20 replies so far
#1 posted 02-06-2013 12:23 PM |
buy the widest one you can afford and have room for my first one was a 12, my current one is a 15, when I build my retirement home and shop in a year or two I will have a 24. If you are into building things like tables the wider planer is a big help for glueing up table tops just leave the boards as thick as possible and plane them after the glue is dry. -- A tube of calk and a gallon of paint will make a carpenter what he ain't |
#2 posted 02-06-2013 12:54 PM |
Just to be clear, are we talking a planer or a jointer? For a jointer, 8” has suited me very well and I really don’t see a need for anything bigger at this point. For a planer, I have the dewalt 13” lunch box planer, and I ofter wish I had something a bit bigger for the same reason sprucegum mentioned. |
#3 posted 02-06-2013 01:41 PM |
I’m with Marcus, wondering if we’re discussing planers or jointers. I have an 8”, and have been quite happy with it (jointer). Still, I keep wishing for a 12-16” one, for reasons I can’t quite justify. My planer is 15”, upped from my first 12”......and I’ve been quite content with it. -- Our village hasn't lost it's idiot, he was elected to congress. |
#4 posted 02-06-2013 02:26 PM |
for a planer , i have a twelve inch but would like wider. to start over i would have gone to a fifteen inch minimun. -- rob, ont,canada |
#5 posted 02-06-2013 02:30 PM |
I never heard of an 8” planer, do you mean jointer? -- Bondo Gaposis |
#6 posted 02-06-2013 02:35 PM |
Bondo - I think Jet makes a 8” combo jointer/planer, but thats all I’m aware of. I think it get’s less than stellar reviews for reasons unrelated to the cut size though. |
#7 posted 02-06-2013 04:51 PM |
I’ve had both 8” and 12” jointers. Bigger jointers tend to have long beds, which I currently have a 10” jointer and it’s adequate for If you have a big shop a big jointer and planer |
#8 posted 02-06-2013 10:55 PM |
An argument for a smaller option…. I was looking at a $1000-range jointer and found that I could spend about $1200 and get the Jet 6” Helical or for around $1900 get the 8” Helical. Considering there are a lot of 8-12” jointer less costly I think the quality, noise reduction and ease of blade rotation of a Helical head is worth it. So, I might eng up with a 6” and when I get a board that is 7-10” It can be sawn long ways and then have two boards that fit on the jointer and glue them together. I like crossing woodgrains anyway. Looks cool. Anyone say a cheaper larger unit is better? BD -- Bigfoot tries to take pictures of me |
#9 posted 02-06-2013 11:02 PM |
Like the others have said, get the biggest you can afford or wait until you can get it. I’ve got a 6” jointer and 13” planer and wish both were twice as big and complemented with a bandsaw with 12”+ resaw height. Then I could do ANYTHING. As it is, I’m limited and it’s really not a bad thing. Since my options are limited, I find I’m able to just do more with what I have. But an 8” planer? I would pass on that unless you are a box maker exclusively. If you meant jointer like we think you did, there’s a gigantic difference in price from 6-8” and so much more from 8-12” I could do a lot more if my 6” Grizzly jointer had the 6’ table and I wish I had the helical heads… mostly because mine is freaking loud -- JC Garcia, Concord, CA : "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission..." |
#10 posted 02-06-2013 11:34 PM |
Well, I’ve also wrestled with this question since I don’t have a planer but I’m fixing to build my dream shop. After much thought I have come up with this answer: the bigger the better. I know that’s not much of an answer. My final answer is don’t let your planer be bigger than your pocket book. You know there are a lot of old planers out there that still have a lot of good life in them and maybe they are built better than what you can buy knew. Maybe that’s the way you need to go. Who am I to say? I hope that you make the right decision and get the planer of your dreams. May you always be happy in your work and God Bless. helluvawreck aka Charles -- helluvawreck aka Charles, http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com |
#11 posted 02-07-2013 01:43 AM |
Dooohh!!! Man, I’ve been waiting all day to get home to see what you folks had to say about my inquiry. Then I finally get here and realize that I asked about the wrong machine. Man, major league brain cramp on that one, I had just been reading up on planers for a couple of hours and evidently had them stuck in my brain. So very sorry for the confusion. I meant to ask about 8” or 12” JOINER…. |
#12 posted 02-07-2013 02:26 AM |
Alot will come down to how much space you have for the machine in your shop, yes it’s nice to have a wide jointer but an eight inch is usually sufficient for most projects and there are other tools for flattening table tops. As for planers, wider is always better :P -- The mark of a good carpenter is not how few mistakes he makes, but rather how well he fixes them. |
#13 posted 02-07-2013 02:30 AM |
OP you may want to edit your title. I clicked on this only to find out more info about an 8” planer I’d never heard of. -- It's made of wood. Real sturdy.--Chubbs Peterson |
#14 posted 02-07-2013 12:06 PM |
Thanks Ben, hadn’t thought about that, title corrected. Thinking about changing my name here to “DipStick..” |
#15 posted 02-07-2013 12:09 PM |
Nah, “dipstick” doesnt quite fit. How ‘bout “BrainFart” .... because we ALL have those now and then :-) -- Perform A Random Act Of Kindness Today ... Pay It Forward |
#16 posted 02-07-2013 12:50 PM |
TopShelf - Are you looking at the 2 Jet machines? |
#17 posted 02-07-2013 04:28 PM |
I started out with a 4” jointer and went to a 6” within a year it is nice but lately i have been looking for an 8”. Keepin mind both of them were used delta’s the 4” was $45 (sold for 75$) and the 6” was $110. now it has a noisy bearing so I am going to go through it new bearings and paint I was thinking when it is done probably around $225. If I am crazy let me know. I have always upgraded as I had the money. that is why I stick with used machines at the lowest price I can get for a quality machine with resale. it then gives me wiggle room for repairs and resto’s. a few bucks in bearings and paint is usually all the old Iron will ever need. |
#18 posted 02-08-2013 06:52 AM |
No matter how big a jointer or planer you get, you will always have a project where you wish you had another inch or so of width. -- I admit to being an adrenaline junky; fortunately, I'm very easily frightened |
#19 posted 02-08-2013 11:24 AM |
Good Lord, made the correction and even then spelled JOINTER wrong. Yep, definitely need to look into changing my handle here to something more appropriate… Well, after looking around, I think that I’m going to go with an 8”. To step up from and 8” to a 12”, literally doubles the cost of the machine, I mean, starting out a shop….that’s an entire other machine that I could pay for rather than paying for 4 more inches on a jointer. Seems to me that the better option would be to go with the 8”. Thanks a million for the advice folks |
#20 posted 02-08-2013 11:44 AM |
I RARELY have a need to joint something larger than 8” , and when I do it’s probably a better idea for mr to split the lumber into smaller pieces. |
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