Is a Steel City jointer really worth a $200 premium?

[Shawn Honeychurch]

Hi All;

Just looking around at jointers and I have heard a lot of good things about Steel City so I looked them up. But they are a lot more expensive than other jointers.

Steel City 6" Deluxe Granite Fence (40615G), cost is $889.00 locally.

Delta X5 6" Pro (37-275X) is $679.00
General International (Either a 80-150LM1 or a 80-100LM1) is $649.00
Pioneer 6" (13-150) is $689.00

So how is it that the Steel City is worth $200.00 more than all the rest? :eek:

Shawn

[Randy Klein]

I think its longer.

[David Tiell]

I can't answer that question directly. But I can tell you that you can get a Shop Fox 8" parallelogram jointer for $886 with free shipping. Do a search on it on ebay, or call a Shop Fox vendor. I've got one and love it, as do most on here who have it. If you're gonna spend that much, I would highly recommend going up to 8".

JMHO

Dave

PS - just noticed that the Steel City you mentioned has the granite fence. I'm guessing there's a nice premium on that, which bumps up the price over the others you listed.

[Brent Grooms]

having looked at the 8in SC industrial (parallelogram table model) There is little if any difference in any of the upper castings from my grizz 0490... same set screw setup/location even the type and size of the locking handles. the mechanisms for the fence adjustment are VERY similar if not the exact same. IMHO... not worth the premium... granite or no granite. Now if they changed the cutterhead to something like a byrd... then maybe ;)

[Rob Bodenschatz]

NO WAY! I've never used one but I can't imagine paying that much for a 6" when you can get an 8" Grizzly for around the same price. Granite? Who cares?

[Shawn Honeychurch]

As I am in Canada, Shopfox, Grizzly and Rikon are not options as they do not have distributors up here, and I have not found any places that will ship them to Canada.

So Delta, General International, Pioneer and Steel City are it.

I agree that a granite fence is not worth $200.00, I know Steel City has a better warranty, but my general experience is that it if hasn't failed in the first 2 years it is not going to in any way that a warranty would help.

I think I will cross Steel City off the list.

Shawn

[Peter Quinn]

Ditto Rob...granite...who cares.

I have the general, its a nice machine, I paid $550 with mobile base. Can't imagine paying nearly $900 for a 6". Paid that much for my DJ-20 8".

Bet they're on sale soon!

[Lewis Cobb]

As I am in Canada, Shopfox, Grizzly and Rikon are not options as they do not have distributors up here, and I have not found any places that will ship them to Canada.

So Delta, General International, Pioneer and Steel City are it.

I agree that a granite fence is not worth $200.00, I know Steel City has a better warranty, but my general experience is that it if hasn't failed in the first 2 years it is not going to in any way that a warranty would help.

I think I will cross Steel City off the list.

Shawn


Shawn - I am not sure where you are located but in my case - New Brunswick - I am getting machines shipped to a border town close to me and then going over to the truck depot and picking them up. In my case I am getting some Powematic gear, but I know a fellow that did the same process with a Shop Fox unit. Just an option to consider.

Lewis

[Shawn Honeychurch]

Shawn - I am not sure where you are located but in my case - New Brunswick - I am getting machines shipped to a border town close to me and then going over to the truck depot and picking them up. In my case I am getting some Powematic gear, but I know a fellow that did the same process with a Shop Fox unit. Just an option to consider.

Lewis

I considered that, but I am on Vancouver Island, so an hour to the ferry, about $120.00 for the ferry, then an hour on the other side, not counting gas. So basically a day, and about $200.00 extra cost, not to mention crossing the border and then customs.

Think I will stick to something local, not to mention if I do have a warranty issue or parts problem it's going to be a pain.

So.... what is better, Delta or General International?

Thanks
Shawn

[Lewis Cobb]

I considered that, but I am on Vancouver Island, so an hour to the ferry, about $120.00 for the ferry, then an hour on the other side, not counting gas. So basically a day, and about $200.00 extra cost, not to mention crossing the border and then customs.

Think I will stick to something local, not to mention if I do have a warranty issue or parts problem it's going to be a pain.

So.... what is better, Delta or General International?

