Upgrade options for a 6" jointer?

[Geoff Crimmins]

I have a Powermatic 50 6" jointer which I really like, but keep finding boards that I need to joint that are between 6" and 8" wide. I'm considering the upgrade options but think I'm overanalyzing things and can't decide which route makes the most sense. I'm a hobby woodworker with my shop squeezed into part of a one-car garage. I tend not to joint long boards so that's not really a concern. Options I've considered are:

1. Keep the PM50 and joint wider boards with the porkchop guard removed, and then plane it on a backer board.
2. Look for a used PM60 or similar 8" jointer. The beds are bit long for my space, but I think I could make it fit.
3. Look for used Inca 570 10-1/4" jointer planer. The beds are about 6" shorter than on my 6" jointer. I would keep my 15" planer and use this mostly as a jointer.
4. Look for a used 12" Minimax or Hammer jointer-planer to replace my jointer and planer. It would likely be hard to find one of these in my area, and would likely be the most expensive option.

Any thoughts on which option might make the most sense?

[Scott Bernstein]

Also a hobby woodworker in a garage, with space at a premium. I made the same mistake you did, buying a 6" jointer when I was just starting. I bought mine because it was inexpensive, small, and I didn't have 220V (yet). I realized it was too small after about a week, but continued using it for 2-3 years when I was finally ready for an upgrade. I had the DeWalt 735 planer as well. Of the choices you listed I would suggest the 12" Hammer combination machine. I ended up with the 16" but the 12" is really plenty - most hobby woodworkers have a 6" or 8". Having a wide jointer is fantastic and you will not be disappointed by the performance of this machine. You can get rid of the 735 and you will have two machines in the space of one for a very efficient use of space. Also suggest getting two extensions for the Hammer. The table extensions are removable so you can cram the machine into a small space but still have the use of really long tables when you need to joint long pieces. The other accessory I recommend is the analog dial indicator for the planer height - very useful. There is also a slot-mortisser attachment for the Hammer jointer-planer, not sure if that would be useful to you. If you can't swing the Hammer financially, I would recommend looking for a used 8" with a bigger motor for more power (usually requires 220V) and then hang on to the DeWalt benchtop planer.

[Michael Burnside]

Of your options, for me, it would be between (2) and (4).

I prefer stand alone units for reasons I will avoid, but if budget allows I think the A3-31 is a great candidate for what you're looking for. It's maybe a bit small on the planer side but there really isn't anything you can't build with it. Anyone that says otherwise is clueless. I would personally find the 41 annoying when jointing, but that's me. Only negative I had when testing the Hammer myself was the fence compared to something like your PM50, but otherwise it's a great unit. It just didn't feel sturdy, but it's a workable problem with technique.

If budget is a concern and your current planing solution is great, I'd keep the 6" until I could find a deal on an 8" and go that route. I'm a Powermatic fan but a stand alone jointer is a pretty simple machine so something from the usual suspects is good.

One final option to consider is a benchtop 8" jointer. If you find yourself needing 8" periodically, but not regularly, and the boards aren't too long, there are very affordable benchtop jointers from Jet, Wahuda, Rikon and I think Grizzly. This is likely the least expensive route.

[Andrew Hughes]

The ideal setup in my mind is a small jointer and a big jointer.
Small bandsaw and a big bandsaw.
Same with planers. Since I don’t have room for all of the above I chose the larger machines.
Good Luck

[Robert Hayward]

If you go the used route do not overlook a machine that is listed as 3 phase. VFD's are not that expensive and are not that difficult to program. Used 3 phase machines are almost always cheaper than equivalent single phase machines in my area.

[John TenEyck]

I'd go with a combo J/P, too, and that includes 10" Inca. I had one for over 25 years and made all kinds of projects with it, including some pretty large ones requiring jointing stuff over 8' long. The beds are short, true, but it will do a good job with added supports, when needed, and good technique. I really like the 1980 something MiniMax 14" combo unit I now have, but could just as easily continued using the Inca. If space is a premium, it's a great option.

