jointer queston

[Howard]

The last big piece of equipment I need (at least for the moment ) is a jointer. I was looking at the darkside catalogue and I'm trying to decided between the 6" and the 8". Is it generally worth spending a few hundred more and getting the larger surface? Also, what about getting a spiral cutter? I'm not into doing production work so I'm not sure the $300 more for the spiral head is worth it unless something can convince me otherwise. Is 1.5 horsepower on hte less expensive models sufficient? BTW, please pardon any typos as I just came back from the eye doctor and my eyes are dialated to the size of small frisbees right now...

[coach]

Howard,

I have a 6" jointer, and it has been all I've needed..... except for quite a few times when I wish I had an 8". If I were buying new, there would be no doubt that I would get the Grizzly 0490. However, you've gotta keep price and the amount of available space in mind.

[Popeye]

I've got a 6" Ridgid and it does a fine job.. But if I had the room and the budget I'd have an 8". I've read that the spiral cutterheads do a super job but I couldn't justify the expense for the difference in cost. Just my 2 cents. Pat

[JR]

I'm no expert, but I've started to use my 7" HF jointer a bit this year, so I have a little insight.

The larger sizes potentially benefit you in two ways:

1. Longer beds enable more stable jointing of long boards. A 6" jointer is plenty for up to about 5'-6' long boards. After that you run the risk of getting variable results due the boards tending tip off the ends.
2. Wider beds accommodate wider boards. This would be useful for face-planing boards before running through the planer. If you're going to have very rough stock (as opposed to, say, S2S), this could be useful, particularly if you see bigger doors and tabeltops in your future.

I think 1.5hp is plenty. It's really a question of how deep a cut you want to take. As a hobbiest, I'm happy to take it easy, doing as many passes as it takes to get it right. If I were in a production shop I'd be much more worried about big hp numbers. As they say, time is money.

JR

[Knottscott]

More capacity and mass is never a bad idea IMO. If you've got the funds and the space, it's very unlikely you'll ever regret buying the 8" jointer, but the inverse of that statement isn't true. Seems there's alot of 7" wide boards out there! The spiral cutter is nice luxury, but my $300 means more to me. The 1.5hp motor should be fine....the 8" machines sported them (or smaller) for years, and you almost never hear of someone complain about being light on poewr. 2hp has become popular only recently, and I'd guess it's mostly marketing, and keeping up with the competition.

[Pappy]

This is one tool where 'bigger is better' for sure.

[LCHIEN]

The 8" jointers are definately better, but they're also bigger, heavier and more expensive. So the question is, is it past the point of diminishing returns?

For most people the 6' working length for 6" jointers is a reasonable limit for most people, 4' for the benchtop jointers is not. What I'm refering to is what someone else said, that there's too much unsupported length with a 6" jointer (~44-48" bed) to keep anything longer than 6' straight.

Its that dimension as much as the 6" or 8" width that sets the limits.

The 8" jointer will have a more powerful motor, that may help some in material removal or you can just make another pass with a less powerful 6" one..

Your going to pay $200+ more for an 8 incher, and nice 6" jointers can be had for around $350 to 500.

Its going to be heavy - probably around 300+ lbs because a 6" jointer is already 220 lbs. Bear in mind ytou need to assemble it and move it once in a while.

So most people find the 6" jointers OK, sort of like 10" table saws and 14" bandsaws, I think that's the sweet spot in price and performance commeasurate with most peoples' needs.

[Howard]

The one I was looking at has a shipping weight of over 500#'s. Yikes! I will have a mobile base for it but I think setting it up is going to be a 3 man job...I'm a big believe in amortization. Let's see... $500 more over a 20-30 useful life... making more sense all the time!

[Ken Weaver]

I get along fine with my Ridgid 6", but if $$ wasn't a concern the 8" would be nice (me winnning the lottery would work just as good). Do some checking on the spiral head though, I remember a review of jointers fairly recently that reported that some of them left a less than desireable surface, particularly if it was using the little square blade thingys. I'm at work so can't rummage through my library.

[zootroy]

I have the 6" Rigid and have been thinking about selling. Not that the tool is not quality, it's just that the bed is not long enough for the 8' to 10' boards that come from my lumber yard. I get chatter because I can't support the piece. I've tried using extension tables, but if they are off just a hair you can get an uneven cut. I built a rip sled for my table saw and that, coupled with a Forest blade, gives me glue lines that are better than I can get from my jointer. That said, I'd get the 8" or nothing at all.

[ScottGolden]

I have an old craftsman 6" jointer. The issues I have with it are

1) Setting up the blades is a pain. So for my use, which is very light, I would still get a jointer that was the easiest for changing blades. You might want to start with regular head and plan for an upgrade. I seem to remember that of the 3 styles or blades, straight, spiral or helical, the spiral made the cleanest cuts.

2) For some reason no matter how big a tool I get there is that one project that needs something just a little bigger. This is probably just a personality problem that I should see someone about.

3) I also have a major space problem. Everything I have has to be moveable. Given the weight of a jointer that's a little bit of a problem.

So I personally will go for a 6" with the spiral blades when I upgrade.

[mater]

I have the 6" Ridgid because I got a great deal on it and it has been all I have needed so far. If you have the space and need for it then I would go with the 8".

[onedash]

I never used one with it but the carbide spiral cutterheads have to be the best choice. Since you can turn each blade/tooth or whatever you call it 4 times and based on the price it seems it should eventually pay for itself. I guess the more you use it the sooner it will pay for itself. Plus if you ding it in one spot you don't have to scrap the whole blade. You can turn the pieces that have a ding.
I have the craftsman 6" and if I had to do over I think I would have gone with the 8". My dust collector is another do over I wish I had. I have the delta shopmaster. It works ok for one tool at a time but I wish I would have bought the bigger one with pleated paper filter. Plus I hate emptying that bag. Well re hanging it is the worst part.

[BrazosJake]

Personally, I don't think 8" is going to buy much more over a 6", but as said, bigger is better with a jointer. If I had space and funds and needed something bigger than a 6", I'd set my sights on a 12".

Someone commented earlier in this thread that the bed of their 6" was too short for 8-10' boards. I guess if you're using the boards at that length, it's an issue, but how often do you really need 8-10' boards for a project? You save a lot of grief and wood by cutting to rough length before face jointing.

Pappy, an 8" Jointer for $160??? IIRC, you also scored a 6" for about a C-note. There's an old Woodworkers saying for people like you....YOU SUCK!

[allen]

I pretty much agree with just about everone else that has reported here. Had the 6" Ridgid and it was fine but about six months ago bought the Grizzly GO490 and it is a whole different world. I would buy the same make and model again. Go eight inch if you have the funds and the room.

I do not think that I would go with the spiral head unless I was working with highly figured woods. On "normal" woods the regular head gives real smooth cuts.

Allen