Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Jul 31, 2004 10:55pm | #1

   "Should I step up to a 8" if I can afford it?"  Absolutely!

   There's been quite a bit of discussion about levers vs. wheels in the past.  Try an advanced search using "jointer" and "lever" covering the last year, see what you come up with.

   The 8" Grizzly gets very positive reviews on the forums from people who own them.  I have a 6" Jet only because I got it at a scratch-n-dent place at way below retail.  Had that not been a possibility, I'd have saved up and gone for the 8".

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   mlbfreestyle | Aug 02, 2004 04:31am | #2

   I have the Grizzly 0500 8" x 75" with wheels.  I have tried levers but was unimpressed.  I adjust my depth of cut frequently when roughing in stock.  I like the heft and smooth action of the wheels on the Grizzly.  It is easier to dial in fine increments in my opinion.

   By all means go with the larger width and length.  I use to use a 6".  I shall not go back!

3. 
   Mr_JJ | Aug 02, 2004 08:22pm | #3

   If I were you, I would look at the delta X5 if you are looking at making any more major purchases in the future. I bought a X5 6" jointer (works great, BTW) and it came with a coupon book. Well, my freind just set up a cabinet shop, and I gave him some coupons from it. He saved about $600 just on his hand tools (Biscuit Joiner, Router, etc...) and his dust collector. I also got 4 very high quality router bits, $250 worth, free. Not to mention the free PC 690 router that came with the tool. I've had a great experience with this X5 deal. You might want to look at it. But only if you like Delta and PC tools, cuz' that's all you can get deals on.

1. 
   mlbfreestyle | Aug 02, 2004 10:50pm | #4

   I had considered the Delta DJ-20 and/or X5 equivalent jointer.  I was intrigued by the design (parallelogram tables; long infeed table).  However, I was not impressed with the quality.  Too much was sloppy for the cost and the fence was difficult to operate.  Glad I got the Grizzly 0500.

1. 
   crashtestdummy | Aug 03, 2004 03:39am | #5

   Levers work best with the parallelogram tables, like on the Delta DJ series (the only ones I think). Wheels work better with dovetailed gibbs which are on most other jointers.

4. 
   CStanford | Aug 03, 2004 03:57am | #6

   The wheels are better.  If you're like me, the first thing that will happen when you buy an 8" jointer is you'll run across some great 10" wide stock. 

   Needless to say, ripping and regluing is blasphemy. 

   You need some hand tool skills to fall back on.

1. 
   GeoA | Aug 03, 2004 05:58pm | #7

   I had an 8" jointer and found some 10" mahogany.  I now have a 16" jointer/planer, and hope I don't run acrooss some 18" stock.

1. 
   CStanford | Aug 03, 2004 08:29pm | #8

   I find wide stock all the time, but I'm in the market specifically for this kind of stuff on a regular basis.  I'm glad I can work the stock by hand.

   I don't have the shop space, the money, the electrical service, etc. necessary to own and run a 16" jointer.

1. 
   GeoA | Aug 04, 2004 05:34pm | #11

   Actually, I agree with you, that time permitting, hand tool work is somewhat more satisfying.  My response was an attempt at humor;  something along the line that the power tool needs to be bigger than the wood you're using.

   Regarding the lever vs. wheel adjustment, it appears that most of the combination machines are of the parallelogram design, probably because it is more compact.

1. 
   CStanford | Aug 04, 2004 07:27pm | #13

   There will always be timbers out there that exceed the capacity of any machine.  There will always be circumstances where it is better to take the tool to the stock and not vice versa. 

   The jointer seems to be the most glaringly weak tool in terms of the strict capacity limits inherent in the machine.  There just really aren't any decent workarounds to a jointer's natural limitations other than to unplug it and use a hand plane.  There's not much of a 'time permitting' argument if one is the lucky owner of some sixteen inch stock with nothing but an 8" power jointer.  I suppose the woodworker gets on the phone and tries to find somebody with a wide belt sander, or maybe buys one of his own.  

2. 
   BarryO | Aug 06, 2004 04:10am | #16

   The wheels are better.  If you're like me, the first thing that will happen when you buy an 8" jointer is you'll run across some great 10" wide stock. 

   Needless to say, ripping and regluing is blasphemy. 

   You need some hand tool skills to fall back on.