John

[Michael Drew]

I just upgraded from a 6" jet to a 8" Laguna model with carbide cutters. All I can say is, sure wish I would have done this years ago. The new machine is a pleasure to use. I actually find things to run over the machine, for no real reason other than it's fun.

[Jay Norton]

I just upgraded from a 6" jet to a 8" Laguna model with carbide cutters. All I can say is, sure wish I would have done this years ago. The new machine is a pleasure to use. I actually find things to run over the machine, for no real reason other than it's fun.

Which Laguna did you buy? Interested if anyone has tried the Quadtec 8”/1.75 HP 110v

[Christopher Charles]

Hi Greg,

Also in Moscow and also looking for to upgrade my jointer and planer. Like hunting for a unicorn around here for sure. There’s an 8” shop fox with straight knives on FB for $2k which is about retail…and that’s been about it for the past couple months…

Good luck!

[Michael Drew]

Which Laguna did you buy? Interested if anyone has tried the Quadtec 8”/1.75 HP 110v

JX/8 Shear Tech. https://lagunatools.com/classic/jointers/jx8-pro/

[Curt Harms]

I have the Jet JJP-12 and am happy with it. At the time I bought it the price difference between Euro and Asian combo machines was substantial, like twice as expensive or more. I don't know if that's still the case today. Re jointer bed length, the Jet is 55". A rule of thumb is that it's practical to work stock 1.5 to 2 times the bed length. That works out 6.8' to 9'. That's long enough for my purposes. For people that make things like beds and entry doors it may not be.

[Richard Coers]

Looking for the used options you mentioned is going to be a long wait. Lots of woodworkers are looking for those upgrade options after buying a 6" jointer first. I would base the decision on just how many board feet do you run a month. If you go months with no issue, then wait for the desirable upgrade used. If you run 100 bd ft every other week, buy new and move on.

[Jim Becker]

I'm on and have been on the J/P combo bandwagon for a long time. They bring impressive capacities in a compact space for both face jointing and thicknessing that can be hard or impossible to do with separates in a small shop situation. But even for folks who have more space, they still bring good value for what they offer. There are folks who don't like the 60 second change over or don't like that the jointer beds are shorter, but neither is really a major issue with good planning and realistic lumber management. They are not great in that respect for production environments where separates clearly rule, of course, but for the "average" person? Very worthy. That's why they have become more and more popular. I've been using one since the mid 2000s and even with the larger shop space I have now, I love the machine...other than I'd like a larger one. :D

[Jack Frederick]

I upgraded from a 6” Delta to an 8” Grizzly 490. Very happy with the machine but now in the two car space it is a lot. I’m still moving the pieces around and have to make it work so… The Grizzly moves very well, surprisingly so. If I could swing it I’d have the A3-31 in a minute but the 490 has been very good for my needs.

[Christopher Charles]

FWIW, right now the Hammer machines are a relative deal given the strong dollar and tariffs on asian machines. In fact, I recall that the A3-31 was going for ~$4,200 in 2010 or so (that' how long i've been pondering an upgrade!), which is only a couple hundred less than the current sale price.

[Jason White]

I hand plane one side flat, then run through the power planer flat side down and keep planing and flipping until desired thickness is reached. Before my current method, I had 6” and 8” jointers and much preferred my 8” Grizzly.

[Bill Dufour]

I realized most drawers I make are 8" tall or less. So I got a 8" delta jointer. No reason you can not cut off the end of the tables to make it fit. It should not warp form the stress?
BilL D

[Michael Burnside]

FWIW, right now the Hammer machines are a relative deal given the strong dollar and tariffs on asian machines. In fact, I recall that the A3-31 was going for ~$4,200 in 2010 or so (that' how long i've been pondering an upgrade!), which is only a couple hundred less than the current sale price.

