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Thread: How to sniff out a good jointer

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Lexington, KY
    Posts
    99

    How to sniff out a good jointer

    Just about to round out my first little shop here and I'm on the lookout for just a few more tools. I've been getting to know the used market in my area and making buys when they seem like a deal. But as I'm less familiar with these last two I thought I better get some advice. For my jointer I'd really like to find a used 8" but those don't seem to come up too often, and really I'm not sure that the 6" ones I'm seeing are all that either. Ideally I'd like to find a cheap 8" not working so I could put a couple hundred in and have a deal, but so far that's not looking too likely. I know for any used piece of equipment like this I can expect to replace the motor, knives and the like. What I need to know in order to avoid any (more) pitfalls is how to inspect a jointer, I'm guessing with a good square, to make sure that the tables are fundamentally square and sound. Additionally, what should I be looking for in table length for both a 6 and 8 in? Of the two tables, is the length of the output the more important?
    If the end of the world ever comes move to Kentucky, because everything there happens 20 years later. ~ Mark Twain
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  2. #2
    The most important thing you need to check for is the infeed and outfeed tables being coplanar. You'll need a good quality straight edge and some feeler gauges would be helpful as well to see how much deviation there is. The squareness of the fence to the table is usually an easy thing to adjust. Check if the cutterhead spins without much resistance. If so, see if you can plug it in and turn it on. If you have to replace the motor, either because it doesn't work or needs a power supply you don't have in your shop, that's going to put a big dent in your restoration budget.

    An 8" jointer is a lot more useful than a 6". Tons of lumber is in the 6-8" range and its really nice to have that extra face jointing capacity. A 6" jointer might be 54" in total length while an 8" should be more like 60"+. The tables should be roughly equal in length since they are both important. You can always set up auxiliary rollers or tables for support when working on longer boards.

    If you can find a working 8" machine, I would certainly go for that instead of trying to fix one that isn't working. I'm not sure how you're looking at time vs. money but you could potentially spend a ton of time and a decent amount of money trying to fix a nonworking machine and wish you had started with something functional instead. Once you get into the 12" and & 16" jointers, restoring a non-functional machine is easier to justify because the value of the machine is so much higher. 8" jointers come up fairly often on Craigslist and FB Marketplace so keep looking. Good luck!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    North Dana, Masachusetts
    Posts
    486
    Check for broken castings and impact marks in the paint. If someone has hoisted a jointer by its tables, or dropped it, the dovetails where the tables attach to the base can be cracked.

    The gib screws and other fasteners should be checked for abnormal use of wrenches and other objects, like hammers. I worked for a guy that got an Oliver mortiser cheap. It was covered with a patina of hammer blow marks. I think someone filled with hatred for cast iron and life itself ran the thing for years, and whacked it with his handy hammer every time he made a mortise.

    The bearings, motor, etc. can just be run. No need to replace things early when they might last for years.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Porter,TX
    Posts
    1,520
    I don't think cheap and good can go together other than if your lucky. Looking in the good used market, I would make sure that it works cause trying to find parts for some may be just about impossible if needed. In my little world what I consider good is older Powermatic, Delta/Rockwell or Milwaukee. Delta you can find parts but for PM its not so easy. I do have a Cresent jointer but I was wanting a PM so I had to settle for what I could find. Be patient and search other area's that are few hrs away will increase your chances finding what you want or what you will settle for. The one's that are not in mint condition would be cheaper that has some surface rust, peeling paint, dirty and nasty looking maybe needing a motor. So some TLC and your in business, which all my machines I purchase in these type conditions.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,889
    I much prefer the center mounted fences that stay square to the tables.
    Bill D

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Cambridge Vermont
    Posts
    2,282
    Generally a dovetail jointer is going to be cheaper than a parallelogram. But the dovetail can wear which means the infeed and outfeed tables are not parallel. This will require shimming. A long straight edge will confirm it. I would also look into where it was made. Generally the older US made stuff and brand name stuff will likely have flatter castings. But you'll pay more. The Powermatic model 60 was made in the US and now it's made in Taiwan. One from either location will most likely be just fine but the US one could have a Baldor motor while the Asian one will have a motor made by someone over there.

  7. #7
    Used tool markets vary greatly across the country. Some are (I hear) full of reasonably priced tools like the North East and the Rust Belt, but much of the rest of the country can be a used tool desert, with poor selection and high prices. It is possible that you will never come across a reasonably priced particular used tool in your area. In 10 years of casual looking, I never found a reasonably priced used 8" jointer, and that is in a metro area of 3.5 million people. I suppose I could have maybe driven for several hundred miles to pick one up, but at that point, I might as well have driven all the way to Springfield, MO and bought a new one from Grizzly (although shipping would have been cheaper than driving). Last spring I got a 8" Jet from Acme and am very glad I did when I did.

    Today on my expanded Craigslist search for Mpls, other than a 1700 pound Northfield, there are two 4" and four 6" jointers (two fixed outfield Craftsmans, a bench top Rikon, and an antique Delta). I need to expand my search more you say? Even Chicago and nearby areas aren't much better. Nor is St. Louis. Or Milwaukee. Or South Dakota. Facebook Marketplace is where it is at you say? Two bench tops and two Craftsman fixed outfeed.

    Right now there is even a shortage of new jointers. Of the 31 jointers that Grizzly lists on their website 6 are in stock, Acme has 4 out of 37; two are benchtops ($500 and $850) and the other two are over $7000.
    Last edited by Andrew Seemann; 04-11-2021 at 1:01 PM.

  8. #8
    my best machines came from the old guys in the trade. They learned in Europe, knew what machines to buy and bought them here new and used them for life. They were cared for and totally complete. More often than not Italian machines even though trained in Germany. Best bang for the buck machines. If it came with 10 accessories you got them all. Whatever price they wanted that is what I paid which was way better value than any new offshore stuff. Yes there are different offshores. Next is from shops that went down, a shop with 80 guys working that goes down has a large number of machines that were all working till weeks before it went down. Stuff had to work in big shops or it was sitting off somewhere in storage. Sometieme things replaced as it might be bearing time or just larger or even CNC.

    8" jointers at least General came in two lengths. memory the 8" was 69 and my SCM is the same. I could have done most to all stuff on an 8 but the mass of a larger machine is nicer to use. On solid furniture i picked stuff that fit the machine, its more stable anyway. Depends on the material you have access to and what you know.

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