Looking for a Porter 300 CM Jointer

[Charles Boone]

I have been thinking about buying a bigger jointer and was about to pull the trigger on a Grizzly 12" jointer with HH. I have somewhat changed my mind as I have an interest in vintage machinery. I would like to find a Porter 300 CM jointer. They seem to be a bit hard to find, anyone know someone that wants to sell such a machine?

[David Kumm]

Porters are fairly rare. Finding one in good condition with flat tables, good fence and motor, etc can take a month or a year. Expand your search to include Oliver 166, Northfield heavy, Yates, Newman 60,even American or Clement. I watch for used machines and probably only see a few a year that would interest me. There is nothing wrong with a used SCMI, SAC, Griggio, SICAR, or Powermatic made by SAC. If the tables are flat and the motor is good, all will give you fine service. If you do find a Porter, know they can be difficult to adjust because the spring joint mechanism is on the infeed table. Many that I have seen were never adjusted correctly. If you pull the tables off and a bunch of shims fall out, you will know what I'm talking about. Dave

PS; Don't forget Wadkin. They made a nice jointer too.

[Craig White]

I found a Porter 300 CM and like it. It's not for sale. 5" diameter cutter head mounted in a massive casting that includes the dust port. Oil bath bearings. 8 feet long. 8" dust collection port. For some reason it came with a Wadkin fence. Nice fence but isn't quite long enough on the infeed side. Wish I could locate a proper fence or a donor machine. I sold a Moak that was awesome but with shorter tables and a 4" diameter cutter head. I've been told the 3 toed wedge bed jointers are simpler to adjust than the Olivers or early Porters. I don't know. Byrd quoted a head for me. I'm certain it's well worth it but it's expensive. I'll keep the straight knives for now. Add Moak to your search list.
Craig

[David Kumm]

Craig, take a look at the Aigner fence add on. Has a flip down thin rail for narrow stock. Could bolt right on to your Porter.

The older Porter, Oliver, and others will have tables in the 85-88" range. post WW2 will expand them to 95-98". The tables will usually be 2-7" wider than the head so make sure it is the head that is measured. Look for either a short stop or mechanical brake if direct drive or the head will run for about five minutes after shut down. Run a straightedge across the tables to look for wear. An 8' Aluminum level of decent quality is flat enough to judge if the tables are out of whack. A hollow or hump across the width is worse than a few thousands end to end. If the tables have been planed, you should still be able to see the lines across the entire width. If they are, you may have a keeper. Dave

[Bill Adamsen]

A year ago I saw a Porter 30" "facing planer" (the Porter) with the traction feed mechanism removed so it could be used as a traditional jointer. The motor was 15hp - obviously "oversized" for a jointer - but a reasonable consideration for a facing planer. The owner was using it as a jointer with a wood fence. It may or may not have had a rabbet groove, I can't remember. But there were no other distinguishing features on the tables that would have identified its special purpose. Also the length - while long (84"?) - may have been shorter than say a 24" 300. But the 30" bed may have been the same as the 24" jointer since you would lose width with the fence. Is it possible that the unit you saw with the Wadkin fence was similarly repurposed? I saw another of these for sale recently on one of the auction/equipment sites, though I can't remember which.

[Mel Fulks]

I've used machinery with BABBITT and have no complaint about them . But many here are representative of widely held opinion of "No BABBITT ". I bet that keeps the price down, I have a friend who has a three footed Porter bought just a few years ago pretty cheaply .

[John Nibert]

I have a 20 inch Porter I'm interested in selling. Space is at a premium and I'm just not using it. Not sure if you are still in the market or not.

[Bradley Gray]

I've had a 16" Fay and Egan for many years. It has babbbit bearings and a square head that I had machined to hold 4 modern knives with gib screws. It is about 9' long.

It demands respect but has served me well.

[Andrew Hughes]

When I was looking for a vintage jointer I saw one Porter to three Oliver's. It's tables were worn in the middle so I passed.
Same day I found my 166 I have now. It's was sold to the long beach aviation in 1962 then to a fellow in Los Angles that used to dress wood for chairs.He had it sitting on a very soft wooden floor.
I don't ever think he set it up correctly bad for him good for me.
He also poured 30 wt motor oil in the open bearing cups and trashed the bearing.
As Dave mentions the tables are the most important part of a jointer and mine are super flat. I think the knives that were in the head were Oem.
My point is there are still good deals out there.The older machines are worth your time to pursue and work on.