Have you upgraded yet?

[Michael Rutman]

Having just been through what you are going through, I'll give you a hobbyist perspective on getting a $5K machine to replace my cutech (~$500) and Ridgid.

When I had the cheap tools it always seemed a hassle. I had it set up to be something I brought out, set up, used at the start of a project, then put away. I never brought them out in the middle of a project.

Now that I have a stand alone jointer/planer, it may be my most used tool. Yesterday, I had a piece of wood that needed a little planing or sanding, nothing super special, just needed to get some rough edges off. I looked at my sanders and hand planes, turned on the planer, sent it through, moved on. Now, to be fair, I have a dedicated space for the larger machine so I don't put it away. But still, I'd never turn to a cheap Ridgid planer to quickly smooth out a board. I'm doing it all the time with my Hammer.

I needed a strip of wood that was less than a half inch thick. I grabbed some scrap, spent 30 seconds setting up the Hammer, couple of passes, done. Not sure it's actually faster than ripping something on the table saw, but it sure seems to be my go to tool often. Prior to the Hammer, even if I had the Ridgid set up, I'd never consider doing that.

Not sure if other people feel the same or I'm just looking for excuses to use it, but it sure is useful.

[Geoff Crimmins]

Thank you for all the replies! It sounds like the most people prefer a European combination jointer-planer, with second place going to an 8" jointer. I'm still digesting all of the good information that everyone provided, but it looks like one of these two options should work well.

[Scott Bernstein]

When I decided to upgrade from my 6" jointer, I initially contemplated an 8" machine, like a Grizzly. There is a huge jump in practicality from 6" to 8". With an 8" jointer most projects are doable since 8" is pretty wide and I didn't think many of my projects would use boards wider than 8". What got me into Euro-style combo machines was how efficiently they use space. In the footprint of one machine , you get two machines, which meant I could get rid of my seperate planer machine. That took up quite a bit of bench space that I now have back. I then realized that although most of my project boards are 8" or less, a lot of the rough lumber I obtain was wider than that. So the 12 or 16" jointer machines allow you a lot more options in terms of milling the rough lumber, since you can get really wide boards to run through the milling process...without having to rip them down first. Also nice to joint and plane entire pieces, like cutting boards. Good luck!

SB

[Dave Sabo]

FWIW, right now the Hammer machines are a relative deal given the strong dollar and tariffs on asian machines. In fact, I recall that the A3-31 was going for ~$4,200 in 2010 or so (that' how long i've been pondering an upgrade!), which is only a couple hundred less than the current sale price.

I think you'll find that today's price is A LOT cheaper when adjusted for inflation.

[Michael Burnside]

I think you'll find that today's price is A LOT cheaper when adjusted for inflation.

Respectfully I've never understood this argument. I mean I understand the point, but the cost of LIVING isn't adjusted similarly, so saying that really doesn't solve any real monetary problem or make the pocket book any thicker. Let's be real, they're expensive LOL!

[Christopher Charles]

Lol-indeed still expense…so no upgrade yet!

[Michael Drew]

If you are interested in the Hammer machines, then you should sign up to get their news letters. They have showroom floor model sales periodically throughout the year. I've seen the combo machines on sale for upwards of 30%. So, if not in a hurry, and you're quick, you stand a good chance of snagging one.

Personally, if I was going with one of the combo machines, I'd lean towards the MinMax. I like that it has a longer jointer bed.

[James Jayko]

My vote goes for restoring a vintage Northfield 24" jointer a la David Marks. Its only 2200 bls, and 10 hp.

Clearly, this is A. a joke, and B. my dream. lol

[Jim Becker]

My vote goes for restoring a vintage Northfield 24" jointer a la David Marks. Its only 2200 bls, and 10 hp.

Clearly, this is A. a joke, and B. my dream. lol
It's actually a wonderful thing for anyone that has the space, has the minimum skills to do the restoration and an actually find a candidate that's worthy of the effort. Old iron is truly something amazing sometimes!

