Recommendation on Combination Jointer Planer? And Tiny-Shop advice

[tkarlmann]

I have an extremely small shop space in my sattelite-shop and I am looking at the Jet JJP-8BT. Looking for comments pro/con, advice. In my Home-Shop, I have a Ridgid 6" jointer and 13" planer as separates. This 8" JJP-8BT combo Jointer/Planer has me excited -- and it's only $319! What do experts and owners think? (I am trying to fit a new TINY shop into a 1-bedroom apartment's Laundry room!) (Also looking at the DW744 TS) I also have a Ryobi 9" benchtop Bandsaw)

With all this, and little space for power-sanding, do I have a shop yet? Ok, I need a vac and a prayer that fellow-tenants can tolerate my noise -- until 9pm.

[dbhost]

Given your space contstraints, as well as noise concerns, have you thought about maybe going the hand plane route?

Space is a concern in most of our shops, although the severity ranges depending on how much space we have, and what it has to be shared with...

Apartment laundry rooms vary in size, but none are all that big. So with the maximum function in the minimum space in mind, if you are determined to go the power tool route I would suggest the following items

DeWalt Track saw (pick your variant). Not going to do dadoes or anything, but for long, VERY straight cuts, it will do...

Hitachi KM12VC fixed / plunge router kit. Coupled with a good fence setup, you have your dadoes and a bunch of other functions...

That Jet combo machine will work fine. The 10" has a better reputation for durability. Just something I Have seen in the reviews...

A small benchtop drill press.

Bench top band saw.

Shop Vac with 2.5" hose. Not the tiny one...

That is a good start anyway.

[LCHIEN]

Here's a past post on the 10" Jet combo planer jointer, not sure what the difference is between them and if the 8" is a replacement model for the 10"?

Anyway discusses some shortcomings of the 10" model that may well be applicable if they are related. - They do look very similar in design, the 8" dimension vs 10 as well as jointer table 29" vs 36", and weight...

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...jointer+planer

Jet brochure on 8" combo J-P:
http://content.wmhtoolgroup.com/sell.../707400_ss.pdf

Jet brochure on 10" combo J-P:
http://content.wmhtoolgroup.com/sell.../707410_ss.pdf


and here's the jet manual:
http://content.wmhtoolgroup.com/manuals/707400_man.pdf


rereading your original post, you already have a 6" jointer and a 13" thickness planer. I would imagine using the combo unit would be disappointing after using those.
But fitting into a laundry room, you may have to limit your woodworking projects to small items - no furniture.

[jonathan55]

I had not heard of this piece of equitment but thought it sounded interesting so I searched on Amazon and read the reviews. Pretty nice. They have both Jet's with user reviews.

Jonathan

[dkerfoot]

You may want to consider a used Shopsmith. I posted a review last year in the review section. In Craig's List, you will see lots of them for sale with most priced far too high, but eventually they come down to reality.

[jonathan55]

Doug,

Does the Shopsmith have a jointer of some kind?

Jonathan

[dkerfoot]

Doug,

Does the Shopsmith have a jointer of some kind?

Jonathan

Yes. It isn't standard, but the 4" jointer is one of the most common add-ons and they show up on CL fairly regularly. There are two planers, one self-powered and the other driven by the SM motor, but they are not nearly as common and usually pretty pricey.

I have a 10' x 11' shop. I already had a 6" jointer and a 21829 TS when I got the SM. I later added the 6" belt sander to the Shopsmith and a 12" Ryobi planer. It is a good and compact combination of machines. As I discuss in the review, the Shopsmith TS is IMO the weakest part of the machine, but people manage to make some very nice furniture with it, so depending on what you are planning to make it may be all you need.

I'd recommend only considering the MK5 (current - since 1954!) model. The older ER is much more limited and the few oddities introduced since (MK7) have issues. The MK5 is the bread and butter of the line.

[tkarlmann]

Actually, I am thinking quite seriously about hand planes ...

