New Planer and Jointer

[Zachary Caldwell]

Now that I am getting a new shop, its time to get some new toys. I've only ever had the dewalt planer but am wanting to upgrade to something bigger and more "professional". Looking at prices I'm kicking myself for not buying sooner but oh well. If you were buying to day what would you get and why?

Brands considered so far are:
Powermatic
Jet
Grizzly
Laguna
SCM Combo
Hammer combo

Thanks for your time!

Zach

[Jim Becker]

I've seen some very nice Oliver (blue) tools with folks in videos. My shop is an SCM place since that's where I went back in the mid-2000s. I love my SCM/Minimax jointer/thicknesser combo and only wish I would have gotten the 410mm wide unit, rather than the 350mm wide unit "back in the day". So buying today, I'd absolutely go for the 410mm wide setup. I don't mind the one minute switchover and the space savings and wide jointing capacity make it worthwhile for me.

[Robert M Richardson]

I have a Hammer A3-31. The switchover from planer to jointer while only taking 2 or 3 minutes can be a little aggravating at times but with planning it's not a big problem and the saving in shop space well worth it. I'm getting a little snipe at times but I'm chalking that up to the operator. I'd recommended it. It looks like Felder has a sale on those now which might be worth looking into.
Robert
Forgot to mention it's quiet!

[Keegan Shields]

Buy used if possible. All of the offerings are virtually the same from each manufacturer. For example: a Jet 8" jointer and Grizzly 8" jointer with similar features (segmented head, dovetail tables) are almost identical. The same is true for 15" four post planers.

Most of the machines I've purchased over the years were 40%-50% off new prices and have seen very little use.

[John TenEyck]

Same advice, buy used if you are at all mechanically inclined. If you aren't, take a friend with you who is. Beyond that, I would get stand-alone machines if you have the space. I have a MiniMax J/P combo, it's a very nice machine and I have no complaints, but separates are more convenient.

Think hard about what projects you do and want to do. Jointer width is something that quickly becomes an issue if you want to work wide pieces of stock, and there's no easy work around with a narrow unit. I've never had anything narrower than a 10" jointer, and the 14" I now have is not as big as I would prefer. I would (and have) give up planer width for a wider jointer, which is a major attraction of J/P combo units.

John

[Bill Dufour]

My niece moved to Tennessee and bought a house with her boyfriend last month. They buy lots of stuff on facebook. How is the used tool market there? They are just south of Nashville.
Bill D

[Malcolm McLeod]

Now that I am getting a new shop, its time to get some new toys. I've only ever had the dewalt planer but am wanting to upgrade to something bigger and more "professional". Looking at prices I'm kicking myself for not buying sooner but oh well. If you were buying to day what would you get and why?

Brands considered so far are:
Powermatic
Jet
Grizzly
Laguna
SCM Combo
Hammer combo

Thanks for your time!

Zach

I have a 12" Grizzly combo w/ 'helical' head (mode changeover is a non-event; just apply a tiny bit of planning). Being able to joint the same width as you can plane has been REALLY nice.

[Bill Dufour]

wood master planer $1,999?
Bill D
https://chattanooga.craigslist.org/tls/d/trenton-woodmaster-planer/7616149617.html

[Zachary Caldwell]

Nice. I am just north of Nashville. I have been looking but its hit or miss on whats out there.

[Alex Zeller]

My plan was to go with knives in the jointer and inserts in the planer but I found a used Powermatic parallelogram 8" jointer with inserts. Both the fence and the tables are very flat. It's less than the thinnest feeler gauge I have .0015". I have the room for two machines but I did think about a combo to use mainly as a jointer and a separate planer so I could have a 12" jointer. I have a Grizzly 20" four post planer (G1033X) and know I wouldn't be happy being limited to 12" wide the Hammer provided. I didn't like the aluminum fence on the Hammer but I do like the idea of a 12" jointer. With the Hammer I would of had to get extended tables as I really like long tables on the jointer.

My work flow isn't always one where I do all the jointing first and then switch to thicknessing. So jumping up to a 16" combo machine would have an impact for me. If I bought both machines new I would be close to as much into them as a 16" MiniMax or Hammer. I do think about whether or not a 16" combo machine would work for me each time I do a project.

One of the nice things about having two machines is that you can upgrade one at a time. Not everyone can spend $8k on a machine for a hobby.

[Aaron Inami]

I believe the general recommendation is to have separate jointer and planer machines if you have the budget and space and enough dust collection ports. The workflow is better and the machines are ready to be used whenever you need them. The exception would be if you wanted a really larger 12" or 16" jointer and did not have the money for this level of equipment (i.e. 7-8k minimum for only a jointer). The jointer/planer combos are still the cheapest way to get these extra wide jointers.

