I am looking for a 6" jointer and have been looking at Delta, Jet, Grizzly, and Shop Fox.
Any suggestions? I keep seeing reviews complaining about the tables and fences not being flat and square. I am also wondering about the difference between the hand wheel adjustment versus the lever adjustment for the table height.
Price limit is $500.
JET here, local purchase, so I could take it back. Tougher with turnaround from the mail-order places. Wheels are ok with me.
We had a Grizz at school, cast iron cracks, flimsy base, tapered blade cylinder, all kinds of grief. The 60-year old Delta is back to primary.
I have a Grizzly. True right out of the box. Except for adjusting the usual adjustments, I haven't done anything to it yet except use it. Of course, I'm not as picky as some people here. As best I can tell, it's flat and true.
I have the lever model, I don't have any problems with it so if the handwheels are extre $$$ I wouldn't bother.
I just wish I had gotten the 8" one :-P
I have the grizzly 6" and it's worth the money spent on it. That being said, you get what you pay for and I wish I had waited a little longer and put more money together and bought a higher quality machine since I find myself using it more and more. It has a cabinet base which is a tad flimsy as the previous post stated. I haven't purchased a mobile base for it yet and moving it into position to use and back again has bent the base. There's allot of vibration with the stock belt. Again, I haven't purchased a link belt to see if that reduces the vibration, which I plan to do. My model has hand screws which just seem to me would be easier to adjust cutting depth but I have no experience with lever adjustment. My biggest gripe is the fence tilts towards the table instead of away from it for angle jointing, obscuring the work piece. The table lock lever is plastic which I expect to break any day now.
Check out Sunhill.
When you get your jointer, get Taunton's video on tuning up a jointer. It's worth the money.
Dick Durbin
Ditto ... could afford the DJ-20, just couldn't afford a bigger shop to put it in, so I settled for the 54A. If you have to settle for a 6" jointer, that is a good one to have. I use TopCote on it, works fine.
Bought the Powermatic 54A. Great out of the box and love those extra long wings. The price was $749. Free shipping and no tax from AMAZON. Funny thing though, they (Powermatic) recommend Talc power instead of wax for the beds. Seems to work good.
Just to stir the pot, in case you're one of those .5 micron filter types:
TALC: - Carcinogen. Used by some 20 million women in their reproductive years; not to mention, it's wide use on infants in the form of "baby powder". According to Dr. Epstein, M.D., "Talc should never be used on babies both because of its carcinogenicity and acute respiratory distress from inhalation that often results in death. There are at least 3 clear cut studies which have been published in the scientific literature that show routine application of talc in the genital area is associated with up to a 3 to 4 fold increase in the development of ovarian cancer."
but check if the starch doesnt draw and keep moisture, doing on the cast iron more bad than good.
Dick Durbin responds:
Just for kicks, I looked at my Gold Bond foot powder. It's 78% talc (!), active ingredient is menthol. I accidentally grabbed some after a shower one day (before cataract surgery), and I guaran-damn-tee you it won't happen again. Stuff probably isn't aimed at doing anything other than making you sting, but that it does very, very well when used as a hot weather body powder. Stick with the GREEN bottle!
Charlie Self
"Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things." Sir Winston Churchill
I own the Sunhill 6" jointer. Got great reviews by the magazines. I had already ordered a Grizzly when I changed my mind. The Sunhill is actually made by GeeTech which after some browsing on the web led me to the fact that GeeTech also produces Jet's 6" jointer. Huh, well, that's why it looks just like a Jet.
Anyway, I really like using it, setup was pretty straightforward and the beds are true and my cuts are nice and flat. For the price it definitely can't be beat. Oh, and it took a day and a half to get here and they put it in my garage for me. Sweet!
Mike
"Dick Durbin crafted:"
Check out Sunhill.
When you get your jointer, get Taunton's video on tuning up a jointer. It's worth the money.
Dick Durbin
Charlie:
Try being in the shower, washing per normal, having a rash characteristic of summer/being male/swetting A LOT, soap in eyes, reaching for analgesic cream upon drying off (eyes still burning) - only to find out you just used 'ICY HOT' ! S H I T !
Warmly, Griz
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...that fancy Gold Bond powder stuff. "> " "Just for kicks, I looked at my Gold Bond foot powder. It's 78% talc (!), active "ingredient is menthol. I accidentally grabbed some after a shower one day "(before cataract surgery), and I guaran-damn-tee you it won't happen again. "Stuff probably isn't aimed at doing anything other than making you sting, but "that it does very, very well when used as a hot weather body powder. Stick with "the GREEN bottle! " "Charlie Self " ""Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same "function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of "things." Sir Winston Churchill " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "
Griz responds:
And you still have to find a name for that new dance. :)
Charlie Self
"Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things." Sir Winston Churchill
That's one way to remove a curve! No jointer? There's always hand planes, although the vise would be extra painful!
Barry
Andrew,
Believe it or not, the Ridgid 6" jointer available from Home Depot receives excellent reviews. It costs $399, I believe. Fine Woodworking's Tools & Shops Annual issue last Winter (2002) reviewed about a dozen or so 6" jointers and put the Ridgid and the Powermatic up at the top of the list.
FWIW.
Brian.
Why would you put starch on your cast iron? If you don't want to use talc isn't it better to put something onthe iron that will PREVENT rust rather than encouraage it?
I picked up one about a year ago for $379. I'm pleased as punch with it.
However, I think it's now discontinued.
Barry
While you're looking at that FWW article, note also that the Yorkraft 6" is the same machine as the Delta. The Yorkcrafts now sell for $299, and the people I talked to at Wilke while I was buying mine indicate that fit and finish have improved since the article, as their ordering power has gone way up.
I've been very happy with mine - the $200 difference in price from the Delta (at minimum) certainly covers shipping costs. (I was lucky, I only had to drive 45 minutes to get mine).
Saw it at my local Home Depot recently. Model number is JP0610 and it still appears on their website:
Brian.
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