Given your space contstraints, as well as noise concerns, have you thought about maybe going the hand plane route?

Space is a concern in most of our shops, although the severity ranges depending on how much space we have, and what it has to be shared with...

Apartment laundry rooms vary in size, but none are all that big. So with the maximum function in the minimum space in mind, if you are determined to go the power tool route I would suggest the following items

DeWalt Track saw (pick your variant). Not going to do dadoes or anything, but for long, VERY straight cuts, it will do...

Hitachi KM12VC fixed / plunge router kit. Coupled with a good fence setup, you have your dadoes and a bunch of other functions...

That Jet combo machine will work fine. The 10" has a better reputation for durability. Just something I Have seen in the reviews...

A small benchtop drill press.
Bench top band saw.
Shop Vac with 2.5" hose. Not the tiny one...
That is a good start anyway.

I think that if I get all those tools into my (now I've actually measured my space) 11'4" x 5'2" space there simply will not be any room for me, some wood, a workbench, etc. However, I have been collecting a number of hand planes. I have complete Stanley #55 and #45 with all the cutters, plus #4, #3, #6, router plane, a couple of shoulder planes, etc. I was hoping to take this time to actually learn to use these tools -- including sharpening -- learned from Frank Klausz. I still need a very long jointer plane -- I like the Veritas planes -- this just might be the time!

I do think these hand tools will be more relaxing, far more quiet, teach me more about real woodworking, plus I've been itching to tune up a hand saw to do hand-cut dovetails.

During the drive to my apt/Satellite-Shop I think I made the decision to go hand tools. I just don't have the space for the powered stuff.

The thing that has always stopped me from going with traditional hand tools was the magic I have felt by being able to take a regular 2x4 and really make a precision, square, flat board or boards from it with my (electric-powered) planer & jointer. Then to further extend that craft -- to slice it with my bandsaw, then join the boards back into virtually any size & shape I need. This type of operation seems to be quite tedious with hand tools.

A Dilemma!

[tkarlmann]

Here's a past post on the 10" Jet combo planer jointer, not sure what the difference is between them and if the 8" is a replacement model for the 10"?

Anyway discusses some shortcomings of the 10" model that may well be applicable if they are related. - They do look very similar in design, the 8" dimension vs 10 as well as jointer table 29" vs 36", and weight...

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...jointer+planer

Jet brochure on 8" combo J-P:
http://content.wmhtoolgroup.com/sell.../707400_ss.pdf

Jet brochure on 10" combo J-P:
http://content.wmhtoolgroup.com/sell.../707410_ss.pdf


and here's the jet manual:
http://content.wmhtoolgroup.com/manuals/707400_man.pdf


rereading your original post, you already have a 6" jointer and a 13" thickness planer. I would imagine using the combo unit would be disappointing after using those.
But fitting into a laundry room, you may have to limit your woodworking projects to small items - no furniture.

I went to Youtube and watched a video by Charles Neil : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPFfmGO2dxs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdPT4...eature=related
on the Jet combo. I like it -- BUT it is loud! One must realize that in these videos, Charles is cutting Tiger Maple, and yes, the motor slows down audibly -- but he still get good cuts.

I'm not sure if I could deal with the noise in my Apartment-Shop.

[tkarlmann]

Yes. It isn't standard, but the 4" jointer is one of the most common add-ons and they show up on CL fairly regularly. There are two planers, one self-powered and the other driven by the SM motor, but they are not nearly as common and usually pretty pricey.

I have a 10' x 11' shop. I already had a 6" jointer and a 21829 TS when I got the SM. I later added the 6" belt sander to the Shopsmith and a 12" Ryobi planer. It is a good and compact combination of machines. As I discuss in the review, the Shopsmith TS is IMO the weakest part of the machine, but people manage to make some very nice furniture with it, so depending on what you are planning to make it may be all you need.

I'd recommend only considering the MK5 (current - since 1954!) model. The older ER is much more limited and the few oddities introduced since (MK7) have issues. The MK5 is the bread and butter of the line.

