Woodworkers, Dust collection experience needed *Update*Found a used jointer* Any favorite woodworking forums?

[Pliablemoose]

I'm looking @ the following jointers:

Grizzly G0500 8" x 75" Jointer with 4 Blade Cutterhead $795 (no rebate, but it's an 8" jointer, the others are 6"

JET 708457K / JJ-6CSX 6" Woodworking Jointer $422 after rebate

tPowermatic 1791279K Model 54A 6" Jointer with Stand $649 after rebate

Plus they're all $25 less with a current Amazon promotion with free shipping.

I'm conflicted, & leaning towards the 8" Grizzly (not like I'd be able to sell a 6" easily on eBay if I want a bigger one

Update

Scrounged a lightly used Jet 6" for $300 locally, only thing left is to purchase/rig the dust collection system.

So far I have a 14" bandsaw, table saw, 13" planer, router table and the Jet jointer to hook up the a dust collection system, looks like I'll use 4"-6" tubing & run a U shaped collection tubing along the top of my garage with blast gates rigged to the collection points.

 

[jcwagers]

Well, I'm not exactly a woodworker but I'll take a shot at this anyways. Are you a hardcore woodworker or just a casual woodworker? If you're hardcore and think you'll use it a lot, any of those 3 should be great. If you're just a casual woodworker, you could probably find a craftsman model for cheaper that might fit your budget better and still do what you need. My Dad has a craftsman jointer and it's a very small one (probably 2-3 ft long) and it's fairly powerful and seems to do a nice job. I'll try to throw in some links to 2 or 3 of the models that Sears carry. They're in the $230-400 range so they should be similar to what you're looking at except most of them have a much smaller table.

Craftsman 6-1/8 in. jointer

Delta 6-1/8 in. jointer

Craftsman Pro 6-1/8 in. jointer

That last one is priced close to the cheapest one you had mentioned. I would think that unless you're going to do tons of work with a jointer that pretty much any of these would do a good job for you. Just my .02. Good luck with your purchase and let us know what you decide on.

jc

 

[ScottMac]

Personally, I'd go with the 6," probably the Jet. Jet is available through retail (like WoodCraft and Rockler) and the chances of getting parts & expendables might be a little better.

I can't remember ever using my 6" Delta for anything over 4" wide.

Take the money you save and put it into a surface planer (for the wide stuff) or the big surface sanders (the kind with a large horizontal drum over a table for taking down large flat surfaces).

OR maybe some additional dust collection equipment.

The 8" might need 240V power or, at the least, a 30 amp circuit.

.02

Scott

 

[jemcam]

I have this Grizzly jointer and I've been very satisfied with it. The rest of my equipment, 14" bandsaw, tablesaw, drill press, planer, thickness sander, mortiser, stationary sanders, etc. are all Jet or Delta and I have to say the Grizzly is on par with Jet. IMHO, Delta is of the least quality of my equipment but still satisfactory. It leads me believe that Delta is way overpriced for what you get, especially when compared to Grizzly. With jet, all the cast iron tables were nicely finished, requiring only for the anti-rust goop to be removed, leaving a nice, shiny, very smooth table, and the same applies to Grizzly. My Delta and Craftsman tools required a pretty significant amount of sanding to get the tables nice and smooth. They still had machining marks on the surface, as well as fit and finish problems that were not on the nicer tools, leading me to believe that with everything else being equal, I'll take a Jet over a Delta any day.

Edit: BTW, although all my mechanical hand tools are Craftsman, their woodworking tools are a POS. I had one of the $200 Craftsman jointers and it was f'ing worthless. I could only get $50 out of it less than a year later and it was like new. It's mostly made of aluminum, not cast iron.

 

[43st]

Powermatic all the way. But I'd buy a used one and get a bigger, more powerful, model.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: Thera
Powermatic all the way. But I'd buy a used one and get a bigger, more powerful, model.