[Jared Sankovich]

My vote goes for restoring a vintage Northfield 24" jointer a la David Marks. Its only 2200 bls, and 10 hp.

Clearly, this is A. a joke, and B. my dream. lol

No need to joke. 12-16" machines are relatively inexpensive even in good/ready to work condition.

24" not so much, but still.

[Jim Morgan]

Sure would be nice to have a wider jointer, but in the meantime ...

When I have to face joint something wider that 6", I set my PM54 to take a light cut (~1/64), remove the pork chop, and run the board first with one edge against the fence, then with the other. The board ends up with a slight ridge but is flat end-to-end. I then run it through the planer & end up flipping the board over to remove the ridge.

This contradicts my sig: this doesn't work well with highly figured wood (since you are jointing against the grain in one pass), and you probably lose a little bit more in thickness than you would if starting with a wider jointer. But for occasional use, it's do-able.

[Dwayne Johre]

If you end up going with option #4 & being the Hammer A3-41 or A3-31, I highly recommend that it was "built" before all the covid shit. I am saying this from experience. I got a new 1 in early 2022 that was built in 2021 & both beds were concave in both directions. Side to side & end to end. needless to say there no way of aligning them to create a straight edge. Along with that the settings you had 1 day to the next would change & is likely from moving it from 1 location to another. Needless to say it took about many texts, emails, calls, a 2 hr skype, roughly 9 months & $1,200.00 in instruments/gauges I had to purchase to test, measure & document for them to finally pack it up & ship it back, "at their request" with full refund. Well except fort the instruments I purchased.
I also found during all the measuring, checking & endless adjusting to try get it aligned that there is way too many moving parts on the combo units to be able to get them properly set & stay set. Especially if they are being moved around due to lack of room, as with my case. My next purchase will be 2 separate units.
During all of this I did more checking & ran across more problems with the same units with the same problems. They were also ones purchased after we were well into the covid shit show. Quality control on the casting & machining of the tables seemed to really go down.
However I have to say that Felder/Hammer did come clean on it after I sent it back for them to check for themselves.

Best of luck to you.

[Dave Sabo]

Respectfully I've never understood this argument. I mean I understand the point, but the cost of LIVING isn't adjusted similarly, so saying that really doesn't solve any real monetary problem or make the pocket book any thicker. Let's be real, they're expensive LOL!


It's not an argument it's a reality.

If i had to work 100 hours in 2010 to come up with the money to afford an A3 and in 2023 I have to work 90 - then even though the price of the machine AND my pay have increased the "cost" of the machine has gone down in real terms.

If you want your pocketbook to grow/get thicker....................figure out a way to charge more for your skills or learn more/better ones. It's been the same since civilization began. Economizing doesn't enlarge your pocketbook.

[Michael Burnside]

It's not an argument it's a reality.

If i had to work 100 hours in 2010 to come up with the money to afford an A3 and in 2023 I have to work 90 - then even though the price of the machine AND my pay have increased the "cost" of the machine has gone down in real terms.

If you want your pocketbook to grow/get thicker....................figure out a way to charge more for your skills or learn more/better ones. It's been the same since civilization began. Economizing doesn't enlarge your pocketbook.

More misguided than the first post... We will have to disagree on this oversimplification you've managed to muster up.

[Dave Sabo]

More misguided than the first post... We will have to disagree on this oversimplification you've managed to muster up.


You're certainly entitled to your opinion. But it'd appear your grasp of what money (American Dollar) actually is, is what's clouding your perspective.

Why don't you tell me which part of that statement is not true. Money is a simplification at it's very core.

[Warren Lake]

made a living many years on a general 8" jointer. Later got a 50 plus year old SCM and the General doesn't get used as id rather be on a heavy solid machine even when I don't need the extra width. You can make a living with an 8" jointer.