used jointer choices-UPDATE 2/18/07 w/pictures

Jim O'Dell

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Between Aledo and Fort Worth, TX
I've been offered my choice of 6" jointers, both older. One is a 70 ish Craftsman. The other is a 40's or 50's model, sounds like it has shorter beds, but is physically taller, has a 3/4 hp motor that is currently mounted like a contractor saw motor because he couldn't find the right length belt. Brand starts with an "S", but he couldn't remember for sure what it was. He says he only needs one, likes them both, for me to come look at them and choose which one I want!! This is the same guy that is giving me all the adjustible feet for benches and tools.(brought me 2 more today) I was speechless! The old one has had new bearings installed, both have been stripped down and re painted. The longer beds sound appealing, but the "old 'arn" is calling to me.
Where would I go to research on the old jointer brands? He said the blades are about 1/8" shorter than the Craftsman blades. He ground down a set to make something work. Any ideas would be great! Jim.
 
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Jim,

I would check out WWW.OWWM.COM They have a fairly extensive list of machinery manufacturers.

About three or four years ago I ran across an old Craftsman jointer that was manufacuted by King Seely for sears. To find out about the machine that is where I went to do the research. I can not speak to the 70's version of the craftsman jointer, but the one I have is from the late 40's early 50's. It is a 6" jointer built fairly solid. It is an o.k. machine for a small time hobbiest like myself.
 
Got me stumped on the 'S' name. Not that many machine companies that started with an S. But as to choices jointer's are pretty simple machines and not much to go wrong. When the do they are usually simple to fix. A 6" is a good size and you can remove the guard and do a 12" wide board. Just have to make two passes. BTW I have not tried this yet.

Me, I am almost always partial to the old arn'. But you probably guessed that too. :) I have a nice little Delta 6" short bed in my shop to restore. I was going to get rid of it but I have about decided to restore it and keep it. Then when I find the big one I am looking for I sell the other 6" long bed I bought and use this one for the small stuff. Just can't see edge jointing a 3/4 board on a 12" jointer :eek:
 
I would go with the older jointer. I have a 50's Craftsman Jointer that still works and has served me well over the years. The thing of it is, Craftsman in the 1950's was competing with the likes of Delta and other quality makers of woodworking tools. With the WWII vetrans having children and building homes at a furious rate, these tools were worked, and worked hard so things were built right.

In the 70's, Craftsman was using their old reputation to sell their tools. In that decade they were re-engineering tools to be built faster and cheaper, not better.

If I was you I would not hesitate to buy "the older jointer" especially where it has rebuilt bearings and all that. Its hard to say of course without looking at the machine itself, but as I said, I have an older machine and it looks as if it will continue to work for me for another 50 years.
 
Thanks for helping, guys. Like I said, the old arn is calling to me! And Travis, this guy is giving to me my choice, not selling to me my choice!! I will go see them of course, and decide if either one is worth having. I might call him and ask for him to go look at the brand to see what it is for sure. I'd like to start some research to find knives for it. He did say that the key ways (is that the right term?) were not dovetails, but that it moved freely. Both beds are adjustable which surprised him, because the Craftsman only adjusts on the infeed side. I told him I thought that was normal.
I poked around on OWWM a little, looking for jointers that started with S, then looked at the years available. Didn't come up with anything really. One possibility, Sprunger. Might be what it is. But we'll see. Thanks again for your ideas! This side of wood working intriques me, but is still pretty foreign to my brain! Jim.
 
I guess I did not read you post very throughly. I would certainly have to see them before I made any decision.

A few months ago we had a family friend give us a great deal on a sawmill. It was an old rotary mill from the turn of the century. My father and I had some great ideas on how we were going to hook this thing up. We never did get the chance to look at it, so our Family Friend went down one morning and brought it home for us.

Now I am known far and wide for being a no-kill shelter for old woodworking tools, but the thing that landed in my yard really needed to be landed at a junk yard. The main components of this sawmill were broken, the engine was vastly under powered, and it was basically a collection of rusty, mis-matched parts. I felt like a jerk, but I had to ask the family friend to take it back. There was just no hope for.

In any case I learned my lesson. Check something out before agreeing to take anything.
 
That's good advice, Travis. He says both work equally well. If nothing else the old one woud be a great conversation piece. Although I don't have a lot of room for that in my shop...pieces that don't perform a function that is.
I'll look at it first. Will have to do that anyway just to see what it's going to take to haul it here. I bet it's heavy! Thanks again! Jim.
 