   I've read (never tried yet) that you can take the blade cover off (like you were rabbeting), and joint only part of one side.  Then put this jointed portion on top of another (completed jointed and planed) board.  You then run this combination through the planer to make the other side flat and parallel to the jointed portion of the bottom surface.  Then remove the extra board, turn the board unside down, and plane the surface flat.

1. 
   CStanford | Aug 06, 2004 02:28pm | #17

   That's a technique for a machine operator. 

2. 
   mlbfreestyle | Aug 06, 2004 06:14pm | #18

   I do not agree that ripping an rejoining a plank is blasphemous.  I have done it with great results.  If you are careful to maintain grain alignment you can end up with a joint that is very difficult to see.

5. 
   bobpowers | Aug 04, 2004 01:29am | #9

   I have a 6" lever style Grizzley.  Although I have no problems with the levers, wheels are probably better.  That being said, I am of the opinion that the width of jointers is akin to that of the number of clamps you own and the size of your shop.  More and bigger is better.  Buy the 8"!!!! Or 12" !!!! Or ???????"

6. 
   coolbreeze | Aug 04, 2004 05:49am | #10

   IMHO, the difference between the lever/wheel types are not nearly as big an issue as the size of the jointer. If you can afford an 8 or bigger, go for it. Reseach performance testing reports and get the biggest you can afford. You will not regret it.

7. 
   JohnWW | Aug 04, 2004 05:36pm | #12

   At the urging of a marketing department, some junior engineer, who didn't really understand how a jointer is tuned, started putting levers on the outfeed table and, of course several other manufacturers imitated them. 

   After a knife change, a jointers outfeed tables may need to have their height reset up or down a couple of thousandths of an inch  to get perfectly straight edges on stock being jointed.  This fine adjustment is very easy to do with a knob type of table adjuster and annoyingly difficult with lever type adjusters.  Lever adjusters are fine on the infeed table where there is no need for accuracy and they speed up setting the cutting depth.

   John W. 

1. 
   crashtestdummy | Aug 05, 2004 03:23am | #14

   My DJ20 has up and down stops on the infeed and outfeed. Adjusting the outfeed table to .001 is simple and easy, plus after it is adjusted into place it will stay there.  Without even using the stops I can set my infeed table to 1/64". I still believe that levers only belong on parallelogram tables.

8. 
   hammer1 | Aug 05, 2004 03:29am | #15

   I owned a Rockwell RJ42 16" with levers. If you weren't careful with the lock, the infeed table could drop full depth in the middle of a cut. This can't happen with wheels. One advantage to a 6" joiner is that you can sharpen the knives on a bench stone. I have not been able to find anyone who can grind a straight edge on joiner or planer knives, at least not as straight and sharp as I can get them. Knives that vary slightly leave the tell tale markings of a machine. I think an edge joiner is a must if you use a table saw. Joiners aren't very complicated so there are good bargains to be had. I would not buy a large joiner unless you projects and skill level dictate one. A wide joiner is great if you surface your own rough lumber but the need to correct bows and twists can be lessoned just by choosing your lumber carefully. Knowing how to safely use and correctly set up the joiner will be most important. I do limited production work. I set my blades in relation to the out feed table. The out feed tables on my joiners have not been moved in years. Only occasionally do I move the infeed table. Most of the time it is set for 1/16". Easier on the machine, the knives, the lumber and the operator. Power and cutter head speed are good. 3 knives are excellent when set right. Look hard at the fence. I would stay away from pressed or bent steel components. Some fences take up a lot of back room so you need more floor space. Fence should be heavy cast iron and secure when set. 8" usually means more power but the extra width isn't much. There are plenty of tricks for dealing with large rough lumber that don't depend on massive equipment. Especially if you are a hobbiest.

9. 
   roydoc | Aug 08, 2004 04:51am | #19

   I bought a Bridgewood 8" jointer a few years ago (Wilke Machinery) and have been extremely happy with it. I chose it over various other brands because  it has a 4 knife cutterhead (most of the others comparably priced have a 3 knife head). The company gives excellent service also. The wheels system is great and accurate. The advantage over a 6" or smaller machine to me is less the width of the stock to be joined, but rather the length of the bed, which tends to be longer on the bigger machines. Thus you can handle boards if you need to that are 6 or 8 feet in lenth easily. Good luck. Roy