Eric, whichever option you pick, it would probably be a good idea to squirrel away enough cash to buy something nice for your wife.
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Eric, whichever option you pick, it would probably be a good idea to squirrel away enough cash to buy something nice for your wife.
Or at least take her out to dinner...
I agree with Scott... I love green too! Given a choice between gray and green, I would always pick the green. Ummm, well almost. Porter 300s were gray and they are the best US made jointers of all time.
Lets see, what do we have in green....
The used oliver 166 and used oliver 12 patternmakers were/are teal green.:D
The used cast iron martin, pre T-54s were/are also green.:D
The used (and new) northfield HD jointers are nova green.:D
Some of the Panhans and Felder machines are green or green and white.:D
Yates used to use an ugly olive teal green on some of their early ball bearing machines. One was a wedge bed similar to the northfield HD.:D
So as you can see, there is lots of green to pick from.
Yeah, and if your pockets aren't quite that deep for the ones Dev points out or you can't locate a decent used one, don't forget that the Bridgewood line (from Wilke) is also a similar shade of green!:D :cool:
Eric, the newest edition of FWW has an 8" review. They also have a video review online right now. Check it out. http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/wvt118.asp
Get the DJ-20, its a better machine.
Go with the Grizzly, its a good machine that will do what you want.:D
It's a great jointer, Owned one for 8 years - never had a problem. You will love the long infeed table.
Dev,
there's Hitachi green:D :D
Dave
I have a dj20 and have zero complaints! I love it! I can't comment on the others...
I'll go with the green to. The G0500 is a fantastic machine, and you could put the extra money toward the bandsaw. Question is, do you think the DJ20 is going give a $500 better job than the G0500? I've owned both of them and I was able to joint wood equally as well on both, so I sold the DJ20 and bought more equipment with the extra money.
chris
I wanted to thank everyone again for their input. I think we can all agree that the DJ-20 is a better machine that any wedge type jointer, and like most everyone here I want the best machine I can afford. That brings me to the question how much of a machine do I really need? The truth is that I am only a hobbyist woodworker, but I do have some significant projects planned for the future, and it is clear that I need more jointer capacity.
Option 1 is the clear winner. Which is good since I have already put a deposit down on the like new DJ-20 and I am planning to pick it up in two weeks. I was just having cold feet over the decision. It took me almost 5 months to finally decide on a cabinet saw (went with the pre-X5 3HP Uni).
Since everyone was kind enough to offer their input, I promise to post pics of MY DJ-20 in a couple weeks.
Eric
Eric...
Time to be a party pooper.:rolleyes: I just got reports from a the auction front in New Jersey. My head is still swimming! The auction was a disaster!
A nice, well kept 16 inch early, 1950s vintage Porter 300 jointer went for a mere $100 bucks. Yup, a single C note. I have never seen this happen before! It will cost about $75 dollars to rig out and load due to the rigger insurance requirement. And then there is the 10 percent buyers premium. But still, I am bambuzzled by this one. This one caught me with my under garments in the unstandard position.:cool:
I would like to chime in here with a question. Since everyone is talking about the DJ 20, why hasn't anyone mentioned the new PM 8" parallelgram? The response I've been hearing from people is that it is as nice if not nicer than the DJ. I glanced at a WW mag in the grocery store yesterday and they rated it #1 over all, did not compare with the new Griz though.David
Eric, there are compelling reasons to consider both, but as a consumer its your job to juggle all the variables and come up with the best selection for you. As you can tell from my earlier posts, both sides of my brain tell me the Grizzly and DJ-20 are the best machines. I have the Grizzly and in truth it is all I need in a jointer except wider. The advantage of the DJ-20 is the adjustment mechanism, but my jointer tables were coplannar right from the factory and I only adjust it when I sharpen the blades. It only takes a small fraction of a turn on the handwheel to adjust the tables so I can't see how the dovetailed ways will ever wear out in three lifetimes of use. Of course, I could have gotten a lemon and had to shim the ways right out of the box.
Here's one other thing to think about. Look around your shop. Are you seeing any "second" generation machines. By that I mean are there any tools in your shop that you upgraded because the original ones either didn't do the job or you just wanted a better tool. Upgrades from contractor saw to cabinet saw or 14 to 18-20" bandsaw are that kind of upgrades. If so, yo will probably not be happy with anything but the DJ-20 and will either end up replacing the Grizzly later or regretting not buying the DJ-20 every time you use the jointer.
Sometimes buying decisions don't come down to the brain, but the heart.
good luck
Eric,
Sounds like you made a decision you can sleep with. The DJ20 is a fine jointer.
Dennis,
In general I agree with you, my exception. If I need two tools but can afford one good one or two good ones for the same price, they both work and function as required flawlessly over the years, then I would rather go with two. Assuming I need both. If I need one, both want two, I may be willing to hold off on one til a time I can afford both. Heck, I want a Euro saw, need no, can afford no... so my cabinet saw will have to do. Could I not buy anything and wait till I can afford the euro sure, but then I wouldn't be able to build anything. It's all relative. As far as being able to build high quality stuff with or without DJ20 vs a G0586 or similar, if both are tuned right, no difference.
I don't think we would be having this question if the deal wasn't as sweet for the DJ20. If the question was I have $1k to spend and need a jointer and bandsaw, but I have a 6" jointer... I think the discussion may have been different. Either way, he still will have a 6" to get rid of. He may still be able to buy a BS with the proceeds or wait for a bigger BS or buy his wife a gift, but then again my saying is... I can build you things with my tools, and that is a gift itself...and a simple thanks for letting me have something I want.