Jointer advice

[John Patnott]

Hello, I just started woodworking last summer and find it very rewarding. I was able to build four small tables and a drop leaf table with pretty good edge gluing just using my table saw. However, I would like to purchase a jointer, and planer. I am considering either a Grizzly G0604X 6" Parallelogram Jointer (http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-Parallelogram-Jointer/G0604X) or a Ridgid 6". The Ridgid is less $$$, and had a decent write up in Fine Woodworking. I can not afford an 8" if I purchase the jointer and planer. The Grizzly has a longer infeed, a 4 knife cutterhead and a 1.5 hp motor which I have been told should produce better results.

Suggestions please. Thank you!

John Patnott

[Sam Yerardi]

John,

I have an old 6" Craftsman and it has rarely been a hindrance to me when I needed to use the jointer. It would be nice to have an 8". A longer infeed bed would be a plus in my mind.

[Mike Cutler]

John

First. Welcome to Sawmill Creek. Pleased to meet you.

Jointer or planer? Chicken or the egg? Kinda the same.

There are a few ways to replicate the "basic" function of a jointer.
A sled can be made to use a planer to face joint a board.
A guided circular saw system, hand plane, tablesaw, or router table with a split fence can all be used to edge joint. Rabbets and beveled edges can be done on a tablesaw. All of these techniques will yield a result as good as a jointer can. Maybe a little more time and work, but the end result is the same.

A planer really only does one thing, make two sides of a board parallel, and it does it very well. To replicate that result takes a lot of work, and time.

My personal opinion, and as someone that owns a 6" jointer, and understands it's limitations, spend the extra $$$ on a planer, and get a bigger jointer down the road when you can better fit it in the budget.

Mostly though. Welcome to Sawmill Creek

Mike

[Peter Quinn]

Hi John. With jointers I find bigger is better. The more mass and bed length the better. The jointer and planer are really a team thing..they can each do things alone but together they give you quick control over flattening and dimensioning your stock. Its a good idea to get both simultaneously if you can.

I'd go with the grizzly jointer if its in your budget. I've looked at the rigid...its a little light weight for a jointer...you'll have a lot more room to grow with the grizzly. I started with a 6" General long bed that I still own and use, I can highly recommend General in that same price range. Lots of great portable planers out there that will get you started.

[Billy Dodd]

It depends on what you plan on building. I started with a portable benchtop jointer from sears. It worked out great for small woodworking. It done a good job on wood upto 12 inches long. I have a grizzly 6" joiner now and for me that is plenty big enough. Most of the cabinets I build are at most 36" long so the bed is plenty long enough and I try to stay away from wide boards for fear of warping and cupping. So the 6" wide works great for me.
As others have stated the planer is a must also. If you get 1 side flat what good is it going to do you when the wood goes from 3/4 thick to 7/8's on the other end. When you try to router it, the depth difference will be quite noticeable.
Hope this helps.

[scott spencer]

Hi John - A planer and jointer are a great addition to the shop. Either of the jointers you listed should do the task well. I typically wish for the extra width more than the extra length in a jointer, but having both the jointer and planer in tandem is a real gain in capability IMHO.

The Griz that you mentioned clearly has some features that the Ridgid does not have, but it's alot more money, plus has a shorter warranty and is mail order for most of us. The longer beds are a definitely advantage, but I don't think that extra power and smoother surface are all that advantageous...lack of power isn't typically an issue with a 6" jointer, and a jointer won't leave a surface ready for finishing without some attention anyway...not to mention that the blades will get knicked and dull from normal use so the surface gains will go away pretty quickly after a sharpening. The only comment I can make about the dovetail ways vs the parallelogram style is that I've never had issue with the dovetail design on my 6" Griz 1182. If you want to buy a Griz jointer there are others closer in price to the Ridgid, but if spending the extra money is a concern, I'm not convinced that G0604x is worth that much of a premium.

With that said, have you seen the JET 708457DXK longbed 6" jointer (http://www.amazon.com/JET-708457DXK-JJ-6CSDX-Horsepower-Quick-Set/dp/B000BHNAJA/ref=sr_1_1/102-3603252-7429722?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1203338713&sr=1-1) that Amazon has on sale for $550 shipped? It also states that there's a rebate that I didn't check into.

[keith ouellette]

I have the grizzly 8" para bed jointer and love it. I highly recommend sticking with the parallelogram design for many reasons.