Agree 100% with you there, but Powermatic is really expensive. I can't afford that stuff, at least without having to wait a year or more between purchases.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I've been looking on the used market, & not having much luck, used stuff seems to be either junk or >20 years old.

Do you-all have any favorite forums for advice or used stuff?

 

[h8red]

for the $$, I would get the 8" grizzly. I've never heard someone say, "man I wish I had a 6" jointer" if they have an 8" but I have heard people say that they wish they would have gotten an 8" when after they bought their 6". All it takes is one board that is 6 1/2" wide before you start swearing

Go here to learn a little more:
Woodnet Forums

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: h8red
for the $$, I would get the 8" grizzly. I've never heard someone say, "man I wish I had a 6" jointer" if they have an 8" but I have heard people say that they wish they would have gotten an 8" when after they bought their 6". All it takes is one board that is 6 1/2" wide before you start swearing

Go here to learn a little more:
Woodnet Forums

That's what a guy was saying in a class I took last weekend, he had a 6" & wanted an 8" (seems to be a common complaint of less well endowed woodworkers )

Thanks for the link, there's a 13 page thread of people swapping 6" & 8" jointers. Funny as hell, too

 

[Armitage]

I've got a 6" Bridgewood that's done very well for me. I also have a Bridgewood lathe. I'm very happy with the quality of the cast iron ... very flat & smooth, well aligned, etc. On a jointer, flat, parallel tables are essential. If they aren't you might as well send it back.

WRT size ... 6" is fine for everything I've ever done. I've never had a nead for an 8", but I guess it depends what you plan to do with it. I'd personally be more interested in the lengths of the infeed & outfeed tables. There bigger is definitely better.

 

[Armitage]

Also, there are some decent usenet newsgroups ... I'm thinking alt.rec.woodworking

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: ergeorge
I've got a 6" Bridgewood that's done very well for me. I also have a Bridgewood lathe. I'm very happy with the quality of the cast iron ... very flat & smooth, well aligned, etc. On a jointer, flat, parallel tables are essential. If they aren't you might as well send it back.

WRT size ... 6" is fine for everything I've ever done. I've never had a nead for an 8", but I guess it depends what you plan to do with it. I'd personally be more interested in the lengths of the infeed & outfeed tables. There bigger is definitely better.

Really good prices, if it wasn't for shipping, I'd be buying their stuff too.

 

[h8red]

I was heavily considering that Grizz model when I was looking for a jointer but ended up getting a Delta DJ-20 8" jointer

 

[alkemyst]

I don't know, I have built a ton of stuff without many of the tools you talk about.

You seem like the guy that takes all the classes, has all the tools, but still buys his furniture....

What have you built? If you aren't building you don't need anything.

If you are only building 1-2 pieces you definitely don't need to buy power tools.

Å

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
I don't know, I have built a ton of stuff without many of the tools you talk about.

You seem like the guy that takes all the classes, has all the tools, but still buys his furniture....

What have you built? If you aren't building you don't need anything.

If you are only building 1-2 pieces you definitely don't need to buy power tools.

Å

I'm trying to develop a hobby I can continue during retirement...

Have done consrtuction carpentry for a living in the past, furniture/cabinetry has always fascinated me, and am getting a shop set up to do this type of work.

I took Vocational Agriculture for 4 years in HS, have had little opportunity to weld together feeders, hammer out an ax from a leaf spring with a forge, or use my superior cattle judging skills since graduating

Have bought some furniture for our home, but it's always been low end particle board stuff with the idea of making my own in the future, just put up a bunch of baseboard last month. I also tiled 2 rooms last year with a custom carpet insert, only thing I didn't do was lay the carpet, have 6 rooms of tile to go. Installed a built in oven last week (bought the stove, didn't build it). Also have a whirlpool tub in the garage to install didn't build it either, bought it...

Will be putting together a tornado shelter/Japanese style storage building this summer, need to find out how much the backhoe will cost to rent...

