Replies

1. 
   jeff100 | Jan 16, 2008 10:02pm | #1

   Generally speaking, I like and have had good experiences with 'reconditioned' tools. That said, in general I won't own a Delta tool unless it was made 'back in the day'. I would be inclined to go with the Steel City jointer. I don't own any SC tools, but I've seen nothing but good reviews by folks who do own them.

   I had a buddy that recently bought a 8" Shop Fox jointer from Ebay for significantly less than $999.00 with free shipping. I helped him bring it home from the local freight station and helped him unpack it, it was flawless. There are a lot of good deals on new jointers, you might want to look around some more, $999.00 can be beat fairly easily and there's not much difference (if any) from jointer to jointer.

   Jeff

1. 
   Scottp57 | Jan 17, 2008 01:19am | #2

   Thanks for the reply Jeff.  I'm trying to buy it locally.   I would like to see the Shop Fox but can't seem to find a local dealer.  Is that pretty much the Grizzly jointer?

   Thanks,

   Scott

1. 
   jeff100 | Jan 17, 2008 02:04am | #4

   Yes, it's a Grizzly with a different paint job. Shop Fox is a spin off from Grizzly. Some dealers will try to sell you that Shop Fox machines have a better fit and finish, but that is nonsense, both lines come out of the same factories. Grizzly claims to be ISO 9001 compliant factories, which is a pretty rigid set of standards to control processes and quality. I have several Grizzly machines, most I purchased new. The quality of their machines has been excellent, although I buy the high end models of each machine type.Are you in Kenmore, WA???Jeff

   Edited 1/16/2008 6:10 pm by jeff100

1. 
   dgreen | Jan 17, 2008 02:22am | #5

   On what do you base your nonsense claim on? As a former Shop Fox dealer I can tell you there is a difference not only in the fit and finish but in specifications also. As a for instance the Shop Fox spindle sander has a larger table than the corresponding Grizzly. Also the table tilts front and back on the Shop Fox as opposed to just one direction on the Grizzly.

   They are both good tools but lay off the BS that there is no difference. A casual observer can see the difference.------------------------------------

   It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore

2. 
   dgreen | Jan 17, 2008 02:30am | #6

   If you look at the baseline Shop Fox and Grizzly 8" parallelogram jointers you will find that the Shop Fox is slightly heavier, has a greater rabbetting depth and a magnetic switch. Not just different paint.------------------------------------

   It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore

1. 
   jeff100 | Jan 17, 2008 03:21am | #7

   So they say on paper....believe what you want.Maybe Shiraz Balolia will chime in and set me straight, but I've spent my career in manufacturing, and I don't believe they have a separate factory with separate tooling to build a 'slightly' different jointer that's 'slightly' better.With all due respect....think about it.

   Edited 1/16/2008 7:23 pm by jeff100

2. 
   bones | Jan 17, 2008 04:44am | #8

   Save a few more dollars and go get the Grizzly 12" (heehee, its easy with someone elses money). I love mine. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

3. 
   benhasajeep | Jan 17, 2008 10:32pm | #18

   I have been eyeballing the long bed 8" Griz for a while now.  I have a 6" elcheapo that actually works quite well for regular 90 deg stuff.  But the fence is a huge pain (hence 90 deg only on it).  As soon as I saw the Steel City 8" and fence I am now leaning that way.  When I first bought my jointer I didn't think having an easy to use fence was really that big of a deal.  Now I know better.

   I forgot to mention the one I like is the Steel City Deluxe model.  Fence is 12" longer than the industrial version.

   Edited 1/17/2008 2:37 pm ET by benhasajeep

3. 
   Scottp57 | Jan 17, 2008 05:24pm | #12

   Jeff - I'm in Birmingham, Alabama. 

   Buy a 12" - yea right.  I barely have room for the 8" and I barely talked my wife into the 8" price!

   I'm a little leary of spending that kind of money on something "used".  the Delta would be nice but if it 's new it is too much money.  The steel city machine looks pretty nice. 

   Thanks for all the thoughts guys.

   Scott

    

1. 
   jeff100 | Jan 17, 2008 08:52pm | #14

   ?????????I didn't suggest you buy a 12" jointer. Enjoy your 8" jointer, it will server you well, no matter which brand you buy.Jeff

2. 
   Scottp57 | Jan 17, 2008 09:48pm | #15

   Sorry, Jeff that was a reply to Bones.

   Thanks to everyone for their help. 

   Scott

    

3. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 17, 2008 10:10pm | #16

   I have the Steel City 8". The machine is excellent and very quiet for a jointer in general. Steel City has designed the stock fence so it can be skewed very easily if you are attracted to that for use with difficult grained woods. If you go with a specialty cutter-head, that would not be an issue, The knives are double sided and very easy to rotate and change.  5 Year Warranty speaks for itself.

   I cannot speak for the Delta as I have never used one. I by-passed it at my purchase time as it was much more $$ then and the fence would be a major PITA to skew. And.... a big And... the Steel City has a 48" long fence 5" Tall.. larger than any other manufacturer I am aware of. 

   My fence now has a granite fence courtesy of Scott Box of Steel City who asked me to field test it. But.. that is not an issue with the machine you are considering at the moment on close-out to make way for the new granite fence models.

   Good luck... BTW.. if ya want to run some stock through a SC before a purchase.. drop by one Saturday early from B'ham to my shop and we'll send a couple of hundred of linear feet through. Redmond has both SC and the Delta and are about 40 minutes away. Then again.. I'm guessing you are looking at the SC at the new distributor around Birmingham?

   Sarge..

