"I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
Name withheld to protect the guilty
Stew Hagerty
Dick, if you're missing the JJP-12, these guys have it on sale for not much more than I paid when they were first available.
http://www.equipmentsalesandsurplus...._p/708-475.htm
$1985.95 for straight knives, $2960 (!) for the helical head, free shipping. I bought mine before helical cutterheads were commonly available but for common domestic species straight knives seem to work fine.
Read an article on the payback on insert cutter heads. It is pretty rapid and pays dividends every day thereafter. If you use the machine 2 or 3 years the insert head is less expensive. There's price and then there's cost.
From discussions by owners on the forums, combo machines outside the established stable of high end maker's can have stability / repeatability issues. Try to find folks who have owned this machine for a year or more (and who will give an unbiased opinion). A thread like "Rikon 25-210 Owners, Your Experience?" on a few forums should get some results.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Can't comment on the Rikon but a different Chinese manufacturer (no jointer/planers are made in the USA; only Europe or China/Taiwan) tried to clone the Minimax FS30 Smart 12" jointer/planer and the feedback I've gotten from owners is that maybe you get a good one, maybe you don't. Sample variation to the point that some machines were such lemons that the customers ended up returning them and going an entirely different route. One of the issue with the Chaiwanese machines is that I don't think the manufacturers (pick any brand) understand to how to engineer a jointer/planer. Jointer/planers originated in Europe and they understand how to engineer and build them over there. The Chaiwanese can copy what they see from an aesthetic standpoint but they don't seem to understand why a certain part needs to spec'd a certain way or be of a certain material. For example, I've seen pot metal used on Chaiwanese machine where it really should be machined steel, inadequately thin castings, or thin sheet metal where it should be an iron casting. The hinge design is the achilles heel of any jointer/planers and the machine really needs to be well engineered to hold its adjustments, as Glenn mentioned.
I'm not bashing Chaiwanese jointer/planers. There are probably owners out there who have been very satisfied with them and we're all on a budget. I own plenty of Harbor Freight tools. If I'm building engine, while Harbor Freight sockets could be totally fine, I wouldn't trust a Harbor Freight torque wrench. I would pay more to have a Craftsman, Mac, or Snap-On for that critical application. And jointer/planers are a more critical application. A stand-alone Chaiwanese jointer and a lunchbox planer are probably pretty safe bets. They "know how to build those", if you get my meaning. The jointer/planers, I'm not so convinced of. At least not yet. This is just my personal opinion, of course. I would ask around and see if anyone out there has one of these Chaiwanese jointer/planers that is more than, say, five years old.
Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.
Erik
Ex-SCM and Felder rep
+1 what Erik said. I sound like a broken record but with jointer planers it is all about the tables and the hinge mechanism. If that isn't right the head becomes irrelevant. If you get a machine and it works great, put an Esta or Shelix on it if you feel you need it. My fear would be to pop for the head and find I didn't like the machine. To be clear, I'm not speaking from personal JP experience, but from the many posts on many forums and my experience rehabbing dozens of woodworking machines. Take it for what it is worth. Dave
Stew,
I am the odd man out. You can purchase that if you like, but for about the same money a used European model will pop up sooner or later. I have less than you will spend on that with the regular cutter head in a 14" Minimax with a Helix head. Perhaps I am just becoming more patient these days. That said, if you want an Asian machine, I prefer Taiwan models. For some reason they seem to have a bit better quality control than China.
Stew, about a month ago I replaced my dewalt lunchbox and jet 6" jointer with a Hammer A3-31 combo machine with the spiral cutter head and COULD NOT be happier. I looked at both the Rikon and Jet combo models before choosing the Hammer. What ever you get spend the money on the spiral head for many reasons non the least it being way way quieter, no need to wear hearing protection even though I do. I see you're in Ft Wayne. Feel free to visit my shop in Carmel to see the Hammer in person.
Michael
Last edited by Michael Sapper; 08-22-2016 at 6:04 PM.
Thank you Michael, I would live to come down for a visit sometime. I am disabled and unable to drive myself, but my wife and I do get down to Indy every so often. If you don't mind, I'd like to add you as a friend so that I remember who to contact next time we are thinking of heading your way.
"I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
Name withheld to protect the guilty
Stew Hagerty
The more inserts, the more hp it takes to operate so the differing feed rates make sense. It is harder to push a wide board across a jointer with a helical than a straight knife. Dave