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Jointer Options - ajkoontz - 02-01-2019
I had a question about sharpening jointer knives, that took me back down the rabbit hole of looking for a new jointer and wouldn't you know it Powermatic is having a 10% off sale. So my question today is- is the parallelogram design worth $700 more than the wedge bed design? I'm pretty set on a Powermatic, but if somebody wants to talk me into a Grizzly I'll listen. Whatever I do, I'm 100% sure I'm getting a spiral cutterhead.
I have a PM 54a right now, so I can wait if I need to. I've been looking used for a while now, and not finding a lot of 8" jointers.
RE: Jointer Options - Strokes77 - 02-01-2019
What about a 3rd choice?
Grizzly 8" spiral...
Use the 10% and get the PJ -882-HH. - $2900
Or.. The 12" grizzly helical head jointer that weighs 1200 pounds for only a few hundred more... use a coupon for it too...
Interesting...
RE: Jointer Options - jteneyck - 02-01-2019
To me it's not much of an upgrade to go from 6 to 8". Think about it. Is 2" wider going to make all the difference in what wood you can process w/o having to first rip it? If you have room I would look for a used 12". There often are old ones that show up on C-list for less than $1500. Parallelogram vs. wedge bed is irrelevant as long as the tables are aligned. And a helical head may be nice but not something worth paying a lot more for.
I started with a 10" jointer and now have a 14" one. It's still not too wide. My 2 cents.
John
RE: Jointer Options - SteveS - 02-01-2019
I agree with John. If you are looking to upgrade, skip the 8". Many times I wish I had something at least 10", though preferably 12". It will probably be the tool I upgrade next.
RE: Jointer Options - fredhargis - 02-01-2019
Regarding the parallelogram beds, I just don't see it being worthwhile if it costs much extra. If there's no price difference, then get them...but if it's several hundred dollars, it's too much (IMHO). I have a Jet 8" bought new in 1999. It's never needed adjusting, and I've moved the infeed (maybe) a dozen times in those 20 years. Don't know how a parallelogram would have improved anything.
RE: Jointer Options - ez-duzit - 02-01-2019
(02-01-2019, 01:26 PM)jteneyck Wrote: To me it's not much of an upgrade to go from 6 to 8"...
What you are missing is that the 8" usually has a significantly longer and stouter bed, placing it in a class solidly above the 6".
RE: Jointer Options - jasfrank - 02-01-2019
It takes a lot of room for a big jointer if you are goong to use it to its full potential. Like Ed said, the wider they are the longer and will work nicer for long lengths. If you’re just working with 8’ or shorter lumber an 8” is plenty big.
RE: Jointer Options - ajkoontz - 02-01-2019
I’ve got a 6” longbed PM now, so I’m not gaining anything as far as bed length really. It’s worth it to me to not have to rip to joint though and I’ve ripped dozens? (maybe hundreds?) of 6-8” boards over the years. I’d go bigger if I had room but I’m in a 2 car garage so size and portability are more important to me than say a 12” capacity. Honestly if the 8 and the 12 were the same price I’d still go with the 8. And it’s not that I don’t love old arn, I just don’t have the space.
Follow up, what do you think I could get out of a used, but well taken care of PM 54a?
RE: Jointer Options - jteneyck - 02-01-2019
(02-01-2019, 02:14 PM)ez-duzit Wrote: What you are missing is that the 8" usually has a significantly longer and stouter bed, placing it in a class solidly above the 6".
I didn't miss that, but that would not be enough for me to go to the expense and effort and only get 2" more in width. Besides, you can put extensions on pretty much any jointer, or use temporary stands, if you need to handle long stuff. I often jointed 6 - 8' long stuff on my little Inca J/P with it's 34" total bed length without any real trouble. Don't get me wrong, I like the longer tables on the 14" J/P I have now, but what I like most about it is 4" more width. But I recognize that what others value may be completely different and a lot of cabinet shops have nothing more than an 8" jointer, so there you are.
John
RE: Jointer Options - jteneyck - 02-01-2019
(02-01-2019, 04:51 PM)ajkoontz Wrote: I’ve got a 6” longbed PM now, so I’m not gaining anything as far as bed length really. It’s worth it to me to not have to rip to joint though and I’ve ripped dozens? (maybe hundreds?) of 6-8” boards over the years. I’d go bigger if I had room but I’m in a 2 car garage so size and portability are more important to me than say a 12” capacity. Honestly if the 8 and the 12 were the same price I’d still go with the 8. And it’s not that I don’t love old arn, I just don’t have the space.
Follow up, what do you think I could get out of a used, but well taken care of PM 54a?
Good grief, you are a prime candidate for a J/P combo machine. That's what my 14" MM is, bought used for a lot less than a 8" HH Powermatic parallelogram, or even the wedge bed 8" HH. Two machines in one with a jointer wider than you can justify buying in a stand alone machine, in a much smaller package than two separates.
John