planers and jointers

[No]

OK - 6" and 8" jointers. Lots of options. I am leaning toward the Yorkcraft

8" jointer and the Delta 22-580 13" planer. I think this will be a fine setup for what I do.

My question is really one of what is ideal.

The purpose of a jointer is two fold, making the face of a board flat so it can then be planed to proper thickness, secondly, straightening an edge for a tight glue up. A planer can not straighten or flatten a board with out a sled and some finagling.

I see a lot of posts by people that talk about ripping their boards down to something that will fit on their jointer then planning. You rarely hear of someone ripping a board so it fits in their planer.

Why aren't 13" or larger jointers common? I would think that ideally one would have a jointer width that matches their planner width. Lots of big iron, I know. Cost? Room? I know there are a couple of combo machines (Hitachi I think) that do this.

The Yorkcraft page illustrates my point perfectly

They advertise a 6" and 8" jointer and a 15" and 20" planer.

Buying S4S lumber doesn't guarantee you flat and if it is flat when you buy it its quite possible its not when you go to use it.

Shouldn't we all have matching jointer and planer widths? The wider the better?

Ah, here we go!

its only 1750 lbs!

[Doug Miller]

Probably because 13" and larger *boards* are not common.

Disagree. IMO ideally one would have a jointer that matches the width of the widest boards one typically handles, and a planer that matches the width of the widest panels one typically glues up. Since most of us have limited space, and limited budgets, we must compromise; for me, the compromise turns out to be a 6" jointer and a 13" planer.

[Juergen Hannappel]

[...]

In Europe jointer/planer combination machines are common, they have one cutterhead, used from the top for jointing and from below (with a table of adjustable height) for thickness planning. They are very handy in a small workshop.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It would be a good setup, IMO.

Cost, power requirements, space rquirements. I can buy a 6" jointer for about $350 but a DJ30 is about $3800, well out of my range.

I would think that ideally one

Not needed in real life. Have you been to the wood store? How many 12" boards do you see compared to 6" and less? Sure wider is better, but not all that practical.

Correct. That is why w ehave jointers and planers.

Nice, but not in my budget right now. I can glue up three 4" boards and then run them through my 13" planer for a perfect flat piece.

Pro shops and lottery winners are their customer base. I'm going to order the optional helical cutter when I hit the Powerball.

[George]

Hardwoods are normally harvested at about 14-16" size in the US, because they aren't laying down as much wood as they used to, generally have picked up enough damage up top to let in various fungi and such to start hollowing the heart and weakening the tree. They're like old men, full of infirmities.

They are then sawed for grade, which is a different criterion - greater bf of clear stock - than through-and-through, which, due to grading standards, would have more lower-grade boards.

If you have a local sawyer, you can go for width/thicknesses you want, and cut either side of knots. I had a lot of 5/4 maple done to fit quarto and octavo size books, and those knots at the back of the shelf bother no one.

[John McCoy]

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:AC0le.1332$Qd3.1177@trndny01:

Note that to make a wider planer, all one has to do is make the cutterhead wider - not a very complicated or expensive thing to do. To make a jointer wider, you have to make the tables wider too - which makes them heavier, which means you've got to make all the supporting structure heavier and stronger too. Hence the very rapid increase in cost as jointers get bigger.

I will say that having an 8" as compared to a 6" jointer is a very worthwhile thing. I see enough clean boards in the

7-8" range to be annoyed at having to trim an inch or so off them, but it's pretty rare to see a board over 8" that doesn't have some flaw that required ripping it narrower.

John

[fredfighter]

Actually, as trees get older they put down wood at a faster rate, especially once they break through the canopy. According to the NFS the giant Sequoias are among the fastest growing organisms on Earth, the largest can add a ton of wood per year, even though their trunks only increase in diameter (radial growth) by a tiny fraction of an inch per year.

They aren't necessarily putting it down where it'll make good lumber though, the wood in the crown is all reaction wood.

Here are two good articles that illustrate the situation:

course sequoias are softwoods and hardwoods are different from softwoods but ht ebasic idea that they grow in proportion to the energy and CO2 that they absorb, which in turn are both proportionate to foliage, is the same.

(the one below is in Adobe pdf format)

generally have picked

Yes, a lot of large fast growing trees are rotting away at the core faster than they're growing. The result is a big tree with no useful wood.

I'm sure also that timing depends a lot on considerations of making room for the next generation of trees if you want sustainable production.

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

You may also add the Grizzly G0586 to your possibilities. A bit more expensive (shipping...not sure what the Yorkcraft ships for) but it seems to have some very nice features (handwheels!, 4 cutters, etc...) for the price:

'm trying to justify how I can buy this thing given I already have a 6" jointer. I got the Sunhill 6" version about a year or so ago. Been happy with it but an

8" would be better! Cheers, cc

[George]

WOW! Apples really are different than oranges? Who'd have thought.

[No]

Thanks James, for your reply, I ranted a bit in reply to your elec post in alt.home.repair. Probably not as useful as your reply to my post. Thanks again.

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

Ahh no worries. I know the passion can really come out when we get into a discussion regarding politics, beauracracy, etc.....

Seriously though, it looks like this jointer could be a pretty good deal given it's features and Grizzly is pretty well known for their exceptional service. I've got their G0555 bandsaw and 1023SL tablesaw and am happy with both. Cheers, cc