There was another thread here where the OP purchased the Oliver 15" jointer ($3199). The Oliver at 401 lbs. is a much heavier version of the Jet 15" (275 lbs.) planer. The guy who purchased the Oliver was very happy with the result. The Powermatic 15" is even heavier at 500 lbs. and more expensive at $4299, but likely better overall.

The Laguna machines are usually pretty good and are very nice for the money, but the historical pattern of Laguna is to switch manufacturers often. You may not be able to get parts once the machine is 4-6 years old and Laguna has abandoned that particular model. The Jet/Powermatic/SCM parts will likely be available for 20+ years.

There has been a lot of discussion on jointer/planers over in the FOG group. If you were to consider a combo jointer/planer, I would highly recommend the SCM Minimax models (even if you are looking at the lowest FS30C model). The Felder jointer/planers are prone to problems and design compromises at all levels of their product (Hammer, Felder and even Format4). The Grizzly jointer/planer is their "Asian" version of the SCM FS30C. Much cheaper, but compromised in manufacturing quality, finish, functions, etc.

[Mike Wilkins]

Ditto on Jim's comment of the jointer/planer. I went from a 6" jointer & 12" old planer to the Hammer A3-41 jointer/planer machine. Since I am not a production shop, changeover is not a concern.
Love the space saving as well.

[Terry Therneau]

I think we all need to back up a little bit and ask a few key questions. 1. How much space do you have? 2. What kind of things do you want to build? 3. How much of it (and how much time you have) and 4. How large is your budget? Answers to these really drive the answers.

In my own case the wood shop increased in both time and machinery when the children were grown --- there wasn't much free time when coaching a soccer team (not that I'm any good, but they needed someone). I have a mix of old and new in a well equipped shop, but my space is now very tight.

Terry T.

[Jim Becker]

Terry, he's building a large shop...thread in Workshops. If I recall, it's something like 30x50.

[Alan Lightstone]

After having a Laguna combo jointer/planer (and really not happy with it), I went with separate Felder machines in my shop. Very happy with these (although some issues with my planer).

It sounds like you have the room in that big new shop. I'd seriously consider separates. I'm assuming Hammer has separates, so you should take a look at those.

[Bradley Gray]

There are two 12" jointers for sale on OWWM

[Zachary Caldwell]

Shop size is 30x50 (mostly dedicated to woodworking). Mostly building furniture, vanities, maybe small kitchens down the road. My theory is on this kind of stuff is I'd rather buy once cry once.
I am really leaning towards the combo units because of the jointer size and price, but am really unsure.
I am a one man operation so change over time really doesnt bother me as long as i dont have to re align everytime between changes.

[Jim Becker]

The single thing you have to consider relative to using a jointer/thicknesser combo, Zachary, is planning your work. Folks who like to jump back and forth between those functions will be uber-frustrated. Folks who work more methodically will handle most, if not all of their flattening as a big batch and then set things up for thicknessing and leave the machine that way for most of the project. If they have a sliding table saw, they can even eliminate the edge jointing in many cases by straight lining on the wagon after material is flat and thicknessed. It's a workflow thing... Now if there are multiple folks working, separates are absolutely the way to go. Interestingly, there are some people who opt for a J/P combo and largely only use the jointer function while employing a separate thicknessing machine. Why? Cost. In some cases, you can buy a very nice combo with wide jointing capability for less than a big, dedicated aircraft carrier jointer separate unit.

[Alex Zeller]

For me it's often I find something in the wood, a void or a knot for example, that doesn't show itself until thicknessing. I like leaving wood in the rough cut state until I'm ready to use it. So I don't like to process any more wood than I need for the project. When I reject a piece I can just walk over to the jointer and process another board. I've never used a combo machine but when this happens I try not to make any adjustments to the planer so I can make the new board the same thickness as all the others. Like Jim says, a combo machine comes down to your workflow and if you are ok with losing planer width to gain jointer width.

[Keegan Shields]

I have a Hammer A3-41 and the ~16” width is great. I held out for a wider unit mostly because I wanted longer jointer tables. It works well. Moving from separates to a combo unit wasn’t a big deal - and I’m not that organized.

[Warren Lake]

plan whatever you want stuff happens. More so depends on the work you are doing as steps can be different. Have combo and seperate but all on the combo. works fine not an issue. Separates will get fired up soon.

