6" vs 8" jointer

It seems to me that a jointer is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. When I look back at tools I have bought before, I often wonder why I didn't buy better quality or bigger equipment from the beginning. Therefore, now that I am looking at buying a jointer, I feel tempted to go for an 8" machine rather than smaller.

On the other hand, I do wonder if it will be more than I would ever use. It seems also that if you make a mistake and hit a nail, those 8" knives will be worth a lot more to replace. With this being a small market tool, resale value of a bigger device would probably not match up as will with purchase price. Certainly you pay lots more for the extra couple of inches. I don't yet have any significant hands-on experience and therefore would definitely be a newbie to that tool.

Any ideas out there? Can you do almost as much on a 6" machine as an 8"?

Dave

Reply to
Dave
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It does not matter what can be done. Read your second sentence. If you buy the 6", you will always wonder if you should have bought the 8". You may not need it for years and all of a sudden, you have a 7" board and you will kick yourself in the ass for not buying the 8". Avoid the grief and get it now.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

dave -- get the 8", or larger. you can't have a jointer that's too big. i'm seriously considering a 20".

if you have the budget, do it and don't look back. you won't regret it.

--- dz

Dave wrote:

Reply to
David Zaret

Get the 8" or bigger I bougtht new 6" Powermatic last year .. the long bed won out over the extra width. Of course now they have 8" long bed now thinking of selling to up grade. Most wood I buy is 6-8 inch wide when I need to face joint I would prefer to face joint them whole width rather than rough ripping then face joint

Reply to
joey

Are you buying it to use, or to sell? The incremental cost of the knives is comparable to that of the 8" jointer over the 6". Get the largest decent machine you can afford. Sorry for the abrupt tone, but it's the wife's birthday and I'm pressed for time.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Schmall

I started with an inexpensive 6" and moved to a Grizzly Go500 after the cheapo tried to maim me. Go with the 8" and reasonable quality. The knives aren't that much more expensive (roughly proportional to the difference in size) nor are sharpening expenses. As you say "a jointer is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase" (well, twice for me) so do it right the first time. mahalo, jo4hn

Reply to
jo4hn

Why ? My jointer was very much cheaper than the cost of the workshop it's sitting in. If I ever find myself with the _space_ for a bigger jointer, then I wouldn't hesitate to replace it.

I also don't have many 6"-7" boards to work on that won't fit a 6" jointer but will fit a 8" jointer. I'm quite happy to keep my 6" jointer around for edge jointing, but if I want something bigger for use as a surface planer, then I'd go straight to 12".

Reply to
Andy Dingley

If you're worried about nicking the knives with a hidden nail, invest in a Lumber Wizard or similar metal detector.

Lee

Reply to
Lee Gordon

What about hidden stones?

Reply to
Juergen Hannappel

| It seems to me that a jointer is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. When I |look back at tools I have bought before, I often wonder why I didn't buy |better quality or bigger equipment from the beginning. Therefore, now that I |am looking at buying a jointer, I feel tempted to go for an 8" machine |rather than smaller.

I'll join the chorus; buy the bigger one.

I got my 6" Woodtek as a retirement gift from my employer. At the time (before Walmart) that was the biggest company in the world and they needed the money for executive bonuses, so my 30 years were only worth $400. Otherwise, if I had my druthers, I would have at least an

8 incher.

| | On the other hand, I do wonder if it will be more than I would ever |use. It seems also that if you make a mistake and hit a nail, those 8" |knives will be worth a lot more to replace. With this being a small market |tool, resale value of a bigger device would probably not match up as will |with purchase price. Certainly you pay lots more for the extra couple of |inches. I don't yet have any significant hands-on experience and therefore |would definitely be a newbie to that tool.

Don't plane wood containing nails and it's a non-issue. | | Any ideas out there? Can you do almost as much on a 6" machine as an 8"?

Yes...but, when the board is 7" wide, almost doesn't count.

Reply to
Wes Stewart

We all would Wes. We all would!

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I take is it depends on what you plan on doing with it. if you only build bird houses, a 6" is plenty, small furniture, again a 6" is probably enough. If you plan on planning long boards over 6" wide, get a 8". Greg

Reply to
Greg O

I see you already have had quite a few replies on this one. To tell the truth I'm not even going to look at them. Not because I think they may be screwed up or not worth looking at but because this is one of those "matter of personal choice things" where almost any answer is viable.

First lets get rid of that hit a nail thing. A jointer is a tool not a precious collectors item. Shit happens and if you have a need for the tool you bear with the occasional ding or two. If you're going to worry about something like that you really don't need the tool and if you have it you might as well put a glass case around it so you can sit and admire it in the quiet of the evenings.

4", 6", 8", 24" jointer, it doesn't matter. What is your requirements. If you are gluing up lots and lots of big panels all the time you want to do it as efficiently as possible and that means making them of the widest board you can run over the jointer, which, in turn, means the biggest jointer you can afford.

If you are doing jewelry boxes all the time or maybe have to glue up a panel once a month why spend the money. The climb in price as you get to bigger jointer is really drastic.

Which jointer is best for you now and in the future. Good question but certainly not one I can answer for you.

Reply to
MikeG

"Dave" wrote in news:go5Rc.33403$J06.11147@pd7tw2no:

In the SF Bay Area, 8" jointers with a pedigree regularly exchange owners for in the range of US$800 to US$1000. Similar quality 6" machines are around US$400, depending on circumstances.

I would personally be pleased to have space in my shop for a good quality

8" machine, at those prices particularly. However, to make one fit, I would need to build another place for storing hardwoods.

Machines of questionable parentage or care history seem much harder to resell, at any price.

Patriarch

Reply to
patriarch

ooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Reply to
jo4hn

Reply to
Phisherman

Only three things to consider. Are you ever going to want to joint a board wider than 6"? If not, no need for the 8". Got the space for it? Got the Geld?

You can joint the occasional board wider than 6" on a six inch jointer. It's a kludge but satisfactory results can be had. It's not almost like having and 8" er but satisfactory results can be had.

If your short on the space or the Geld and only occasionally want to joint a wider board, go for the 6".

Otherwise, every one of us with a 6" jointer and enough space and enough Geld plans on springing for a bigger jointer some day and more or less wishes they'd bit the bullet and done it up front.

bob g.

Edw>>8 incher.

Reply to
Robert Galloway

Personally, I wouldn't trade down :)

Reply to
Wyatt Wright

I started with a 6" and now have an 8" and I am really glad to have it. It has a longer bed, so it is easier to joint a longer board (even if it is less than 6" wide). Many times I have needed the extra width. In fact, I am looking for a used 16" jointer as a companion to the 8".

If you have the space and extra money for the 8", I would go for it. You won't be sorry.

Reply to
Preston Andreas

Well, at least here in America, the likelihood of finding a stone in a board seems to be pretty low. I have never had that happen, actually...although I have found bullets, nails, barbed wire and the occasional horseshoe (all metal). THe bullets are not a problem, of course, as lead is pretty soft. However the nails and other chunks of harder metal are a bitter pill if not caught BEFORE running through the thickness planer/ Jointer. Regards Dave Mundt

Reply to
Dave Mundt

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