I guess I'm just a woodworking poser, excuse me while I slit my wrists with a chisel

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

I'm trying to develop a hobby I can continue during retirement...

Have done consrtuction carpentry for a living in the past, furniture/cabinetry has always fascinated me, and am getting a shop set up to do this type of work.

I took Vocational Agriculture for 4 years in HS, have had little opportunity to weld together feeders, hammer out an ax from a leaf spring with a forge, or use my superior cattle judging skills since graduating

Have bought some furniture for our home, but it's always been low end particle board stuff with the idea of making my own in the future, just put up a bunch of baseboard last month. I also tiled 2 rooms last year with a custom carpet insert, only thing I didn't do was lay the carpet, have 6 rooms of tile to go. Installed a built in oven last week (bought the stove, didn't build it). Also have a whirlpool tub in the garage to install didn't build it either, bought it...

Will be putting together a tornado shelter/Japanese style storage building this summer, need to find out how much the backhoe will cost to rent...

I guess I'm just a woodworking poser, excuse me while I slit my wrists with a chisel

That post made no sense in response to my own.

It's clear you don't understand the difference between needing power tools and simply buying them. I have no idea what welding, forging, tile have to do with this...but if you have the space and money and like to collect tool sure thing.

What the hell is a Japanese-style storage building?

Å

 

[KK]

Who doesn't like to collect power tools. I got tools I bought that have never been opened. But you never know if I'll need it for the future. I guess the boy scouts taught me to be prepared, or was it the cub scouts that taught me that.

Anyways, Who cares if he doesn't know the difference between needing and wanting, go piss on someone elses parade.

KK

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

I'm trying to develop a hobby I can continue during retirement...

Have done consrtuction carpentry for a living in the past, furniture/cabinetry has always fascinated me, and am getting a shop set up to do this type of work.

I took Vocational Agriculture for 4 years in HS, have had little opportunity to weld together feeders, hammer out an ax from a leaf spring with a forge, or use my superior cattle judging skills since graduating

Have bought some furniture for our home, but it's always been low end particle board stuff with the idea of making my own in the future, just put up a bunch of baseboard last month. I also tiled 2 rooms last year with a custom carpet insert, only thing I didn't do was lay the carpet, have 6 rooms of tile to go. Installed a built in oven last week (bought the stove, didn't build it). Also have a whirlpool tub in the garage to install didn't build it either, bought it...

Will be putting together a tornado shelter/Japanese style storage building this summer, need to find out how much the backhoe will cost to rent...

I guess I'm just a woodworking poser, excuse me while I slit my wrists with a chisel

That post made no sense in response to my own.

It's clear you don't understand the difference between needing power tools and simply buying them. I have no idea what welding, forging, tile have to do with this...but if you have the space and money and like to collect tool sure thing.

What the hell is a Japanese-style storage building?

Å

Do you have any hobbies?

Of course I know the difference between need & want. I want to build furniture, I don't need to, I know it raises the per piece cost of the items I build, but I enjoy working with my hands, and enjoy being able to say "I built that"

I suspect I'll be building @ least 3 households worth of furniture over the years, I have 2 daughters.

Re: the storage building, I want a storage building for my yard tools, I don't want a crappy tin shed in my back yard, plan to build it out of lumber & keep an asian garden theme in my yard if that's ok with you...

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Do you have any hobbies?

Of course I know the difference between need & want. I want to build furniture, I don't need to, I know it raises the per piece cost of the items I build, but I enjoy working with my hands, and enjoy being able to say "I built that"

I suspect I'll be building @ least 3 households worth of furniture over the years, I have 2 daughters.

Re: the storage building, I want a storage building for my yard tools, I don't want a crappy tin shed in my back yard, plan to build it out of lumber & keep an asian garden theme in my yard if that's ok with you...

