Grizzly is the best bang for your buck

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Phil, have you looked at General International tools? They are based in Canada with a US office in TN and have distributors everywhere like Woodcraft, Marsh Power tools, Performance line tools, etc..

General® International ? JOINTERS

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Having internet problems - I have tried to post this 3 times. arg...

John, I have a shop full of Griz tools so I get the BftB argument! Still, the specs on the PM look really tempting. Hate the price, though.

Mike, are those prices in USD? Makes PM look cheap.

 

Yes, USD.

 

My thoughts on an 8" is that if you watch you can find used ones for some pretty good prices. There was a 12-16" jointer the other day on one of other forums for $1500. I would take an older bigger one before I would buy a newer smaller one...having said that I saw a Delta Rockwell the other day 8" for $150.....couldn't move fast enough.....

 

Something to consider.

Before making a final decision, carefully check the price of replacement carbide inserts, their size, and how readily available they are.

On another board there was a similar thread to this and one poster lamented that while the replacement knife head was cheaper than others, he later found that the replacement carbide inserts were not a standard size, were only available through the manufacturer/importer, and cost more than others.

As with all things, the devil is in the details....

Bryan Rocker: a Delta/Rockwell 8", I would be all over that and even with cost of Dispozable blades, would be a steal! For those not familiar with those blades: http://dispozablade.com/

I installed Disposables on my older JET 8" and have not looked back since. Double sided and easy to change -- last time I changed blades it was 'bout a 15-20 minute task.

 

Thanks for your reply!

Yeah, my CL comment was a little vague. Been looking on CL for a year now. Generally nothing or people very proud of their jointer. Also, it needs to be upgradeable to a shelix head. At this point, I feel a little like this:

As to disposable - they are straight blades and I'm looking to get a helix head. Straight blades have a lot more tearout - it's their nature. Also, those are HSS and the segmented cutters on most helix/spiral heads are carbide so they will last a lot longer. I love that if I nick a knife, I just turn that segment or at worst replace it. I've heard of pro woodworkers that have had spiral heads for years and haven't yet turned them. They are a lot quieter, too. Byrd knives are fairly plentiful and the cost isn't too bad. I got 10 replacements with my planer head. I think 4 come with the 8" byrd. I think in the long run replacing a segmented knife will be cheaper than getting a whole new straight blade set but it's hard to predict the future.

Something to consider.

Before making a final decision, carefully check the price of replacement carbide inserts, their size, and how readily available they are.

On another board there was a similar thread to this and one poster lamented that while the replacement knife head was cheaper than others, he later found that the replacement carbide inserts were not a standard size, were only available through the manufacturer/importer, and cost more than others.

As with all things, the devil is in the details....

Bryan Rocker: a Delta/Rockwell 8", I would be all over that and even with cost of Dispozable blades, would be a steal! For those not familiar with those blades: | Easy, Accurate and Economical planer & jointer knife changes (800)-557-8092

I installed Disposables on my older JET 8" and have not looked back since. Double sided and easy to change -- last time I changed blades it was 'bout a 15-20 minute task.

 

It's an easy call for me - I'm a PM guy. I like the faster speed of the cutterhead and more knives, also. I have the PM 54A 6" and have been looking for an 8" to upgrade in size a bit.

 

Phil,
I was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago. I am big on old US made machines with most of my machinery being either old Delta/Rockwell or Powermatic, but couldn't find a decent 8" jointer to save my life. I ended up buying a PM882 8" jointer. I felt bad about buying my first Asian machine but it actually has been a very good performer. I got the straight knive head. I think that you said that the PM bed length was 73" but mine is 82" and that is what I like about it. That long bed has come in handy many times. Is the bed longer because I got the parallelogram style jointer?
Hank

 

Upon further review......



Sorry Phil, after re-reading your post I see that you are looking at a PM model with dovetail ways. That would account for the 11" difference in length. After spending hours adjusting and shimming dovetail ways on other jointers in order to achieve perfect coplaner bed alignment, I really appreciate the parallelogram jointer for bed adjustment. Before others chime in to blast me let me say that a dovetail jointer doesn't make for a bad jointer in any way, I just found that adjusting a parallelogram jointer much easier.

Good luck with your decision.

Hank

 

I use the HF 6" rabbiting jointer, I got this for a song on Craigslist. I added the simple dust collection port shown and it works very well. My reasoning for getting a 6" versus an 8" is that lumber is less expensive in smaller widths and for most projects you will end up gluing up panels for tops or sides anyways.
"It's good enough for the kind of girls we go with." I certainly understand why you want the 8" with a longer bed. I just don't have the room for this so I get by with the least expense possible.

Regardless of whether I buy or reclaim wood it always gets checked with a metal detector before it goes through my jointer or thickness planer. I started out using a Little Wizard and then got smart and found a full sized treasure hunter style on Craigslist. They are more sensitive and make the job go much faster; you also don't have to bend and stoop as much.

 

Yeah, I have a griz 6" that works fine but it has a short bed like yours. Looking to step up to something that I can face longer boards reliably with ease. 8" isn't necessary but they tend to have the longer beds.

Regardless, a metal detector is always a good idea. I have a cheapo hobby one. Looking to upgrade on that as well as it doesn't detect staples.

 

Have you considered just building a work support or an extension to your out feed table Phil? Just thinking out loud.

 

Phil,
If you want an 8" go for the 8". There is a world of difference between a 6" and 8". No table extension is going to make up that difference unless a 6" meets your needs 99% of the time and you have that one long project board that is 6" or under.

 

No thoughts, just jealous!

 

For what it's worth, I have to make a lot of room for this mutha. Sell my 6" jointer, sell a sheet metal machine and clean up a bunchacrap I've been putting off forever. Oh yeah and buy at least 4 or 5 bouquets of flowers and one very pricey meal at the fanciest restaurant in town. Fortunately, I don't need to insulate my shop first. :grin:

 

Does anyone have an opinion on GeeTech jointers? There is a CT-200 8" 2 HP for 699 but it appears to have a lot of rust. It's hard to tell from the picture but it could just be surface. The bed may be a little shorter than I want but the price is certainly at a good starting point. I think GeeTech makes jointers for a number of manufacturers. Perhaps some Griz but definitely Sun Hill and similar. I've read that some Jet Jointers were made by them as well. I'd want to drop the byrd head in it and think it's possible but will have to more research on that.