Replies

1. 
   bones | Jan 03, 2010 04:42pm | #1

   I have the Grizzly 12" and its serverd me well for about 3 years now. Would not hesitate to get it again. Might add the byrd head if anything

2. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 03, 2010 06:24pm | #2

   I just sold a 12" Northfield jointer. If you can find a decent condition older american iron jointer, like Northfield, Oliver, Porter, Crescent, etc..... you will have a nicer machine than most of the newer import machines. The three phase is not a problem at all. I purchased a 7.5 hp rotary phase converter online from American Rotary, and it cost me $600.00. I wired it directly to a 240V circuit, and ran the wires of my jointer directly to the converter, which had it's own magnetic switch. Worked perfect!

   The older american machines were built in the days when cast iron was not expensive, and it was used in plentiful quantities to create awesome mass. Most of the better manufacturers took the castings from the forge, sat them outside, and just let them be for years and years. That allowed the castings to move all that they would, and season. When the heavy castings were finally brought through the setup phase to make a completed woodworking tool, they were done warping, twisting, etc....and the setups lasted for 50 to 100 years without movement.

   You won't get that with the mass produced products from the manufacturers that you mentioned, which is why quality control has been an issue. For every 10 solid reports on customer satisfaction from these newer companies, there are 2 to 3 disappointed customers who need new fences, infeed and outfeed tables, etc... to get their new machines working as advertised.

   It has just been my experience for both myself and several other woodworkers that I've come to know over the last 22 years in this business, as well as the stories I've been told from those craftsman much older than me.

   Jeff

3. 
   lwj2 | Jan 03, 2010 08:54pm | #3

   I agree with Jeff, wish I'd
   I agree with Jeff, wish I'd had the bucks to take that Northfield off of his hands.

   Take a look here for industrial weight equipment:

   http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/exchanges/machinery.cgi

4. 
   Jfrostjr | Jan 04, 2010 10:25am | #4

   An option you did not mention is a combo jointer/planer.

   I have had a MiniMax 12" unit for several years and am well pleased. Changeover time is 1 minute on average.

1. 
   HoustonsProblem | Jan 04, 2010 11:16pm | #8

   Frosty, have you found the short length of the 12" jointer/planer combo to be an issue when jointing. The longest piece I can think I would want to joint would be parts of a standard height door.

   There is the old rule of thumb that you can joint something twice the length of the table, but I have always wondered if the rule holds well and even if the rule applies to the total length of both tables or to the length of just the infeed table. I don't have much room and the 5 foot long table length is appealing to me.

1. 
   Jfrostjr | Jan 05, 2010 09:15am | #10

   Not a problem as far as I am concerned. Perhaps because the table is longer (by far) than the one on my prior 6" jointer.

   But, I think that with proper feed technique my MiniMax table is more than adequate: Transfer and maintain down pressure on the outfeed table.

   By the way, I am very happy with my MM JP but I am not a fan of the MM bandsaws based on the complaints I read posted on the MM website. I own a Laguna 16" bandsaw and really like it.

5. 
   kreidy | Jan 04, 2010 12:36pm | #5

   Thanks for all the input.

   I am still up in the air and weighing my options. My gut feeling is to go with the older units with a 16" Oliver as my first choice.

   The combo jointer/planer is new to me. I never worked with one although I know they have been on the market for years and are very popular in Europe.

   Thanks again.

   Ken

1. 
   KeithNewton | Jan 04, 2010 09:53pm | #6

   Ken, If I were you, I would keep an eye on the auction sites. I get notices every week that usually show them. They are going very cheap.

   Here is a link.

   http://www.irsauctions.com/?flash=0

1. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 05, 2010 10:15am | #11

   Keith,

   Did you see the sweet 16" HD Northfield jointer that sold yesterday at IRS auctions? Almost $5400, which I think was a heck of a deal considering the condition of the machine. It is the slightly wider cousin of mine, and the exact machine I wish to purchase after my move.

   Jeff

2. 
   kreidy | Jan 09, 2010 11:09pm | #15

   Hi Keith,
   I've been checking
   Hi Keith,

   I've been checking up on the link you have provided. Still looking.

   Thanks to all!

   Ken

2. 
   AZMO | Jan 04, 2010 10:07pm | #7

   I will second Bones, my griz 8" works great. The best part is the spiral head with individual indexed cutters. Quiet and smooth cutting. I have a 15" thickness planer and it is a worthy machine with the same head. The customer service is excellent and I don't think you would be dissapointed with the equipment. I use a sled on my thickness planer to get one surface flat when it exceeds 8", I hardly ever get material much wider, but can use a 44" sander at a shop near by when I need to.

   AZMO

6. 
   Troy | Jan 05, 2010 12:18am | #9

   I have not used any of the new jointer's but have used several old 12" Oliver 166's and think they are great, a friend has a 16" Crescent and it is a sweet machine. I think an old machine is the way to go. Anyway good luck and let us know what you buy.

   Troy

7. 
   RickL | Jan 05, 2010 02:34pm | #12

   I have extensive experience repairing and rebuilding many jointers. I'd recommend the Crescent as a sinple reliable machine. You could put it on a mobile base but you couldn't put the Oliver on a mobile base. The angled inclines for table adjusters on the Oliver and Crescent are the same design. I'd put this design over a parallelgoram or dovetailed jointer any day. Far simpler and better design. You can pick up an older Crescent for relatively cheap if you look around long enough. Of course the used market varies in each area and if you can't wait and can afford it just buy one of the newr ones. I've never been a fan of "just want to buy the machine once for a lifetime" You already had it and let it go. There will be others and you can always upgrade at any time. I used to have an Oliver 166 16" but sold it. I have access to a 20" RGA in the mean time as well as a DJ30 and other machines.

8. 
   SantaFeTom | Jan 07, 2010 01:24pm | #13

   I have a Grizzly G0609 parellogram 12" which is exacly like the Shop Fox parallogram 12" jointer except for the paint. I saved about 40% by buying the Grizzly, taking into account sales price from a local distributor and saved sales tax. Grizzly also has a higher grade 12". If you decide on the Shop Fox, you really should look at the Grizzly choices.

   I have found setting up the jointer to be maddening. The adjusters are located at positions away from the corners of the beds so changing one actually changes all 4 corners to some degree. Knowing what you want to correct and figuring out which adjuster or adjusters to change is a real challenge. After getting it right, tightening the set screws on the adjusters threw it out of adjustment again. I don't know if any of the other options you are considering would have the same problem but you might look into it before deciding.

9. 
   Eireannach | Jan 07, 2010 05:03pm | #14

   I bought the 12" jointer/planer by Grizzly & love it. It is so easy to change over and I have had no problems with accuracy. I have the spiral cutterhead - it is smooth and relatively quiet. The tables are short, but I haven't found that to be much of a problem so far - I don't make really big stuff though. I have no regrets.