Thanks
Shawn


I agree, in your case it's quite a hike. I have seen lots of happy people and also lots of cranky people for both those mfgs in my reading. Check out the canadianwoodworking dot com site - there's lots of chatter on the commonly available brands in Canada there and you might get a sense of what the best road is for your situation. I have a delta drill press that was made in China, a Delta contractor's saw that was made in USA, and a General International air filter made in Taiwan and have no complaints on any of them, but you really need to find some people with the exact tools you are considering at and see what they think.
Good luck with your hunting. I did more reading and thinking about my machine purchase than I ever did buying a car or a house :o

Lewis

[Rob Bodenschatz]

I have the Delta X5 6" & have no complaints. Except that I wish it were bigger.

[Ben Rafael]

A 6" jointer for nearly $900? That's nuts. You should be getting an 8" for that price.
There are several excellent 6" jointers for under $400.

[Tim Marks]

The Steel City 6" jointer is probably more expensive because it has a much longer bed length (68") then the rest. It is also a much smaller company, so they might have to push the prices a little bit to get better profit margins on lower volume of sales.

Compare it in price to the other long bed jointers on the market: Powermatic 54A (64" bed) sells for $800, Grizzly G0526 (60" bed) sells for $800. The SC model looks like it fits in that price bracket, but I personally dislike the concept of a granite fence (my psychologist tells me I will get over that hangup in about 25 years, when they prove themselves...)

I like the General. Longer bed (55") then the Delta (46"). But when I was shopping for a jointer, I chose the PM54A instead because I wanted the longer bed length (and I couldn't go for an 8", because it had to make it down the basement stairs without killing me).

If not for those basement stairs, I would have bought an 8" jointer.

[John Shuk]

Honestly I haven't used or seen one but I have a 6" Rigid that is great for me. It was ALOT less that the Steel City.
If you are willing to spend in that upper price range I'd go for an 8" jointer though.

[Mike Goetzke]

I don't know about the other jointers but you are about $200 high on the Delta 6" X5. It has a $100 rebate till the end of the month.

I had a Jet 6" open stand for about two years before getting a 6" closed stand ShopFox. Both cut wood with equal as well, but, the dust collection is better on the closed stand as well as the noise is much less.

I had looked at 8" jointers but the beds are just too long to fit nicely in my space limited garage/shop.

Mike

[Ben Rafael]

On April 12th Woodcraft will be selling the Jet 6" closed stand jointer for $379.

BTW, I have the 6" Ridgid. Dust collection is great. The length of the bed hasn't been an issue, I have ran pieces up to 8feet long through it without any problems. I believe it sells for about $350.

[Travis Gauger]

I have the 6" deluxe steel city jointer. It has a longer bed than any of the other 6" jointers you mentioned. All said and done, My SC Jointer was the best tool purchase and assembly experience that I have had. Period. And I have been doing a lot of tool purchases in the past three months. I have two shop fox tools in my shop and love both of those also. Not the same as the SC though. The shopfoxs are a price point tool that is basically the same as grizzly. The steel city tool works crowd is a high end tool that is trying to gain market share. No affiliation with any of them, just really like my jointer. I don't have the granite fence on mine, and did not pay that for it. I was in the $600 range, and worth every penny. You may want to consider. I replaced a general (Real Canadian Model) 6" for the SC cause I needed the longer table. My $.02 can be found on here with pictures if you search the forum.

[Shawn Honeychurch]

On April 12th Woodcraft will be selling the Jet 6" closed stand jointer for $379.

BTW, I have the 6" Ridgid. Dust collection is great. The length of the bed hasn't been an issue, I have ran pieces up to 8feet long through it without any problems. I believe it sells for about $350.

Thanks for the heads up Ben.

Unfortunately woodcraft does not ship any jointers (or other big machines) to Canada, and the Rigid 6" was at the top of my list but they are no longer being manufactured, and I cannot find any left over ones.

[Ben Rafael]

Are you sure that Ridgid is no longer making jointers?
Maybe they have discontinued the last model and are going to introduce a new one. Doesn't make sense that they would stop making them, it was one of their best products.

[Shawn Honeychurch]

I have talked with Rigid customer service and they said that they are no longer making the existing 6" jointer and there are no plans to introduce a new model. They advised that if I could find one that was sitting in a store and not sold that was my only option. :mad:

Shawn