Reg, thanks for the site address. I had found the same thing by going through the manufacturer's names and looking for who built 6" jointers. I missed the search by jointer classification. And I think I figured out which one it must be. I also found more entries with your link, and found some extra descriptions from other owners, and low and behold, one of them mentions the square keyways that the beds ride on, instead of dovetail ways. My friend had mentioned this feature. So unless a lot of manufacturers did the same thing, I bet it's a Sprunger.
Thanks for everyone's help and insight. I'll still look at it before I agree to take it, but I bet I could use it for a welcome sign outside the shop if nothing else!!
Now let's see, how can I hook up my cyclone to this thing.......Jim.
 
Jim, if you post on OWWM that you are looking at a Sprunger, my guess is you will be covered up with info, from users, collectors, owners, and those that just "heard" something.

All the best, Tom, in Houston, who checks OWWN daily for mentions about his 1948 Boice-Crane 2500 Combo Jointer/Table Saw.
 
Good deal Joe. Its a little odd to navigate the sight sometimes if you new at looking through it. I have a lot of practise in searching for tools for my shop and reading what ppl have to say about a machine por and con. Glad it was help to you
Reg
 
Well, I guess my friend Bob got tired of waiting for me to come claim my free jointer!! He and his wife were going to be in our area yesterday, so they brought it with them. DSCN1370.jpgDSCN1371.jpgDSCN1372.jpgIt's not the brand I had, in my mind, decided it must be, but everything seems to work. It's a Shop Master. May have been originally red, or at least once in it's life it was red. The safety plate, and all the knobs are green, and appear to be the originals, and are in suprisingly good shape. May need a new motor before long, as the Craftsman 1/2 hp doesn't sound great, but it does run. DSCN1373.jpg It came on it's own metal stand, with the jointer mounted on a wooden box. Also had a makeshift mobile base on it. It worked though. I did decide the base it was on could be put to better use on a different project, and I wanted the jointer a little lower, so I used the stand that came with my old RAS that bit the dust years ago.DSCN1374.jpg I spent a bout 2 1/2 hours assembling one of the Herc-U-Lift Plus's I have in waiting for future needs, found the old extension table I made for the TS a few years back, and cut it down to size. It will still need to be taken apart and the edges painted to seal them off. I cut an opening for the belt, and another one for the dust to fall through. I'll need some sort of HVAC piece to funnel the chips to the dust collection pipe. Got the jointer mountedDSCN1375.jpg temporarily, and stared at it for an hour trying to figure out how to mount the motor...decided to go cut a limb in pieces while I let my head clear. It was a honey do I promised to do this weekend anyway. Played around a little more and decided how to mount the motor, just need to get some angle iron and a shorter belt.
I bet it's from the fifties. I'll do some searching on OWWM and see if I can find any information. Being that it's a Shop Master, could this be an old Delta? or did Delta purchase a company called Shop Master along the way and use it's name now? Just thinking out loud.
Thanks for looking! Jim.
 
Shopmaster Tools link on OWWM.

Nice looking little jointer there. I am sure you will find it very useful! I do mine!

And if that Craftsman motor is making noise, it probably just needs some new bearings. It's not to hard to put them in either. So don't give up on it. It's probably better made than most of the newer ones! And besides, it looks right with that jointer. ;)
 
Well, I spent a couple evenings this week mounting the motor under the stand. Cut and drilled the angle iron to fit, cut the 2X4s to fit, mounted a piece of 7/16 OSB, then aligned and mounted the motor. Plugged it in and turned it on. grabbed a scrap piece of wood and ran it through. Man...that doesn't sound right??!!?? (Note: I have NEVER used a jointer before) I run the board through a few more times....Uh Uh, that's not right. Turn the motor off, and watch as it spins down....Yep, the cutting head is spinning backwards!:eek: :eek: :eek: Well, I didn't think to match direction of the motor turning to the head. Luckily, this motor has a shaft out both ends. I'll spin it on it's bracket and pull the pulley off and put on the other end. Hopefully it will still line up with the jointer pulley. Oh well, this is how you learn! It will have to take a back seat this weekend, I want to get some of the ceiling up and test my new circular saw in the process. Jim.
 
:rofl: Reminds me of when I was making a ZC insert and had to put on the smaller blade. Wondered why the maple was hard and causing all the smoke.

:eek: Put the blade on backwards.
 
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