Is the 8″ jointer worth the extra money compared to the 6″ for the average woodworker?
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Replies
Almost without exception, all of the woodworkers that I know upgraded their jointer fairly quickly. Most before they purchased a bandsaw.
Major tool purchases went something like this:
10" miter saw
10" contractors tablesaw
12" lunchbox planer
6" jointer
16"or 17" drill press
8" jointer
14" bandsaw (most with riser block)
either new fence for contractors saw or cabinet saw
if ealier purchase was new fence, now they purchased cabinet saw.
In a word -- Yes! If you can afford it.
There are alot of boards between 6 adn 8". If you've got the space, electrical requirements, and the budget, the added capacity will never hurt.
It depends on the scale of work you do, but generally, yes. If you only build small boxes, then you'd likely be okay with a 6" jointer - maybe even a bench top unit. However, if you'll be building furniture, I'd recommend the larger jointer. Not only do you get a wider cut, you will probably have an increase in horse power. Depending on the jointer, you may need 220V.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Great dogwood table. Where do you get the wood? It sounds like the 8" is the way to go.
Bigger is not always better. However, in this case, it is. If you have doubt, go on to craigslist. I'd bet that you can find 100's 6" jointers for every single 8" jointer.
Yes, you only gain 2" on the blade - but the tables are almost twice as long and the machine's weight goes up by several hundred pounds.
In table saw terms, this is like comparing a contractor's saw and a cabinet saw. Both cut wood... but...
Glad you like the table. Isn't that dogwood amazing? It's from a tree that was downed in a storm in Burnaby, BC.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I lived with a six for years. Scrimped and saved to upgrade. You'll never find someone saying, Man I've got to big a jointer.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
You can't be to rich or to thin or have two wide a jointer.
Troy
I think it depends on how into face jointing you are, or plan to be. If you are edge jointing 99.9% of the time, who cares how wide the blade is? I have the 6' Powermatic 54A and love it. I know I'll have a wider one later, but that'll be when I have a larger shop. When you use mainly 4/4 lumber, it's hard to face joint it without it flexing during the operation; that's why I use my thickness planer for those times, which is a lot better than nothing. I guess I also depend upon culling the straitest stock for pieces that really need to be free of bow. My two cents.
Brian.
You'll rarely need the extra 2" of the bigger jointer. Mainly for table tops and large solid-wood casegoods and then only when it makes asthetic sense. Keep in mind that the wider a board is, the more material you'll have to remove to make it flat all the way across its width. If you joint an 8" cupped board vs. a 6" cupped board, the 8" cupped board could end up being a 1/16" or 1/8" less thick than the 6" cupped board. Most of the time, it is best to face joint narrower rather than wider wood to keep from ending up with stock that is thinner than it needs to be.
I used a 6" jointer for years and only rarely was it an issue. I had pretty good luck simply face jointing 6" of a wide board, flipping it, and then face jointing the remaining inches. I then use a handplane diagonally across the grain to bring them sides into the same plane. Run the board through the planer and voila, flat wood. Works well unless the wood is very twisted.
That being said, when I had to sell my equipment to move 1500 miles to a new shop, I bought an 8" jointer. Simply because the prices of them had come down enough for me to justify the purchase. Really for me, the extra length of the bed on the 8" jointer is the biggest plus.
http://www.ithacawoodworker.com/
I guess I'm going to buck the trend here, and say "no," I don't take advantage of it as often as I'd thought. Don't get me wrong, I use the jointer frequently, and wouldn't want to be without it, but I've found that a six inch one would have been just as useful 90% of the time.
I just upgraded to an 8" a month ago, after having upgraded from a 4" to a new 6" two years ago. You can do quite a bit with a 6" and I don't regret the purchase. I did four kitchen cabinets with it and certainly got my moneys worth (appx. 200 raised panel doors). I was able to sell it this spring for $150 less than I paid for it originally. At the time 6" was all I could afford. This spring I am upgrading and was able to put the money from the 6" sale onto the 8" grizzly.
The 4" to 6" was a huge jump in productivity, I think 6" to 8" will be less so, but still worth it. I never regret my machine upgrades. :)
If you have to have one I guess you should have a big one. I have an 8" and contrary to popular opinion, think the tool has limited value in today's shop. I listed mine for sale today.
