Question about HF jointers

[young woodworker]

I am looking into the jointers at HF and i noticed that people like the 6 in. rabbiting jointer. I was wondering if anybody knew if the 7 in. rabbiting jointer from HF was any good.

[Salty]

I seem to recall that someone pointed out that the 7" size is not common and other sources of replacement blades may be hard to find.

[drillman88]

I have a friend who has the 8" HF jointer and really likes it. The only grumbling I recall was in the initial setup. All things being equal, if you have room I would get the 8". The extra inch would allow you to surface 8" wide dimensional lumber without needing to cut it first. That imho would be the greatest gain over the 6" version.

[messmaker]

I have the 6' and am more than happy with it. I have heard that the 7" is good as well but it is usually only available through mail-order. The 6" is in stores and the 8" shows up from time to time and usually qualifies for the ship-to-store plan they have for big machines.

[dbhost]

The 7" is never seen in store around here. Replacement knives are only from Harbor Freight to the best of my knowledge. Where the 6" and 8" models are available in store (the 6" is MUCH more common), and replacement knives are, at least according to folks that have had threads about replacing them, the same as the older Rockwell/Delta jointers that these things copy.

Given a tight budget the 6" is fine, but kind of limiting. If you can afford the extra, I would cough out for the 8". I have seen a few of them around here that have been fitted with Byrd heads. I bet the cutter head cost more than the jointer!

[young woodworker]

Thanks for the input. I purchased the 6 in. and it was a bit of a hassle to assemble but it works great so far. Luckily I was able to get it on sale for $229 and I had a 20% off coupon.

[eezlock]

question about HF jointers?

I have the HF jointer # 30289 a 6" rabbeting model. It is a good machine
for the money and performs as it should. I don't need another size for the amount of work that I do. The only problem with this jointer is the stupid
Chinese directions that came with it, it is easier to look at pictures and
follow them instead of the written ones! I found out, after assembling the jointer that the directions online are better and easier to follow than the ones that came with the machine. If you need to set the fence to 90 deg. to the bed, use one of their cheap welding magnets, it will hold everything a lot easier than anything else.

[dbhost]

I guess I should have warned you about Harbor Freight assembly instructions... They are insanely BAD translations of Chinese to Engrish... Chances are that they started out life as English documents on whatever item they copied.

If I didn't already have my Sunhill I would grab one of them. They are a good machine. Just the benchtop machine I already have hasn't hit me with any real limits yet...

[LCHIEN]

usually 8" jointers are bought as much for the additional bed length and resulting flattened board capabilities than the extra 2" fo face jointing, but that can be attractive, too.

[Garasaki]

Here's what I've learned about jointers:

Your first one is just that, your first one.

You will buy another jointer. Wider, longer, or older (once you discover arn). You'll probably own several at a time eventually.

Your first jointer, especially if it's a HF, won't be your last. I wouldn't overthink the purchase. If the HF jointer is available and you can afford it, buy it. You might also consider looking for a used jointer.