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jointer advice

T

turner23

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This isn't really a turning-related question, but I'm interested in buying a jointer. I like the quality of Jet, I like the granite fence of Steel City, but I like the price of Grizzly. Does anyone own grizzly equipment? Any recommendations? The only think stopping me from buying the jet 6" is that Jet's prices have sky-rocketed, and the closed-stand Jet 6" jointer is not worth nearly the $700 price tag. Steel City is a bit cheaper, but even $600 seems high for what it is. Grizzly would be around $400 (Shipping included), but I'm skeptical about their quality.

I remember not more than 18 months ago the closed-stand Jet 6" jointer was selling at Rockler for $400. Unfortunately, I had no need for a jointer back then. Now I'm kicking myself.

Any help is appreciated.
 
You could get lucky with a Grizzly. Or you could have a wobbling, rattling stand made with two gauges thinner steel than the JET or Steel City, a table that chips out around the cutterhead and a motor so cheap It was almost weightless. We did.

I've a JET, bought my kid a Steel City.
 
I have no idea how my 20yr old Jet 6" Jointer stacks up to the current offerings, but mine was purchased new in the late 1980's. It has never given me any problems that I've felt were unreasonable for the kind of service it's seen. I've always been very satisfied with my JET purchases.......

I do have one quick question.....

Why is it so important to have a fully enclosed base?

The base on mine isn't totally enclosed, but I do shoot some air into there once in awhile to clean it out.....that never seems to have been a problem for me, so maybe there is something else I'm not considering. I am ready to become enlightened.....😀😀😀😀

otis of cologne
 

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I have the 8" Griz. jointer, bought on sale a couple or three years ago for a little over $600 IIRC. Maybe it was five- something. Use it mostly for cleaning up stock to resaw for segmenting stock. It does not get a lot of use, and seems to be an OK tool so far, especially for the bargain price at the time. I think it was a close-out on that straight blade model, as the spiral, segmented blade types were coming in, and the test reports I read on them did not seem all that favorable for $200 more. Probably the new ones are a lot better.
 
base

The big reason for a enclosed base is for a dust collection system. I do not have it hooked up but when we joint boards we get a lot of shavings I suppose that I will be emptying the collector a lot. George
 
george morris said:
The big reason for a enclosed base is for a dust collection system. I do not have it hooked up but when we joint boards we get a lot of shavings I suppose that I will be emptying the collector a lot. George
Click to expand...

Ohhhhh, ok george.....

Thanks for letting me know.

otis of cologne
 
OD, if you get dust from a jointer, it's because you have a drastically dull set of knives. Make that dangerously dull. Jointers make shavings that fall into a chute. What that chute empties into, whether a box or a tube connected to a collector, is up to you.

When jointing full-width boards it's sometimes a problem, especially with sharp blades, to get a 6" shaving to fall through a 4" opening. Your DC, unless it's the Lewinski model, won't help. Your vacuum cleaner with hose pushed up underneath a stopped set of knives, will. Same holds true of wide boards and fresh knives on my planer, but there I use a duct that draws from one end, not the middle, so the problem is less overall.
 
MichaelMouse said:
OD, if you get dust from a jointer, it's because you have a drastically dull set of knives. Make that dangerously dull. Jointers make shavings that fall into a chute. What that chute empties into, whether a box or a tube connected to a collector, is up to you.

When jointing full-width boards it's sometimes a problem, especially with sharp blades, to get a 6" shaving to fall through a 4" opening. Your DC, unless it's the Lewinski model, won't help. Your vacuum cleaner with hose pushed up underneath a stopped set of knives, will. Same holds true of wide boards and fresh knives on my planer, but there I use a duct that draws from one end, not the middle, so the problem is less overall.
Click to expand...

Hi MM......

(I suppose "OD" refers to me......?)

For the record, I don't have a dust collection system for any of my machines. I use the old fashioned method of broom and dustpan! (Sometimes that works out to be......snowshovel and garbage can. Ha!) 😀

otis of cologne
 
Jointer

I have an 8" Grizzly jointer with the spiral head cutter. I bought it 2 years ago. It set up easy. It works very well. I get a nice smooth surface that requires minimal sanding to look good. Great machine.
 
I know this may not be the most popular option, but I've had the Ridgid 6" jointer for about 3 years, and it works great for me. It came set up just about perfect, and it gives me smooth, flat, and square surfaces. Also, with a lifetime warranty, I think it's hard to beat. Dust collection isn't great, but I'm also using a small 1HP DC, and the jointer isn't first in line.

Matt
 
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I also have a 6" Ridgid. I told one of our woodturning members not to buy a Ridgid. I told him that I would do some looking around and see if I could find somthing "better". The bottom line is the Ridgid proved to be the best "bang for the buck". I advised him to buy it and I also bought one. I took a lot of time in the setup process to check for flatness and alignment. I didn't have to adjust a thing. It cut great "right out of the box" just as the comparison said it would.

BB
 
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