If you are careful selecting your wood, a good hand plane will do a nice job of flattening any surface irregularities. The thickness planer does a better job of surfacing both faces - an even, controlled feed rate. Smaller foot print, no hands over blades.
Both the hand plane and the thickness planer will accommodate most widths you will work with.
Don
Funny you ask this. 17 years ago when I purchased my 8" powermatic I debated whether to purchase the beautiful 12" that also sold at the time. The price difference real wasn't that great, but I opted for the 8". About a week after I had it tuned and runnig great I had some really nice maple in widths from 9.5 to about 11.5.
It was right then that I know I should have bought the 12". . .
http://joes-stuff1960.blogspot.com/
If you have the room and can afford the price difference, absolutely.
Buying jointers and other stationary power tools is kind of like buying a TV. You never hear of anyone complain about buying too big of one.
Get the 8"
Paul
Its not just the width. One BIG benefit of an 8" is the longer bed. Going from my small 6" to the Grizz 8" with the 76" bed means never having to balance long boards.
I agree that it's nice to have the longer tables to begin with, but if space is more of a concern, you can precicely set up infeed and outfeed tables or rollers.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Ckenney makes a good point. As important as the difference in the 6 or 8 inch width is, don't skimp on the infeed/outfeed tables either. I have a Griz 6 with an average in/out table set up. If I had to do it over, I would have got an 8 with longer feed tables. If you haven't already noticed, these will be very important when you are jointing the edges of long boards. if you buy your lumber rough cut, as most of us do, you will find this helpful. Best of luck with your decision. And, as far as I'm concerned, BIGGER IS BETTER!
The extra width will at times be nice to have, the biggest advantage will be in the extra length. I've got a long-bed 6" jointer, and don't really find the six inch width to be much of a limitation. I used to have a 16 inch jointer with eight foot bed length and 5 hp motor. The capacity was nice, but it took up a lot of space in the shop and frankly it scared the daylights out of me to use it. For wide panels I rip to six inch width, joint and edge joint, then glue up the panels. I'm planning to get a 30" FlatMaster sander which will help put the finishing touches on the wide panels as well as handle rail-and-stile door panels.
It's interesting that here in the UK we seem to be more into planer/thicknessers for jointing? There are jointers available but I think their sales are in the minority compared to planer/thicknessers (I might be corrected on this!). The planer/thicknessers seem to come in 12" or 14" models. Are these also available in the US? Thoughts...? RzzB (UK)
It's all opinions...
The real answer can only determined by the woodworker. Who after assessing his/her own goals, knows their local stock, listens to posts, then you can decide if 'bigger is better'.
My two cents is the average woodworker is limited on space, $$$$, and scope of projects he/she will endeavor on is not production mode. So it is the 90% of woodworkers that I speak to when I say it is not a mandatory tool to have at all. Sure it can help a great deal but it is not up there with a table saw, router, dust collection system. Even if you 'want' or even really decide you need one most wood you purchased as only one rough edge in the 6-8"inch width and you want to cut that off anyway leaving you with boards that IF they need jointing can be done on a 6" jointer.
Remember only you can answer the question for you.
Actually, for fine woodworking, I rate the jointer as #2 on my list. The bigger the better, but an 8" is fine for most...
Delta DJ-20 the cats meow.
Well, seeing as I own a 12" I think bigger is definitely better. I worked in a shop with a 20" and we needed all 20. If you are buying your lumber rough you will need the size and wider boards always look better.
John
I own a Rockwell 6" jointer for about 25 years and I don't think I will go for an 8". If I would buy another jointer, it would be another 6". I've learn that the wider the board the bigger the chance it is flatsawn, so the bigger the chance there will be side movement in changes of temperature and humidity. Since I resaw wider boards and glue them back for my needs to eliminate this movement issue, a 6" jointer is enough for me. I own a 12½" planer and this is the tool I will upgrade to mill larger glued up panels/boards. If needed, there are ways to use a planer as jointer (see FWW #175).
Serge
I regret not spending the extra money 2 days after buying a 6" jointer. I'm already searching for a replacement as jointing laminated surfaces would be much faster. In a word buy the biggest and longest that your budget and shop can accommodate!
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