Even when HF has a floor/display model that you can look at, it's usually been damaged or put together poorly. I went into a HF store that had only been open for a month, and saw the handle broken off of the rip fence of one of their table saws. I was also looking at one of their bandsaws, and it looks like they didn't bother installing either the upper or lower guide bearings for the blade. So even when you can look at and touch the item, it's almost worse than looking at it online. I've seen similar at other HF stores. Which makes me wonder: are these things getting that badly abused by customers, or is HF just putting out the stuff that's been returned or damaged in shipping?
I've come to the conclusion that it's best for me *not* to buy anything from HF that meets any of the following criteria:
1) It will be used hard or on a daily basis. 2) It needs to be reliable and last for many years. 3) It will be used to make something requring precision.Using this strategy has worked pretty well and I'm satified with the things I have purchased there.
To address the topic, if I was in the market for a 6" jointer again, I wouldn't buy it from HF. When I got my jointer, a Delta 6" X5 (I forget the model number), I got it used through a Craigslist posting. This worked out very well for me. I not only got a good deal on the jointer, but didn't have to spend a lot of time getting it set-up. The original owner had taken good care of the jointer and had spent the time to get it properly set-up. So when I got the thing home, I only had to spend a little bit of time putting the jointer back onto its base/stand and then it was ready to go.