Hey – need a little advice
I am in the market for a 6″ jointer. I’m not on a budget, but I don’t want to spend unnecessary money. I just getting started in woodworking and have a table saw and a planer. I am looking at a jointer purchase so I can buy cheaper, better quality wood for my projects and plane it / joint it myself.
In the Fine Woodworking Tool Guide for 2005, the Powermatic came out as the best of the bunch, but I don’t to want to spend that much cash. The Yorkcraft got “best value” and a statement implying that it’s the same unit as the Delta. It’s certainly an eye opening price, though it’s now $339 from Wilke in PA. I called to find that the shipping is $99 to me in NC, but it’s still a deal with no sales tax. I even asked whether it was the same as the Delta and was told it came out of the same factory. I can get the Delta X5 jointer for $544 at Amazon with free shipping. So that gets me to roughly $100 price difference.
The real question – is the Yorkcraft the SAME machine with the same performance??
Coming out of the same factory doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the same machine, though it could be. I know the Delta may not be the “jointer to buy,” but Delta always seems to be a consideration with the name. The Fine Woodworking Tool Guide implied that the Yorkcraft and Delta are the same unit. It’s a great deal, but I don’t want to sacrifice performance for a few dollars. I’d like to stay under $500 out the door (tax, title, and tag).
Any have a Yorkcraft that speak from experience? Any other advice on a jointer purchase?
Replies
Tim,
I can't speak from experience regarding the Delta, but I just took delivery of the Yorkcraft 6" about 2 wks ago. IMHO - and based on early impressions - it's a nice machine for the $$$. Well machined, true surfaces, nice rack and pinion fence (the fence is also bit longer than most other 6" jointers). It was also setup perfectly out of the box and required nothing more than assembly and cleaning the grease off the machined surfaces.
The integral wheels also work nicely - an important consideration for me as my shop is only 13'x20'. If mobility is important to you, then the price difference between the Delta and Yorkcraft grows - figure on $60-90 or so for a mobile base - to $160-190 give or take. I don't know about you, but I'm not married to brand names unless there's a real difference in product features, performance or quality. Not sure that's the case between the Delta and Yorkcraft.
Lastly . . . how's it cut, you ask? Very nicely. Glass smooth surfaces on Peruvian walnut and cherry. Haven't run many bd ft through the machine yet. I'll be doing that starting Saturday as I begin work on my wife's anniversary present. Good luck w/your decision.
Mark
I'll second that last post from malex - I've had a 6" Yorkcraft for about a year and I'm quite happy with it. Aside from some grease cleaning and some time to perfect the fence setup to 90 degrees, it came together well out of the box (although the instructions were a bit out of date) and cuts well.
Mark,
I really appreciate your thoughts on the jointers. I have to say, I left out the added expense of the mobile base since the Delta does not come with one. It's nice to actually hear from someone who has put their hands on it and run some boards through it. To be honest, I'm so early in this woodworking hobby that I might not know good from great. I'd know good from bad, but I'd have a hard time weeding out the top contenders since I minimal experience with how the results are supposed to look. Had the same struggle when I bought the table saw early this year. Made some ripping cuts and just never felt like I knew how many saw blade marks is acceptable/expected. Guess you get that from experience.
I share your opinion - I don't buy the brand. If the Delta and Yorkcraft are truly the same unit, buying brand is costing $200 more. That doesn't quite seem smart unless I get $200 more machine or better service for it. I'll spend the money if I am can feel sure of it.
Thanks for your input. I may be ordering one myself after the next paycheck comes in.
Tim
Mark,
Just reading your post on the YorkCraft 6" jointer from back in 2005 and I'm wondering what you feel about it now after using it for a while? I am considering this purchase...Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
I haven't had any problems with mine so far and I use it quite a bit. To me, still seems like I got a good deal for the $$$. Seems like others haven't been quite as lucky. You might want to call and ask if they've had past problems with the beds going out of alignment and if they've designed in any changes to fix such an issue.
The only caveat, and this applies to all 6" jointers (and has been discussed ad nauseum on various threads), is that I now wish I had ponied up for an 8" jointer. It would have been a squeeze in my shop, but probably worth it IMO. I just recently finished building a new workbench from ash and it was a chore (to say the least) jointing the long boards. The tables on most 6" jointers are just too short. The extra width would help as well - though I tend to handplane the faces of wider boards and run them through the thickness planer to make the opposing side parallel.
Good luck with your decision.
Mark
I don't own the YC, but am familiar with the Delta, and have read alot of comments about both. YC owners are typically very upbeat about that jointer. It also comes with built in wheels which are nice feature.
The Delta has a longer warranty. If the prices get reasonably close, I'd go with the Delta, but wouldn't hesitate to save $100 with the YC.
I ditto what has been said about the YC. I took delivery of one a month ago and it went together like a glove. Nice finish, rack and pinion fence and casters that let you move the machine with two fingers. The carrier rolled it into my garage with a pallet jack and my wife helped me put the bed on the stand. Three hours and done.
I have read other post regarding the grease cleanup and the instructions. They must have improved those two items. I took the grease off in 15 minutes and the instruction only had one minor error.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
After living with this jointer for a while, I'd still probably say it was worth the money. However, I have had issues with the set-up - as in not holding the settings. Started getting boards that were not flat and found that my infeed and outfeed tables were not parallel. Regardless of what I did, I could not get the gib screws to adjust the tables the way I needed them to adjust. I also noticed I've got a slight difference in elevation between the two at the edges near the cutterhead. This shows up when trying to set the height of the knives. I ended taking the whole damn thing apart I got so mad. I wanted to see how the screws and those flat bars interacted and determine for myself what the top and bottom gib screws were supposed to control. Save yourself the time - there is no mystery in there. Not sure who designed that system for adjusting the tables, but there HAS to be a better way?
At the end of the day, I put shims made from a Sprite can in mine to get it to do what I need it to do.
On a budget, probably a decent machine. If I had it to do over again, I might go for something that seems to be built a little better..... not sure what that is... but I'd look a little closer.
Tim
I had a bit of an issue with the setscrews that hold the fence mechanism. They are pointed and seat in a cup like affair. When you tighten them, if they are not seated the fence will shift the next time you adjust the angle and throw off the 90 Deg set.
I found that by tapping the frame as I tightened the screw, I got it to seat. Then when I moved the fence it held the angle position up against the stop. Now reset your angle.
I believe the gib set screws work in a similar fashion. But once you get that initial set you should be OK after that.
One thing you should never fail to do when you have a problem like this is to contact the OEM. They made the machine and should be able to tell you exactly what to do.
Good luck.
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