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Low cost easy setup jointer

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jointer
3K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Martyroc 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello fellow Lumberjocks,
I need to replace my jointer eventually, hopefully sooner than later. I currently have a Craftsman unit about 16 years old, it works good but it's not big enough, ( 4.5"), and it takes forever to set the blades. I was looking at the HF one and I have heard mixed reviews. I am more concerned not spending so much time setting it up. I have a 12.5 " Dewalt planer that takes almost no time to set up, I'm looking for a simple setup but quality faced edges, any thoughts?
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
As Jim said, look for one that has a spiral cutterhead, Shelix is a brand name. I put on in my planer and am considering getting one for my jointer. They are pricey but in the long run cheaper to use. They don't have blades they have carbide inserts, and each has 4 cutting edges. When it gets dull or nicked you rotate it 90 degrees and it's sharp again. You'd have to nick it four times in the exact same spot before you would have to replace any of the carbide inserts and then, last time I checked, it might cost you $10 to replace the 3 that got nicked in that spot. And the Shelix I got for my planer came with 10 spare carbide inserts.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
The HF is a work horse. High quality, powerful, easy to use. It is being discontinued and is in stores only at $199 Use a 20% coupon and get it for peanuts. No jointer on the market does anything differently of better. It's worth tracking down. I've had mine allmost 5 years and no problems. Won't do without it.

Steve
 
#6 ·
Hi Steve, how is the tuning of the HF one? My craftsman works good but it's too small and too long to tune, plus it's about 15 years old time to update anyway.
 
#7 ·
Martin,

It's been several years, but to the best of my recollection, it was pretty simple. The instructions were clear, fit and finish was good, and assembly simple. It cut well out of the box and still does; with the ORIGINAL blades. I just hone them now and again with an impossibly cheap looking two stone plastic tool that is very effective, no longer available at HF (natch), but is available at more than twice the price (still worth it, maybe) at Woodcrap.

The one problem I had, other than breaking the spring holder for the porkchop (my bad) and the switch box filling with sawdust and jamming the switch (5 min fix), was my fault. I tried to joint 8' + pieces, never a good idea, and of course was chewing up too much lumber. Instead of thinking about it, I did what so many on here do and blamed the machine. I tried to adjust the tables to fix a non-existant problem, made it worse, and learned about my jointer the hard way trying to get it back where it was. I did and haven't messed with the tables again. Just wax the bed periodically, keep the fence square to the table. and be careful. It cuts almost as well as my DW735 planer and that's saying something.

Steve
 
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