HF 7" Industrial Rabetting Jointer with Stand

[RmeDad]

$176 with the HF 20% coupon! Anyone have experience with this unit? Is this a BUY? $299.99 retail!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=31849

[maxparot]

That's the one I have works well for me.

[JR]

I've got one. It took me a while to dial it in, but it seems to work fine now. It doesn't have a proper dust collection port, just a chute that puts the chips on the floor. Also the fence cab be a bit ungainly. But it's all cast iron and solid as a rock. Bring a friend when you pick it up!

JR

[guhor]

I have one and believe it is well worth the price. However, the three bolts that hold the fence in place were 3/4 inches too short and it would take 3 months to get replacements. Went to a machine shop and had the sholders moved back 3/4 inches (no need to re thread them).

Dust chute: Cut a piece of 1/2 inch plywood and added a row of thin foam around the inside outer edges and attached with a bolt with wing nuts on top and bottom for easy removal, then cut a 4 inch whole and attached a 4 inch HVAC pipe flange for attaching the DC.

Fence: Attached a 1.5 inch piece of angle iron to top of fence with 4 bolts and added a 9 inch board for height and to attach finger boards.

Be careful that you do not have to pay the "lift-gate" fee because the total weight is over 200 pounds. The packaging was pretty impressive.

Tom J.

[joekj]

A 20% coupon that works with catalog items?

last I checked the retail stores only stock the 6" jointer. Joe

[Lance]

Blade changes on this jointer?

Good info, JR & guhor! I am picking one of these up tomorrow from a used tool shop (for $100! ). I have ordered an extra set knives for it because the ones on it are a bit banged up. Any suggestions for setting up the cutter head?

Thanks!
-Lance

[wassaw998]

I've only seen the 6" ones in the stores by me (the green one). The major concern I've always had when looking it over is the design of the fence, which only has 1 pt of contact on the far right of the jointer. Seems it would have a tendency to move on you - do the people who have these HF jointers (the 6" , 7", and 8" all have the same design) exp any issues with the fence moving ?

[Jes Pidlin]

I've got the 6" model (~3 yrs), no issues with the fence. It's got stops for 45 and 90 degrees, but I still check just in case.

Yep, it's heavy. Loaded it into a frends car when I bought it, had to unpack it and load it piece by piece into my car for the trip home.

IMHO - great jointer for the home workshop, expecially considering the price.

[JR]

Any suggestions for setting up the cutter head?
-Lance

It can be a bit tricky. I haven't built a good jig for this, but it's a good idea. One with magnets on a straight edge. You might try a search of this site to find some good ones.

JR

[dbarnett]

The 6" model is on sale right now for $199

With the 20% discount coupon the jointer would come down to $162.00. I don't own this one, but it seems like that can be a good deal if you can dial the fence in.

Go to page 4 of the ad.

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...ype=RET&simple=
Dan

[hd5]

I just found this forum a few days ago and when I saw the 20% coupon I called my brother that lives near Springfield MO and asked him to pick me a 7" jointer up. After it was too late he called me back and said they didn't carry the 7" model there.
He did get me the blast cabinet that was on sale for $94.00 less 20%. Made it a good deal (I think).
I would have been happy to get the 6" jointer for $162.00, but didn't have the chance to tell him to go to "plan B".

Any idea how often 20% coupons come out. I printed the coupon and started to take it to HD but didn't. I don't think they would take it here.
We kind of live in the boonies and there isn't any competition to them for at least 60 miles.
Their Ridgid pricing usually is about $20.00 or $30.00 higher than I see other folks near big cities saying it is in their HD.
Thanks
Dan

[dkhoward]

Ill throw in my two cents worth. I have the 7" and think it is great for a home shop. THe fence is sometimes a pain, but I keep a set of draftsman plastic triangles handy. I use a rare earth magnet to stick the triangle to a machinest setup block and set that on the table and then set the fence. I have never had it move after I have gotten it tight.

Someone on here ran a thread on a homemade jig to set blades on a jointer. I will do a search and see if it can be found. It used rare earth magnets to hold the jig to the table.

LOML thinks I am nuts when I always ask my friends if they have any dead hard drives. She hasn't discovered the wonderful things you can do with those magnets.

[hd5]

Thanks

By the way, thanks for lettting me know about the 20% coupon.
I've been wanting one of those blast cabinets for a while and the coupon pushed me over the edge.
Really wanted that jointer though.


Dan