Looking at an 8" jointer

[Bart Leetch]

Having a small shop has its draw backs.
I have enough room for an 8" jointer just not one with a 75" bed. I have found the Sunhill has one with hand-wheels & a bed with extensions that bolt on to lengthen the beds from 65" to 74" this would fit right into my shop & later in a bigger shop I could bolt the extensions onto the bed.

Has anyone had any experience with Sunhill machines?

[Loren Hedahl]

I've had their 6 inch jointer for about 6 yrs. I debated getting the 8, but as I recall the price was about double.

It has always been great. Bought a set of helical blades recently, but will wait until the straight ones need sharpening to install the new setup.

Interestingly, my neighbor decided to sell his Sunhill 6 in. about the same time as I bought, but I wasn't aware of this. He ended up getting almost new price. His wasn't used much and had a couple extra sets of blades thrown in.

With Sunhill you can just hop over to Tukwilla and they will load it right into your pickup.

So I would give them a thumbs up.

Loren

[John Hain]

Bart, how accurate is the table after extension?

I think that is the main issue here......

[Ken Garlock]

Bart, how accurate is the table after extension?

I think that is the main issue here......

They are as accurate as you can make them. The extensions bolt to the ends of the input/output tables and it is just a matter of using a straight edge to align them with the main table.

I have had my Sunhill 8"x75" jointer for a couple years and it serves me well. No complaints.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

"Having a small shop has its draw backs."

Bart...you got that right!

I'd love to get a larger jointer too. But I'd have to build a stair bridge over it to access the other side of my shop. :)

An interesting new machine is the jointer/planer combo from Grizzly which will be available shortly for around $2,000 shipped. The table is around 60" long. It's a lot less than its European counterparts but nobody can comment on its quality yet. May be a good deal if you need a new planer also.

-Jeff :)

[Bart Leetch]

"Having a small shop has its draw backs."

Bart...you got that right!

I'd love to get a larger jointer too. But I'd have to build a stair bridge over it to access the other side of my shop. :)

An interesting new machine is the jointer/planer combo from Grizzly which will be available shortly for around $2,000 shipped. The table is around 60" long. It's a lot less than its European counterparts but nobody can comment on its quality yet. May be a good deal if you need a new planer also.

-Jeff :)

Jeff I like the combo idea but its a little to wide for my shop. I have a Grizzly portable planer & will have my Dad's 5 HP 12" Foley Bellsaw Planer/Moulder/Gang rip machine which he purchased new & has been well taken care of & only needs some feed rollers. I remember a contract he had for 36" tall pickets for a picket fence where he planed slabs & ripped all the 1 1/2" pickets all in one pass 2 piles 12' tall crisscross stacked.