[Derek Cohen]

The single thing you have to consider relative to using a jointer/thicknesser combo, Zachary, is planning your work. Folks who like to jump back and forth between those functions will be uber-frustrated. Folks who work more methodically will handle most, if not all of their flattening as a big batch and then set things up for thicknessing and leave the machine that way for most of the project. If they have a sliding table saw, they can even eliminate the edge jointing in many cases by straight lining on the wagon after material is flat and thicknessed. It's a workflow thing... Now if there are multiple folks working, separates are absolutely the way to go. Interestingly, there are some people who opt for a J/P combo and largely only use the jointer function while employing a separate thicknessing machine. Why? Cost. In some cases, you can buy a very nice combo with wide jointing capability for less than a big, dedicated aircraft carrier jointer separate unit.

I completely agree with Jim. This is my experience, too.

I love my Hammer A3-31. I also have their K3 slider and N4400 bandsaw, and have nothing but good experiences with my local Felder. The A3-31 has been reliable and produces very accurate dimensioning (with the digital depth gauge). Its 300mm width is enough to cater to >95% of my needs. I do not require extensions to the tables for long boards (I am planning on a new diningroom table in the future, and will do so then).

Having said all these nice things, I would switch the combo A3-31 to separates in an instant if I had a large enough space AND if I could justify the expense. I plan well, so have not felt inconvenienced much, but I would love to be a little lazy and not have to think about the sequence needed. Really, this is not a big deal for me, since I have half a double garage, and could not justify more purchases (I’d rather be married to my wife than to any woodworking machine). I get so much pleasure using the A3-31, the quibble is a minor one, but if the lottery came in ….

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a Hammer A3-31, bought my first one in 2008, my second in 2010.

They’ve been great workhorses, accurate, good power and feed speed. Wouldn’t hesitate to buy it again.

I also have a Hammer B3 jointer/planer……Regards, Rod

[Jacques Gagnon]

Similar experience here.

I am a hobbyist working in a small shop (280 square feet single car garage) and 2 years ago decided that I needed to « create space ». I passed my 3hp cabinet saw, 15 inch four post planer and 8 inch jointer to my talented son and ordered
both a Hammer A3-31 and Hammer B3.

In spite of my attempts at properly planning the sequence of operations I often have to convert functions on the machines. Separate machines were a « nice to have » element but I can manage very well with the conversion aspect. An extra minute for switching from one function to the other is not going to impact my life that much :D. The metric analog depth gage is great as Derek indicates. This is a key factor, in my opinion, when considering combination machines. The ability to go back to a given measurement quickly and accurately is alleviating a lot of the challenges associated with changing functions on the combination unit.

This week’s projects included helping a friend’s son to work on rough sawn 2+ inch oak ranging from 6.5 to 7.5 feet long. Both machines allowed us to handle the job easily and the end result was great.

As stated by others, this decision has a lot to do with how much of both space and money you wish to « invest » in machines. One final point: the service and support from Felder here is top notch.

Regards,

Jacques

[Jack Lilley]

I have a 15" Jet planer that I bought new 20+ yrs ago. I have a Byrd head in it and have run thousands of bdft of hardwood thru it, it still works great. I also have an 8" long bed jointer with a Byrd head and it does a nice job as well. I would like at some point to get into a 16" jointer/planer combo. One reason is space the second being having a 16" jointer would be convenient at times.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I guess I will present a different approach. My shop is very small at >500 sq ft (~18’ x 28’) and I have large separate milling machines and no regrets.

I have a 1940 Oliver 166BD (12”) jointer with a modern Terminus indexed straight knife cutterhead and a late 70s era SCM S50 (20”) planer with a very nice digital read out on the bed raise and lower and a 4 straight knife cutterhead. I could joint and plane all day (and sometimes do) and these machines will not even break a sweat and give me amazing results.

I would be frustrated with the workflow limitations of a combo machine. There are many times in the way I prefer to select and process rough lumber for projects where I am rotating back and forth between the bandsaw, jointer and planer. The shorter beds on most combo machines I have seen would not work well for some of the larger work I do. The Oliver has a total length of 100” which makes a huge difference in easily jointing 7-8’ door stiles and the like with minimal fuss.

If I had 1800 sq ft to work with and a decent budget there is no way I would limit myself with a combo machine.

Also, I paid ~half of the price of a new Hammer A3-41 for both of my machines combined (within the last 3-6 years.) I know tracking down used machines and dragging home old iron isn’t in the cards for everyone, but just presenting it as a viable option, especially if you are budget minded and wanted absolute top quality at the same time.