Hello. I’m reasonably new to woodworking and building my shop equipment a piece at a time while realizing that you get what you pay for as a general rule. I intend to build smaller items – boxes, small tables, etc. My planer will give me parallel stock but a luthier friend of mine told me I could really use a jointer to give me a solid 90 degree angle from which to start as well as to make good edges for joinery. Based on my intended use it seems a 6″ jointer will suit my needs and the average price of up to $500 is also acceptable. He has good things to say about the Rigid but I like to mull through all opinions and experiences before reaching a decision … would anyone care to share theirs?
Thanks
Replies
I have the Jet 6" and have found it performs very, very well, and I love Jet's customer service. It and the Delta are long-time dependables in the jointer world.
BTW, the other thing you frequently use a jointer for is to face-joint. Your planer will make one face parallel to the other, so you need a flat face as a reference point. Oftentimes a piece of stock doesn't have the courtesy to arrive with such a thing, LOL.
I got my Jet at a scratch-n-dent machinery store a few blocks from the Jet warehouse in Auburn, WA. I think it was $360 or so. Talked 'em into throwing in 2 sets of extra blades.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Do a search of the forum's archives and with your newfound wisdom & insight pick up the phone & order a Sunhill forthwith :-)
Sparrowhawk
Agree with MACH70 to search the archives. Much research has already been done and all the 6" jointers get the job done. The most bang for your buck is the Sunhill with the 52" table, IMO. The Yorkcraft is also a bargain.
http://www.sunhillmachinery.com
At least give it a look!
Good luck...
sarge..jt
Hi SH- I'm w/ Forestgirl. I have the Jet 6" and really like it. Haven't had to change blades yet so I can't advise on that. How about that FG? Brian
I haven't changed mine either, but have gotten over "the willies" about the procedure. I don't think that procedure is too much different from one machine to another, unless you get one with the Dispoz-a-blade system.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I ordered a sunhill January 2nd, and still have not received it yet.. originally it was stated to come in middle of February, but here we are in March and still no jointer.... All I have heard so far was apologies about the delays.. seems the boat from taiwan is taking forever... I was told on Friday that my jointer was supposed to be in their shop yesterday(march 17th)... I am going to call today to see where my jointer is....
in the meantime I have been abusing my fathers 3 foot 50's era Craftsman.... Lots of people rave about the sunhill, I havent seen or used mine yet....
PS - In Sunhills defense, I havent paid for my jointer yet either though..... They said they wouldnt charge me til it left their office.... Big thing I like about the sunhill is that its the longest of the 6" jointers I have seen at 52 inches.. course this comes from the two 2" extensions they give for each side of the bed.. but people seem to like them around here a lot....it also comes with a free dust collector chute which is nice...
I'd buy a good used one out of the paper,or from e-bay.With heavy cast iron tables and gears.Some modern machines have poor quality castings and metal that has not "relaxed" so you'd get an uneven cut.Generally, used means half of retail, too.
Grouchie
Sorry about the delay. I work with a company that gets a lot of merchandise from over there. Since 9/11 that process has definitley slowed down due to paperwork, etc. involved. A ship from there takes weeks anyway, and customs takes about as long to clear. I won't defend either, just pointing out some hard realities about importing at the moment. The current situation won't help either.
You can take it to the bank Sunhill wishes they had it in stock. You don't have cash flow without product going out the door.
Have a great day...
sarge..jt
Hiya, Sarge. At least there's no port lock-out going on now. Seattle was a mess during that impass. I had several cases of inventory sitting on a container, and even after the lock-out was over, it took awhile for it to be "found" due to the back-up!
Seems like once in awhile, a whole bunch of woodworkers get the same tool-acquisition urge at once (mass cravings?) and it gets back-ordered all over the place.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
just seems a bit weird to me.. I called today, and they informed me "The boat was supposed to come in on Sunday(16th march), but it evidently hasnt been seen yet... Once the boat gets in, we should ship it within the week!" ummmm what about customs on our side? doesnt the stuff have to go through customs after the boat comes in? I was informed once the ship is docked it pretty much is a done deal... so where has this month+ of missing time gone?!?!
anyways, I aint dying for it... just being my normal disgruntled self.. hehe You know, you buy a new toy you want to play with it!!