My father had a Shopsmith for years. I never liked the machine -- I think because my preferred woodworking is just not lathe-centric. I'm more into making boxes and furniture than turning stuff on a lathe. Dad was always cussing about the Shopsmith not ever getting adjustment on the machine tight enough to suit him.

[dewi1219]

If you decide to go with the combo machine, you might want to wait a bit. I heard from an insider that Woodcraft will have the 10" Jet combo machine on sale for $250 again during Thanksgiving weekend.

In the video posted above, the guy has no trouble jointing a fairly long board on the unit. And if you're concerned about snipe, it looks like it would be very easy to DIY a table extension for the planer. There's not much you can do about the noise though...

For $250, I'm willing to take a chance on it. I don't joint or plane a whole lot, and I have never needed more than 10" of planing width. I understand that what it offers is a compromise to some degree, and I'm willing to live with that to get the benefits it provides.

[dkerfoot]

My father had a Shopsmith for years. I never liked the machine -- I think because my preferred woodworking is just not lathe-centric. I'm more into making boxes and furniture than turning stuff on a lathe. Dad was always cussing about the Shopsmith not ever getting adjustment on the machine tight enough to suit him.

That is why I love the combination of my 21829 and the Shopsmith. As I mentioned, the tablesaw portion of the SM is the weak link. The combination of the two, along with the SM bandsaw, jointer and belt-sander and a router mounted to the 21829 accessory table provides a very complete shop in a remarkably tiny space.

It sounds like you are looking at going the hand tool route which is hard to fault. How far is the "satellite" shop from your main shop? Is it possible to do the primary cutting/planing/edging at your main shop, then do the fine finish work with hand tools in your satellite shop?

[tkarlmann]

It sounds like you are looking at going the hand tool route which is hard to fault. How far is the "satellite" shop from your main shop?

A mere 429 miles apart, or 8 1/2 hour drive. I am (happily) taking a temp job far away, but barely drivable.

The difficulty of the hand plane route is: How do I thickness a board with enough precision to glue board faces together? Or did I miss some technique? I have seen guys plane one surface flat, then put that side down, then measure/mark an equal thickness around the board, then plane to that line. It sounds like a very long and tedious process. Did anyone ever invent a plane on adjustable skiis for thicknessing or should I do it?

[dkerfoot]

The difficulty of the hand plane route is: How do I thickness a board with enough precision to glue board faces together? Or did I miss some technique? I have seen guys plane one surface flat, then put that side down, then measure/mark an equal thickness around the board, then plane to that line. It sounds like a very long and tedious process. Did anyone ever invent a plane on adjustable skiis for thicknessing or should I do it?

For getting started, I would recommend that you buy finished boards. Our Menards has a decent selection of Red Oak, Maple, Mahogany, Poplar, etc.. Sometimes hardwood lumber stores have a selection of "store boards" that are ready to go, otherwise they will usually joint, plane, sand etc for a fee.

[mpc]

Did anyone ever invent a plane on adjustable skiis for thicknessing or should I do it?

If you have a known flat work table... and a pair of very straight boards - consistent in thickness, then you can use a router to thickness boards. Lay your workpiece between the two straight boards, mount your router to a stiff board able to span the straight boards and use a straight bottom-cutting bit. Just work the router back and forth. Of course the board that spans the workpiece must be wider than the workpiece - so it remains on top of the two straight boards as you move it around.

Slow, but it works. Requires less skill than a hand plane too.

Some examples: Router thickness jigs

With a router table + fence, you can do edge jointing of normal thickness boards too. Just make the "outfeed" fence flush with the cut of the bit... and the infeed fence slightly stepped back. Very common technique. Your router fence is one continuous face/board basically? Then stick a shim to the outfeed side to make the outfeed fence.

Many lumberyards have equipment to thickness plane and/or edge joint and will often clean up whatever you buy for a small fee. That might be a good interim solution. Sometimes local cabinet maker shops will be willing to help too.

mpc