Have planer..why 8" jointer

[Ed Gibbons]

I have the ridgid 13" planer. Why should I get an 8" jointer instead of a 6" jointer?

Thanks,
Ed

[Mark Hoeting]

Ed,

I have limited experience, but 8 vs 6 is probably irrelevant in regard to the size of your planer. If you mill rough-sawn stock to final grade, the maximum width you are going to be able to work with is the width of your jointer.

Unless I am misreading your question....

[Rick de Roque]

An 8" jointer has a much longer bed than a 6" jointer. I also seem to have alot of boards between 6" - 8" wide so with an 8" jointer I don't have to rip the wider boards down.

Rick

[Gary Keedwell]

I'm with Rick. I have had a 6" jointer for a long time, but my next one will be an 8". Alot of boards in 6-8" range. I will also be getting a carbide insert cutting head to go with it.

Gary K.

[Steve Roxberg]

I started with a 6" one and it served me well. But you will want an 8" or larger if you mill rough lumber. Buy used, I sold my 6" used for $350 and bought a used Grizzly 8" for $400.

Shop used and buy as large as you can.

[Jim Becker]

To add to the comments already placed, jointer are not just for edges...they are primarily to insure your lumber is flat and true before you thickness it with the planer. The wider the jointer, the wider stock you can process.

[Mark Hoeting]

Agreed with what everyone has said. I didnt think about bed length in my post. I have a 6" jointer, and have often wished for a much longer bed when jointing long stock.

Just last night, i was working with some 44" stock on the jointer, face jointing it. The length of the material compared to the length (lack of) of the jointer bed made this job a constant hand-shuffle, which is a dangerous thing to be doing on the jointer in the first place.

[Paul Simmel]

I have an 8" jointer and glad of it. The longer beds are a plus... however, you can certainly edge-joint long stock on a shorter bed so long as you keep pressure on the outfeed side.

[David Rose]

I also have a 13" planer. I wish I had a 13" jointer. I just bought a 12 1/2" cherry board that must now be ripped to flatten. :eek: :( I may try to shim it on a carrier board for the planer, but that could be avoided with a 13" planer.

David


I have the ridgid 13" planer. Why should I get an 8" jointer instead of a 6" jointer?

Thanks,
Ed

[scott spencer]

An 8" also has alot more mass and stability. The 8" can process every board a 6" machine can, but is easier,safer, and usually more powerful.

Other than space and money, an additional downside is that the increase in motor size usually increases the electrical requirements....as in often requiring 220v.

[Art Mulder]

Because you want one. :cool:

[Scott Vigder]

I've never seen a comment such as "gee, I wish I had a smaller jointer to tackle that stack of lumber!" here in the Creek. I have the Grizz 8" jointer and the DeWalt 13" planer, and they are a fine combination.

The jointer is used to flatten a surface, while the planer is used to make the opposing surface parallel to the flat one. An 8" jointer has several advantages over a 6" jointer like a 36" drum sander has advantages over a 24" drum sander.

Assuming shop size is not an issue, I think the general feeling in the Creek is Bigger is Better. You have to assess your needs based on the type of work you will be doing along. You also need a realisitc budget [but honey, I need that new Bosch Colt laminate trim router so I don't have to haul out the 2-1/2 hp Porter Cable or change the bit in the Hitachi M12V in the router table to do a simple roundover on your spanking new (fill in the blank here)].

By the way, I just ordered the Colt on Amazon, and got $25 off their already lowest price on the internet along with free shipping (insert gloat there) :D.

[Mark Marzluf]

I started with an 8" Grizzly thinking it would be the first and last jointer I would ever buy... It worked great, but I still found myself ripping down boards that were 8-1/2", 9" etc.. Luckily, this summer I found a 12" Fay & Egan in the paper. A little cleaning and some fresh paint, and I haven't had a board yet that I couldn't joint. Course.... I'm sure there will come a day..

You can see the old 8" in the background of this pic.. Obviously the new one is quite a bit bigger.. Heck, the fence alone is almost as big as some 6" jointers beds... :cool: Needless to say, I'm QUITE happy with my purchase, especially for the $400 I paid. :D

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1396915/156425190.jpg

[David Rose]

Mark,

I'm sure the day is coming SOON when you will want to face a larger board. Wouldn't it be much more of a shame to have to rip a WIDE board down to size? I think you should expect at least a hundred for cleanup and maybe another $50 for painting. Awww! Let's make it a hundred for painting! <out of the goodness of my heart> Imagine what you might find in the paper for an extra $200. And you should get at least another 50 for crating... That's $250 profit! Hey, I'm making an offer here. hehe What a slick guy you are to be able to sell something like this so easily. :D :p I guess I should be sure that the tables are coplaner and adjustable without shims and all that...

I wish our area was a bit more industrial or higher income. Maybe that sort of thing would show up here. :(

Would that even fit in my 2-car gara... shop?

Nice find, btw.

David, who is fighting lust


I started with an 8" Grizzly thinking it would be the first and last jointer I would ever buy... It worked great, but I still found myself ripping down boards that were 8-1/2", 9" etc.. Luckily, this summer I found a 12" Fay & Egan in the paper. A little cleaning and some fresh paint, and I haven't had a board yet that I couldn't joint. Course.... I'm sure there will come a day..

You can see the old 8" in the background of this pic.. Obviously the new one is quite a bit bigger.. Heck, the fence alone is almost as big as some 6" jointers beds... :cool: Needless to say, I'm QUITE happy with my purchase, especially for the $400 I paid. :D

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1396915/156425190.jpg

[Nick Roper]

I started with an 8" Grizzly thinking it would be the first and last jointer I would ever buy... It worked great, but I still found myself ripping down boards that were 8-1/2", 9" etc.. Luckily, this summer I found a 12" Fay & Egan in the paper. A little cleaning and some fresh paint, and I haven't had a board yet that I couldn't joint. Course.... I'm sure there will come a day..

You can see the old 8" in the background of this pic.. Obviously the new one is quite a bit bigger.. Heck, the fence alone is almost as big as some 6" jointers beds... :cool: Needless to say, I'm QUITE happy with my purchase, especially for the $400 I paid. :D

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1396915/156425190.jpg
I've seen some cold hearted shamless gloats before this just isn't even right! Thowing up a work of art and calling it a jointer like that! SHAMELESS!

[Steven Wilson]

I now have a 12" jointer / 12" planer combination and life is great. Anyhow, the reason I bought an 8" jointer and sold a 6" was that the 8" jointer had a longer bed (a good thing) and was much more massive (a very, very good thing). I really enjoyed the 8" jointer. As for the 12" jointer it's more of the same, longer bed, and more massive. I went the combo route for ease of blade changing (takes around a minute) and a smaller footprint in my shop. With the extra width you can take skew cuts on highly figured wood (i.e. I can skew cut a 6" wide board with a 12" jointer)