Well, for what it's worth, after doing a search thru the archives as was suggested I still could not find a clear winner which indicated to me that most of the 6" jointers were anywhere from satisfactory to good. So I hopped in my truck and went to Home Depot and purchased the Ridgid, mostly due to availability and a FWW review on 6" jointers in a back issue. It went together fairly easily but required a bit of tweaking on the outfeed table to get it level. I haven't used it a great deal as yet, but it seems like it will be more than adequate for my needs and the price at $399 was good - besides I personally like hand wheels as opposed to levers. One drawback is that Ridgid does not make a caster base for the machine. My woodworking shop is in the back of my computer shop with employee electronic work benches in the area so space is at a premium. Generally I simply roll many of my tools outside to do work and then back in when I'm done so I don't have to worry too much about dust. Carrying a 6" jointer out the door and then back somehow just doesn't appeal to me for some reason so I ordered an industrial caster base from Woodcraft to see if that will be a viable alternative.
Thank all of you for your advice and input. I've been woodcarving for quite some time and built wooden model ships for years and have always found people who work with wood to be the friendliest people around.
Sparrowhawk
I have most of my stationary tools on HTC universal bases and they are great. The industrial caster base should solve the problem.
Luck..
sarge..jt
Mr. G, stuff from container ships, as far as I know, doesn't go through customs like your suitcase would if you were crossing international boundaries. The containers have their contents listed in the paperwork that follows them around the world, and these days there are checks to try to ensure none of them contain bombs or trans-oceanic terrorists.
It's not uncommon for there to be unexpected delays when stuff is coming from Asia. Sounds like this one really has the company stumped though. Like Sarge said (I think it was Sarge), rest assured the company wishes the darned stuff was in their warehouse! There's always a possibility they are using that as a cover story for some manufacturing problem, but might as well assume they're being truthful -- less stress that way, LOL.
PS: You're in a good position to bargain for a couple sets of extra blades after all your patient waiting. If I were on the other side of the counter, I'd offer them unsolicited.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 3/19/2003 1:31:19 AM ET by forestgirl
FG
I at one time sold a lot of embroidery patches for Police, Fireman, and industry and ordered them from Taiwan. In the late eighties or early nineties a law was passed anything that had a thread in was considered material, like clothing. Every order I received had to go through customs, and had to have a passport it cost me one hundred to a hundred and fifty dollars to get somebody to walk it through customs. Do you import anything that has a thread in it and if you do is that law still being enforced. The law was made because of the knock-off CK jeans and other counterfeit clothes.
God Bless
les
Jamie
You are correct about several wanting at once. Keep in mind that we just got through with year end inventories and Xmas. Inventory seems to dissapate about the time we count for taxes. Can't imagine why. And if you stock too many, well that bad month means you tell the employees; O.K. guys, we can't give you a paycheck this month; do you mind taking a jointer instead. Got plenty of them, just not a lot of cash. ha..ha..
What kind of products do you get from overseas? Bet it's those Japanese baseball stars cards, huh.. <G>
Have a good day, m'lady...
sarge..jt
What with the economic downturn and the sword-rattling that been going on (=uncertainty), and the fact that spring is lurking around the corner, I'd not be surprised if suppliers are keeping a tight rein on inventory levels. I let my inventory get way ahead of sales over the last 1-1/2 months, and it's just been killing me!
The specific item I was referring to being stuck out in the ocean was a special Japanese gaming product -- cards, but not baseball cards. I did a fair amount of buying from a gentleman in Japan during Ichiro's rookie year -- he had a couple dozen of his Japanese-version Upper Deck (SP, I think) rookie cards. Sent me a very kind note the week after September 11th.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie
Thanks. You know, I never thought about having Japanese baseball cards. My collection was stolen years ago in a house break-in (looking for walnut I suppose) and I never replaced them and strayed to other areas.
I know there is a prominent Japanese-American contingent in the Pacific NW. I guess you have a market. BTW, our sales have stayed steady since Monday. I guess old classic car guys and gals probaly haven't turned the TV on. We got hit for about 10 days after 9/11 and then things steadied and have been so since. I guess it goes to show you don't have to have baseball cards, but you absolutely, undoubtedly have to have old classic car parts. ha..ha..
Maybe my company will organize a muscle car power tour and call it "Road to Baghdad". I talked to a Kuwait customer yesterday and he ordered like nothing was going on. He liked the idea for the power tour. <G>
Good day...
sarge..jt
Sarge, I'm sending you and Les emails (on the brink of war, I sure don't want to be accused of hijacking a thread!)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Oops.
Edited 3/19/2003 11:22:46 AM ET by forestgirl
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