How to sniff out a good jointer

[Brad Hays]

Just about to round out my first little shop here and I'm on the lookout for just a few more tools. I've been getting to know the used market in my area and making buys when they seem like a deal. But as I'm less familiar with these last two I thought I better get some advice. For my jointer I'd really like to find a used 8" but those don't seem to come up too often, and really I'm not sure that the 6" ones I'm seeing are all that either. Ideally I'd like to find a cheap 8" not working so I could put a couple hundred in and have a deal, but so far that's not looking too likely. I know for any used piece of equipment like this I can expect to replace the motor, knives and the like. What I need to know in order to avoid any (more) pitfalls is how to inspect a jointer, I'm guessing with a good square, to make sure that the tables are fundamentally square and sound. Additionally, what should I be looking for in table length for both a 6 and 8 in? Of the two tables, is the length of the output the more important?

 

[Ryan Mooney]

Straight edge to check for warping on the tables.

Feeler gauges to check if the infeed is parallel to the outfeed and stays so when it moves (this can pretty much always be adjusted out but can be tricky so closer to start is better - check around to see if anyone discusses how hard the model you're looking at is to tune), possibly more of a problem on the parallelgram models if someone took them apart and didn't put them together well.

Hand rotate the moving parts if you can to feel for "crunchy" bearings, also wiggle the moving parts to feel for slop (if you can feel it.. it's a problem). If you can turn it on even better to listen/watch for vibration/noise issues..

Knife locking bolts/mechanism isn't frozen/rusted (a busted knife bolt is a pain to fix).

Knives can be height adjusted in some reasonable way or are of some similar type to tersa that are self setting (but mostly disposable cost of convenience).

Fence is true/square (out of 90 is fine since you can likely adjust/shim/fix that, warped so one side is 90 and the other side isn't is .. not so much..).

Longer tables are better up to what you can find/what fits in your shop/how long of work you intend to do/how deep your pocket book is.. Some outfeed or infeed support and a bit of technique can ease some sins in that regard though. Infeed helps average out the wavy incoming so it makes that a bit easier, outfeed makes it easier to hold down flat after.. I'm not sure I'd vote on either being more important as such. You can joint longer with shorter tables just takes a bit more finess.

I'm probably missing something.

 

[Vaughn McMillan]

...I'm probably missing something.

You covered pretty much all the main points I can think of, Ryan. I agree with Brad that an 8" jointer is generally better than a 6" model, but so far (knock on cast iron) I've not had to deal with any stock that was wider than my 6" jointer could handle.

 

[Keith Thomas]

I had an 8" parallelogram table jointer from grizzly. I loved it. I wish so bad I didn't have to sell off almost all of my equipment because its gone now. But having a table that was so adjustable was great. No shims were needed to make both tables even. But even with that you need each individual table to be flat. And the fence needs to be flat as well. My very first jointer I was trying to learn on ended up having a slight bow on the fence so it was convex instead of flat. I spoke with a guy once who had a concave out feed table. So good straight edges are a must when looking for a jointer. Make sure everything is flat. It would be nice to think a thick milled piece of steel will be made flat and stay flat but thats not the case. A parallelogram table will make it easier to adjust but it won't fix warps or cups or humps. I think you need to look at the table diagonally to check for a slight warp. Its important.

The jointer is not a tool I'd skimp on. A good one makes every next step easier and better. A bad one makes everything after it worse. The nicest thing about buying used is you can check it out before you buy. I have had problems with new wood working equipment and its really hard to return. But a GOOD used jointer is going to be hard to find. Mine sold in less than 1 day. the only used jointer pithing 150 miles on Craigs list is a 12" Oliver. It isn't even priced and I know its out of my price range lol.

 

[fred hargis]

My Jet 8" has a 66" table, one of the shorter ones for this size, and to be honest I haven't felt handicapped. The general rule of thumb that i used to hear was the board to be jointed can be twice the length of the tables...so for me that would be over 10'. As a hobbyist I haven't had to do anything that long, even the 8' ones I do on occasion tax me more than the jointer. On mine th tables are even in length, but it seems like the Delta DJ20 as well as the Powermatic have longer infeed tables which might suggest that's more important. My suggestion is to not focus on the table length, you can use sands to support exceptionally long boards (and really heavy ones).

 

[glenn bradley]

So frequently true that the tool suits the job at hand. It is hard to predict what you may end up doing if you don't have a running history to draw from. For me a 6" jointer was inadequate most of the time. An 8" jointer was fine most of the time. I have been happy with an 8" for many years and although wider would be nice, it is not something that would open my wallet just now.

I think Ryan also hit all my items. I do like my tall fence but, would not take a taller fence over longer tables. Jointing anything longer than your infeed can use the help of supports of some kind but, the less I have to fiddle with these the better. Don't get me wrong I have various support devices and use them frequently. I just wouldn't want to use them for every cut.

Prices are out of control right now so I offer my condolences on your window of need. Good used 8" machines are rare since most folks bought them to upgrade from a mistaken 6" purchase. The good news is that this provides a large, lightly used 6" jointer market. The bad news is you don't want them for the same reason the people are selling them. It seems that good 8" units can be found when some one upgrades to 12" and beyond or when someone stops using their tools.

There have been many sob stories on the forums by folks who took the time to ask "is this is a good deal?" only to have the unit sold by the time they got their answer. You are getting your answers now so you can strike when opportunity arises. In the used (and often new) tool market the saying "opportunity favors the prepared" is very true. Most of my good deals have sprung from me already being aware of what I am looking for when the deal comes along.

 

[Ryan Mooney]

The other thing I'd add is that if you have the patience for reselling taking.a chance on a reasonable deal can sometimes be worth it dollar wise even if you decide it's not the machine you wanted. I'm often willing to pay a bit more to not have to deal with that.. but other folks enjoy the transaction more so it can work out for them...