6" planks because wood movement alone would be a problem. So, I usually rough rip to 5-6". Personally the 12" or larger jointers I find exceedingly annoying, but that's me. I prefer 8" as it gives me the option to have a little wiggle room for ripping to rough dimension first and I don't have to lean way over a large bed. I'm not familiar with the General 480. If it's an equal in quality to the Powermatic, then I'd opt for that, but I wouldn't pick width over quality of machine/cut/etc. As Jim mentioned, HH isn't explicitly needed and can be added anytime if you need/justify it.

Model 480 I think was the last true Canadian model from General. In 2014 DMT bought General and became General International.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Oh, I'd opt for Tersa knives over HH any day if it were an option! You are spoiled!


I had a PM with a Terminus head - same concept as the Tersa.

What's the thinking behind your preference?

[Michael Burnside]

Dead simple blade changes and from what I've seen first hand, buttery smooth finish. I think HH is great, don't get me wrong, but if given a choice, Tersa is the direction I'd go. I wish there was something out there that wasn't Planer + Jointer combo that had them.

[Phil Gaudio]

I'd keep the one with the Canadian flag on it, no question.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Dead simple blade changes and from what I've seen first hand, buttery smooth finish. I think HH is great, don't get me wrong, but if given a choice, Tersa is the direction I'd go. I wish there was something out there that wasn't Planer + Jointer combo that had them.

Look up Terminus-stl dot com. Not sure what sizes they have available. I had one for my PM 60B 8".

[mark espinosa]

I had a PM with a Terminus head - same concept as the Tersa.

What's the thinking behind your preference?

I looked up the head. One thing that would prevent me from getting it. First it looks good for indexing the height easily. If you must sharpen the blade because itÂ’s worn or one chips, then you have make them all the same height. I guess you can keep replacing them one at a time fairly easy but at $15-22 a knife.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I looked up the head. One thing that would prevent me from getting it. First it looks good for indexing the height easily. If you must sharpen the blade because itÂ’s worn or one chips, then you have make them all the same height. I guess you can keep replacing them one at a time fairly easy but at $15-22 a knife.

Maybe they quit making the heads for this application. Mine [20 years ago] was plug-and-play into PM 60B; three blades, 2-sided, tool-less change.

[Jim Becker]

I'm with Kent...one of the advantages to Tersa (and I believe Terminus) is that there is zero height adjustment necessary after the head is in place and coplaner to the machine bed and the outfeed table set properly to the cutter head's knife height. The knives slide into indexed slots from the end and are always 'spot on' height wise to each other. Further, if there's a nick, one knife can be nudged laterally to eliminate the ridge and that can be done multiple times through the life of the edge. And then you flip them over.

[brent stanley]

I have a 480 and it's just been bombproof....I've never done anything to it and has well respected made in North America build quality. The 8" may be wider than you're going to use often, but the wider head lets you skew stock as you run it over the head to help deal with difficult grain if you need to. I vote 480 and deal with the head down the line if you want to. I put a Byrd head in my 480 and it was not that expensive or difficult.

B

[mark espinosa]

I have a 480 and it's just been bombproof....I've never done anything to it and has well respected made in North America build quality. The 8" may be wider than you're going to use often, but the wider head lets you skew stock as you run it over the head to help deal with difficult grain if you need to. I vote 480 and deal with the head down the line if you want to. I put a Byrd head in my 480 and it was not that expensive or difficult.

B
I think I will end up keeping the General. I think they are both good jointers. It will cost me about $600 to upgrade it with a spiral cutter.

[mark espinosa]

Now I need to price the 54hh. I think $1700 is good although I’ve seen them higher. I don’t want to sit on it.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I don’t want to sit on it.
Especially not when it's running.