4. 
   Scottp57 | Jan 17, 2008 10:19pm | #17

   Sarge,

   thanks for the info and invite.  Actually the Woodcraft here in Birmingham carries the Steel City Jointer, so that is another "Pro", I won't have to drive over to Atlanta to get it.  Since you mention the easy knife changes, would you mind giving me some more info on how that is done? 

   Thanks again,

   Scott

5. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 17, 2008 11:15pm | #19

   Hey Scott..

   As a matter of fact, when Scott Box dropped the Steel City Granite fence off to me a few days after they introduced it at the Las Vegas Show last summer.. he was on the way to B'ham to sign the final contract with that Woodcraft dealer you refer to.

   Now.. the difficulty of knive change.. which most will generally not even give a thought to when shopping a jointer. If you read the Steel City specs on their jointer... They clearly state... Quick Change Knives...

   Is that just advertising hype to lure you from paying a ton extra and getting quick change specialty cutter-heads. With most manufacturers I would probably suspect that to be a general statement given in the description. But... this is Steel City and they don't often make general statements without having engineered a way to back them up.

   Yep... most knife changes on jointers with straight knives can be a somewhat irritating experience and require a ton of patience, which most don't have. So.....

   They seat on special pins purposely placed so you just turn em over and re-insert the attachment screws according to the sequence given in your owners manual. No need to fiddle with special adjustment gauges as the Steel City knives are ground from the factory off of a template for the pin set-up.

   That means you have to use Steel City knives as universal will not fit this jointer. The good news is a set cost about $50 at the time I purchased two additional sets. But.. one set is two sets as they are double sided, so the original set gives you a back-up that awaits on-board. $25 or $30 is not significant when you factor the change time, IMO.

   How good is the steel in their set? I have run almost 2000 linear feet of hard-wood through and still using the first set. I checked them just before starting a chest of drawers recently and they still look plenty "good to go" at this point. But.. I will continue to check them as nothing will last forever.

   BTW.. I took my knives off just to answer the question of does it really seat properly. It did indeed do as stated.. but when I do change them I will again check to make sure they are properly aligned after the fact. That's just common sense but Steel City has made my life easier with both their jointer and 18" Band-saw.

   I would have the DP... but mine is sufficient. And if I were to sell my Uni-saw and up-grade to a 12" which I could use ripping 16/4 stock... I know where I am going with that purchase. Hello.. Steel City! ha.. ha...

   Sarge..

    

6. 
   Scottp57 | Jan 17, 2008 11:27pm | #20

   Thanks Sarge.  Actually the quick knife change was one of the reasons I was looking at Steel City.  I had just finished trying to set some new knives on my 6" JET jointer and got fed up and decided to buy a new jointer! 

   Thanks again for your help and information.

7. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 17, 2008 11:58pm | #21

   You're quite welcome, sir...

   Sarge..

8. 
   bones | Jan 18, 2008 04:29am | #22

   Psst, i'm the tool fairy, go for the 12"......go for the 12"......go for the....Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

9. 
   TonyCz | Jan 18, 2008 04:37am | #23

   A 8 " jointer is all you need you will see why soon enough.

2. 
   jeffs | Jan 17, 2008 09:33am | #10

   I have a DJ-20 and love it. I have no experience with the others but can say the DJ-20 was easy to set up (a few years ago- so my memory may not be accurate) and has been trouble free. Changing the knives is not too difficult one you learn how- which not a hard skill to acquire. Mine is on a dedicated mobile base (Delta's) which works well. It is a beast with a long table which I really like for handling long stock.

   I have used some really old Deltas and have not seen a difference in performance.

   One consideration  you might think about is whether a spiral cutterhead is something you are interested in- my DJ is standard knives but I hear (no experience) that the spiral cutters are nice.

   Jeff

1. 
   jeff100 | Jan 17, 2008 10:19am | #11

   I have the Powermatic P54 6" with the looong tables, and love it.  A while back I swapped out the straight 3 knife cutter and put in a sheelix carbide insert cutter.  I'll NEVER go back.  It's an expensive upgrade, especially in the wider jointers, but the difference is astounding.  The machine runs much quieter, the carbide inserts last forever, or as long as you don't cut anything except wood, the cutting pressure/force is dramatically reduced because of the shearing effect, and wild grain problems are a thing of the past.  The planed surface left on the wood is flat and smooooth.  Makes a jointer a pure joy to use.

   Someday I'm going to buy myself an old timer 3 legged 12"-16" jointer and refurbish it for fun, to add to my shop.  I watch ebay and craigslist, and have seen several contenders, but I'm not ready for the project yet.  Until then, I'll continue to use my sled in my planer or my handplanes for jointing wider boards.

   Jeff 

2. 
   Kaleo | Jan 17, 2008 01:26am | #3

   To be completely honest I don't think you can go wrong with either, this is why. Steel City is a break off from Delta. So the machines are a lot alike. I've never owned a Steel City, but I have a unisaw and a delta 6 inch jointer and they both have been great tools.

   Kaleo

   http://www.kaleosworkshop.com

3. 
   wbfinewoodworking | Jan 17, 2008 05:57am | #9

   Based on the experience of someone on another forum who bought a "floor display" jointer from Redmond, I would not deal with them. Besides, the new Steel City is a better deal.

4. 
   forestgirl | Jan 17, 2008 07:13pm | #13

   Steel City's jointer comes with a 5-year warranty.  They are rapidly developing a profile of a company who listens to their customers, and I have personally experienced outstanding customer service from their reps.  Can't imagine Delta helping you with a problem 4 or more years down the road, LOL.

   I think Sarge has one of their jointers, maybe he'll pitch in here soon.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)