Yes I do...I work my cars, home theatre, PC...I have also built my computer desk, tv console and I am currently working on a nook for my kitchen as well as a coffee table. You misunderstood my statement before, regardless of building furniture...do you need the tool or just want it? That is the question...I have yet to need a joiner/planer...they would have made certain projects easier as do all tools, but cost of the tool, storage of the tool, and maintenance of the tool are my considerations with storage and maintenance being the problems....it sucks to use a tool 2 or 3 times in a lifetime....and have to keep it oiled, dry, and keep moving it out of the way.

I wouldn't bank on building other's furniture....if you can and they want it more power to you, however, it's usually more of an idea than gets done....esp with father's of daughters, many guys don't want 'dad built stuff' around their homes.....you can have fun when they are young though.

I don't know I use my tools a lot and storage is a problem as it is....assuming a decent sized two car garage or even a three car, not even considering ever getting a car in there. Once you add say a radial arm and table saw plus a decent work bench....you need to start thinking what other table power tools you want....drill press is a handy one, a router table is nice, sander, band saw, then lastly the joiner and planers and even then I am sure I could find other tools I'd use more often.....plus you usually need a vacuum or vacuum system at that point and a shop vac takes up a nice sized foot print as well. That's just the woodworking side.

You start talking auto/mechanical stuff and jack and stands, air compressor, and the like.....then you have ladders and scaffolding stuff, paint supplies...etc.

Then a place to put all the hardware and materials....you run out of working room fast plus the cost of the tools become a real drain to the projects even in a high personal volume. If you can turn it into a business that is better, but even then most pro shops don't have all the power tools.

I also am learning Japanese as a hobby/need (my wife is japanese and we may end up moving there as I can probably make at least my salary there and she can make much more than here)....and I also collect figures, install car audio/parts for friends and family,....I have tons of hobbys, which is probably why I can comment on most things on ATOT.

Å

 

[Pliablemoose]

Bump for update

Update

Scrounged a lightly used Jet 6" for $300 locally, only thing left is to purchase/rig the dust collection system.

Got a local guy to end his auction & take $50 over the current highest bid

Also found a guy that wants help loading/delivering a bunch of hardwood on Woodnet & he's going to pay me back in wood (no not that kind of wood (I hope))

I'm still a poser, but one that's gonna have a well equipped shop

Now for a dust control scheme....

Open to suggestions, Dust control anyone?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Now for a dust control scheme....

Open to suggestions, Dust control anyone?

What dust is being raised in your shop? Let me guess your psycho ex from the UK.

My suggestion is to actually build stuff. Having and Doing are polar opposites. I have been to homes with airstrips and no plane/jet, woodshops with $50k+ in tools and nothing built but a bookcase, homes with a lift installed yet they get their oil changed in town.

Dust control can be a shop vac hooked up to a saw. You need to explain your need more.

Å

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Now for a dust control scheme....

Open to suggestions, Dust control anyone?

What dust is being raised in your shop? Let me guess your psycho ex from the UK.

My suggestion is to actually build stuff. Having and Doing are polar opposites. I have been to homes with airstrips and no plane/jet, woodshops with $50k+ in tools and nothing built but a bookcase, homes with a lift installed yet they get their oil changed in town.

Dust control can be a shop vac hooked up to a saw. You need to explain your need more.

Å

Please stop posting...

Thanks for reminding me of ex, been meaning to post this: warrant

 

[Squisher]

Any favorite woodworking forums?

USENET

rec.woodworking

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Any favorite woodworking forums?

USENET

rec.woodworking

Yep. added them last night, lots of expertise in there

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Please stop posting...

Thanks for reminding me of ex, been meaning to post this: warrant

Not to say it matters, however no DOB? no address? no description?

You go on and on about some girl that needed to leave the whole country and her children because of you, some how I think she is the right one here.

So with all these tools you buy, are you taking care of your kids too? If so why do you need to pester her?

Things that make you go 'hmmmm'

Å