There is a $220 difference between the go490 and the go604. You have done without a jointer this long. Get the planer you want first. save your pennies for a couple of months and then get the 8" parallelogram jointer. In the long run it will be worth the wait.

[John Patnott]

Gentlemen, thank you for your input. It was all very helpful and gave me some new insights. I was under the impression that to use a thickness planer you need one flat side and that the jointer accomplished that. I want to purchase 4/4 or 5/4 rough cut lumber for a couple of projects. I can afford both if I step down to a less expensive jointer and save up for another couple of months. Which makes sense because I work in my garage?

John Patnott

[scott spencer]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]... I was under the impression that to use a thickness planer you need one flat side and that the jointer accomplished that. I want to purchase 4/4 or 5/4 rough cut lumber for a couple of projects.

John - The planer makes one side smooth and parallel to the other. In order to get a useful board, one side needs to be flat. The jointer is the best choice to do that, plus it gives a reference edge thats 90° to the flat face. That said, with the help of a sled, a planer can be coaxed into flattening a face, and a 90° edge can be accomplished with a TS or a router. There are a lot of different methods to accomplish most tasks...my preference is to use a jointer and planer in tandem, which is a fairly standard method used by Norm Abrams and David Marks, but there are other ways.

[Monroe Brown]

I recently purchased the Griz G0586 to replace my 6 inch Griz jointer. The extra two inches is gravy, the real benefit is the longer bed and stable base. My 6 inch Griz had a sheet metal cabinet and was very shaky and unstable. It needed constant attention.

I would go with the more stable Griz instead of the Rigid.

By the way, when I upgraded to the 8 inch Griz just a few weeks ago I was able to resell my 6 inch for about 60% of my cost, including the shipping charges, on Craiglist. So despite its flimsy nature the 6 inch turned out to be a decent investment overall :D.

MB

[Brian W Evans]

John,

I'm a relatively new woodworker myself. When I started out a few years ago, I figured I would buy inexpensive (read: cheap) tools and just deal with the headaches that go with them. What a mistake! I ended up losing hundreds of dollars when I inevitably got sick of them and sold them.

My advice is to buy the best tools you can afford. I found that the cheap tools made me avoid my shop, and were therefore a complete waste of money. When I upgraded to a PM 8" jointer, and a few other good tools, I discovered what a joy good tools are. I now look forward to working in my shop and do not regret at all the money I spent.

Finally, milling lumber is probably everyone's least favorite part of the process. Get some machines that will make it go quickly and easily.

[Monroe Brown]

John,

...I discovered what a joy good tools are. I now look forward to working in my shop and do not regret at all the money I spent.

Finally, milling lumber is probably everyone's least favorite part of the process. Get some machines that will make it go quickly and easily.

Well said...

What a great name, Bert Russell. Did a double take on that :).

MB

[Thomas Walker]

I'd recommend the grizzly over the ridgid. I think the parallelogram design is very nice, but 98% of the jointers are the regular dovetail design and they work just fine. You could save some money by picking that style from Grizzly.

If you're going to be edge gluing boards I think you'll use the extra width of an 8" jointer. If you go with an 8" jointer be sure to note whether it needs 220V as that can affect your overall cost.

[John Patnott]

Thanks for the advice. I am still deciding between an 8" or 6". Space limitation and $. But I can wait another month.

JP

[Rick Moyer]

I bought the g0586 jointer (8") on sale last year,$100 off ($595) and am very pleased with it. The bed is at least a foot and a half longer than the one you mentioned and it's also 220V. I find that a lot of the rough cut lumber is around 7" wide, so I would say get an 8" jointer (as would most others here). You can usually find a Dewalt 735 planer used or reconditioned for around $350 or so. I would go that route. I have these two machines (about $1000 invested) and they work very well for me.

[John Yogus]

If you would decide to go the Jet route as mentioned above, check the big box stores for a special order item. I recently was able to buy a Proshop TS there for a little better than the listed price (and I was able to use a 10% off card as well).

[Rob Will]

I would look for as wide of a jointer as you can possibly afford and find room for. It is very handy to have a jointer the same width as your planer. I know a guy who uses a 24" jointer and a 24" planer together all the time. The only reason that I bring that up is to make the point that an 8" jointer is not really all that big and if you get one, you will use it.

8" is a nice all-around size and I would try to find a used one before investing in lesser "new" models. Watch for school auctions;).

Rob