Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.
Deep thought for the day:
Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.
Cheapest I have seen one, I will have to check it out.
Edited to add--3 phase machine. I would probably buy that as I prefer 3 phase machines but most people are uncomfortable wiring a VFD. But a nice Jointer.
Still for the average hobbyist, this would still be more expensive than the Grizzly 8 inch jointer once you add in a VFD, a box for the VFD, and transportation to and from Virginia. You have to want a vintage powermatic to own this machine.
Last edited by Chris Hachet; 03-13-2017 at 7:45 AM. Reason: Response to Van
I missed out on a DJ-20 for $600 by just a few hours this weekend... It popped up on Craigslist on Thursday afternoon... My plan was to buy it on Saturday. Guess I should have taken a vacation day.
The Grizzly 0490 is about a grand with straight knives. Anything that is 8 inches and single phase seems to go very very quickly in terms of jointers. Even at $600 I would be tempted to buy the newer jointer.
Not sure why woodworking equipment is selling so fast on Craigslist, but ti is a good sign that people are making lots of sawdust in garages and basements. I would rather see people using the stuff than have an abundant market for cheap machines.
The DJ-20 was made in Brazil under Delta's collaboration with Invicta. I think Invicta is still in business, Delta...well not really anymore. Pretty well made machines. I have the smaller 6" DJ-15 for about 25 years and wouldn't trade it. I use it for small stuff and use my Oliver 144 BD for most jointing operations. That said, $925 seems high to me. That jointer should being 20 years old should go for about $500-600 in excellent shape. Can't speak to Grizzly as I don't own any of their machinery, however, that said I do know that most is outsourced overseas, but then so is the Invicta DJ-15. Pick your poison.
The best thing about my DJ20 is the parallelogram tables, using handles rather than hand wheels. I quite often change table height up and down cleaning up rough edges, and it is really convenient. I know Grizzly makes some of this type. Whichever brand I was looking for, that would me a must for me. Hobbyist.
Rick Potter
DIY journeyman,
FWW wannabe.
AKA Village Idiot.
Delta went first to Brazil to outsource, then to Taiwan, finally to China. With all the moves, the last ones were often better than the first ones but each move was a step down, not a lateral move. The 1990s machines will likely be Taiwan. Dave
There's a dj20 on San Francisco bay area C.L. right now for $580. Looks in great condition.
Usually, there are few tools to be had in California because there is very little demand. While I'm not looking for any tools, when I have paid attention to Craigslist in the past, I just gave up because there have been few, if any tools listed and the few that ever show up are bad quality. Woodworking just doesn't seem to be much of a thing out here.
I have less than $900 into this 12" General, that doesn't include my time.
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Used prices of Jointers is so fun to watch.
Seen two Grizzly G1018 8" for sale last few weeks. $300-$400 range. Tempting. One can't power on. Then another pops up for $700.
Couple DJ20s in the $500-$700 range too.
I may offer $375 for a DJ20 and see if I get lucky.