Ridgid Jointer

[John Grabowski]

I am thinking about buying the ridgid jointer from HD. I do not need a very large or extremely powerful tool. I do need something that can clean up the edges of rip lumber.

So those of you that have it, is it a good tool?? I am also considering the Delta x5. THe ridgid tool would give me a little more flexibility.

Thanks for any input.

John G

[Brian J Holmes]

I bought one when I was first outfitting my shop, because it seemed like a fair amount of bang for the buck and was a couple hundred less than most of the competition.

Over all it's been pretty decent, my only two complaints really are that the base is an odd shape that mobile bases don't fit well and the main fence adjustment knob (the one that controls how much blade is showing) has a tendency to loosen up if it's not really cranked down on. It's also not quite as stable as I'd like it to be.

Otherwise it's fairly decent for the $300 i paid.

If I was making the purchase today though I think I would have saved up a bit more and picked up a grizzly 8" or looked around on ebay/CL for a used 8" Not being able to face joint boards bigger than 5.5" or so has been a problem several times requiring the use of leveling jigs with my planer.

[Jared Minor]

I like mine, I haven't needed to face anything wide yet. The pieces that I did need to face would have been too wide for an 8". I like the Ridgid, it isn't loud and it has done what it is supposed to do. I like having the knob to adjust the infeed table.

[J. Z. Guest]

I have one and love it. I like it much better than the Jet 6", 3/4 hp, open stand one I had before.

The extra 1/8" capacity makes all the difference, as it allows me to actually face joint 6" lumber.

I've face-jointed 6" Jatoba (which is DAMNED hard) and it didn't have any problems.

I paid $400 for mine and feel it is a good value at that price. I like the stand design, as it is nice & stable. For me, 220 V in my garage/shop is not an option, so I was not even thinking about an 8" jointer. This is the biggest one I can have.

I've got mine on the mobile base available at Home Depot and have not had any problems. It would be nice if Ridgid would incorporate a nice one into the design, as they have done on their table saws, but I'm not complaining.

One thing that is really nice is being able to go to Home Depot and order parts and if I ever need to call in the "Lifetime Service Agreement" that should be convenient too. On mine, the switch enclosure had been cracked at the factory before being packed. I went back to HD, told them about it, and asked if I could take the switch from the other one they had in stock and they could return the other one, and they were OK with that. I had the jointer up & running the same day. If I had ordered one somewhere, I'd have been without the jointer for a few more days while the replacement part was shipped.

I agree that the hand wheels are nice for depth of cut adjustment, but I've never had one of the lever style ones. I don't see how one could make a precision depth adjustment with that style of control...

Currently, this and my drill press are the only two tools in my shop with induction motors, and I really like the quietness compared to universal motors. (some smaller benchtop jointers have universal motors, I believe)

[Ken Pacera]

Just picked one up last week at HD. Seems to be very nice and does a decent job on the few pieces of wood I have run across it. Set up went fairly well, but one of the blades was not aligned properly and required a bit of adjustment. The only issue I have to date is the dust collection chute clogs up with the adapter attached. For the $320 I paid it (on sale) I feel it was the best bang for the buck.

Good Luck
Ken

[Orlando Gonzalez]

I bought one for the middle school I was principal at. It was easy to assemble, was pretty much dead on out of the box, and cut well. I was going to get one for myself when I ran across a vintage PM 50 6" jointer on CL for $150. Couldn't pass it up. You may want to look at the craigslist offerings in your area before you pull the trigger on the Ridgid. You may find a vintage Delta/Powermatic or maybe a Grizz listed for a good price. But if you can't wait, I don't think you can go wrong with the Ridgid.

Good Luck.

[John Grabowski]

I appreciate all the input...I trust you guys a lot more than the people that are writing the reviews on the HD homepage. I think I am going to give it a shot...If someday my needs change, I can always sell it and go bigger and better.

THanks Again,

John G