Basic question about jointers

Hello, I'm looking to buy a jointer and, having never used one, I'm not sure what size to buy. I make a lot of shelves and so I'd like to be able to flatten 12" boards. I have read two conflicting sources, one of which said you can remove the blade guard (or whatever you call the spring-loaded piece that pushes the stock against the fence) and work with boards up to nearly twice as large as the blade length. Other sources (several) state that the jointer will only handle stock that is as wide as its knives are long.

It would be nice to get an 8-inch model if it will do what I need, but if not, I'll wait until I can afford a 12-inch. Any guidance will be appreciated.

Reply to
skipsizemore
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I'm just a hobbiest, but 12" models are extremely expensive, and I'm sure very rare, except in production shops. I'd imagine that you'd be spending several thousand dollars at a minimum for such a machine, and to make shelves??!

Seems to me that you might want to consider doing what most of the rest of us do, buy a 6" model, joint 2, 6 inch boards and glue them back together as one, flat 12" board. You could even send the whole thing through a 12" planer at that point, and you'd have a very nice 12" board. Heck, you could buy an excellent 6" jointer and a 13" planer for a lot less than what you'd spend for a 12" jointer.

Reply to
Doug

A 12 incher? You are seriously considering one? I'm impressed! I know

18 man cabinet shops that don't have one of those and get by just fine. Just how MANY solid wood shelves are you turning out per annum, if I may ask?

David

skipsizemore wrote:

Reply to
David

A jointer is typically used to flatten the edges of boards. If you're flattening the faces of boards on a regular basis, then it's a planer that you'd want. You can flatten boards on a jointer, but for the price of one that could handle 12" boards, you could buy both a planer and a jointer that would likely handle all your needs. For squaring the faces and edges of stock, a planer and a jointer are often purchased as a pair.

Reply to
Upscale

Oh dear, yet again...

A planer will thickness a board, but it will not produce a flat working face to start from....that's the jointer's job first (or a hand plane or other technique).

To OP, if you start looking seriously, you'll find a 12" jointer will be expensive and probably too large and heavy for your shop plus almost all will be for 3 phase power.

If you have the room and budget, I'd recommend 8", but 6" will do adequate work. Look for longest bed you can get as one feature--the longer the bed the easier to handle longer work which w/ bookshelves will be a possible issue.

Reply to
Duane Bozarth

I agree with doug. I don't see any need for a 12 inch jointer. I don't know about you lumber supplier, but mine carries much more 6 inch wide lumber than 12. So I can be much chooser and pick thru the

6 inch stuff for favorable grain patterns, less defects, fewer knots, etc.... than the 12. Plus the power requiremnts for a 12 must be incredible. I may be wrong, but we should be talking 220V at a minimal and probably three phase power. Takes a lot of HP to true up one face before running it thru a planer. I bet the joiner would weigh a ton, too. Plus after you look at the price of a 12 inch joiner one could buy a 6 inch joiner, a 12-13 inch planer, a decent biscuit jointer, and some Besseys or Jorgys to clamp them together ( and depending on the brand of 12 inch joiner, mayber a 16 or 18 belt sander to smooth out the joined boards). Joey
Reply to
Joseph Smith

Reply to
Joseph Smith

Check back with us after you've checked the prices of eight and twelve inch jointer. Better yet, after you have looked at what a 12" plank will cost you

Reply to
Mike G

Don't forget to budget for floor re-enforcements.

PK

Reply to
Paul Kierstead

And the faces.

No, it absolutely is not. A planer makes opposite surfaces of a board parallel. It does not make boards flat. For that, you need a jointer.

Yep. That's what jointers are for.

Quite.

And used as a pair, too -- by flattening one *face* of a board on the jointer, then using the planer to make the opposite face parallel to it.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Of course you are right, but if you start with decent lumber a planer will produce wood flat enough for shelves. (In all likelihood; he didn't tell us anything about his shelves.)

Reply to
toller

I agree with most of the replies that an 8" jointer would do just fine in most shops. But if you insist on 12" look here:

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I think its pretty reasonable if a 12" jointer is what you really want. It even comes with a free pair of push blocks.

IMHO even if I was dealing with stock that wide for a shelf I would rip it just for strength and to help relieve any stress.

Reply to
joeD

Contrary to everyone else's opinion, i say go for it. Sure, they cost much more, but also will handle wider stock. Personally, I've been going to auctions and keeping an eye on classifieds for a larger jointer for months now, >8". Eventually it'll happen. When i bought mine, all i could afford was a 6" and, although it's a good machine, it didn't take long to realise that a 12" would be more suited to my needs. My local lumber mill usually has wide boards (heck, i have some left over oak >20" wide) in stock. Although most shops cannot handle real wide stock without ripping it down, IMO, ideally, the width of your jointer should match the width of your planer. Sure'd be nice to be able to face a 12" wide board. --dave

Reply to
Dave Jackson

Actually, I have to say, I looked at a couple and they were not much heavier then the 8" models. I had assumed they were extremely heavy, going on the 8" models (which I have looked at quite a bit). Even a General weighs in at only 1000 lbs or so.

In any case, one can only conclude one of the following:

- the OP was trolling. I am surprised he didn't say he wanted to make them of walnut or something.

- the OP isn't really familiar with the tools, prices and sizes

- the OP has waaay more money then necessary (good for the economy!)

PK

Reply to
Paul Kierstead

Plywood.

It's always flat.

And you can buy a lot of it for what you'll spend on this.

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Reply to
Joe C.

Hi- I agree with Dave. If you can find an old 16 inch jointer go for it. My son buys rough sawn lumber from mills and his 16 " is about right. Wider jointer will allow you to run the stock thru on an angle to get a shearing cut. Trying to face joint a 6 inch oak board on a six inch jointer is not a pleasant experience. It will tell you you are taxing it. A 240V. three phase motor can be handled by a rotary phase converter, no big deal. Keep your sights high. Jim.

Reply to
Jim L.

Flatten 12" boards with a planer. Create a straight edge with a jointer. I have a DJ-20 which has 8" blades and a nice long feed table, great for doors.

Reply to
Phisherman

One has to ask: If you are of the opinion that a jointer only need be used to create straight edges, and a planer for faces, then why do you have an 8" jointer?

PK

Reply to
Paul Kierstead

How else would you put an edge on 32/4 stock :)

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Use the proper tool for what you want to do. Using a jointer in attempt to flatten a board will give you a board with an uneven thickness. A jointer is no substitute for a planer. As for the DJ-20, I bought it mainly for the bed size and the mechanism of adjusting the bed rather than the size of the knives. I can also cut a rabbet with the DJ-20, but there are better tools to cut rabbets.

Reply to
Phisherman

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