Martin - Model T54 (Rating: 5)

My old 20" jointer had broken table height controls and bed sagged about .05 inch which made straight cuts impossible. every cut was convex. The Company (Cassedi-Italian) was shut down for retooling and told me it would be over a year for new parts. I then looked around for a replacement. The best unit I found was a Martin model T54 20" jointer I work with a lot of wider lumber and refuse to cut it into strips. The jointer arrived from N. Carolina and waswell crated with no dings.

Cutting width 510 mm 20"
Maximum cutting depth 8 mm. (0.31 inches)
Cutter head is a custom built Byrd cutter head.
Infeed table 2 meters ( 78.75 inches)
Outfeed table 1.2 meters ( 47.2 inches)
Tilting Fence 1.2 meters ( 47.2 inches), On ball bearings slides easily
Dust extraction port 160 mm (6-inch plastic hose will fit )
Dust collection requires about 1250 cubic feet per minute 3 HP Oneida gorlila dust collectoris more than adequate
Motor 5.5 KW or 7.5 HP 3 phase only I use a converter.
Electrical controls include height of infeed table and bed adjustment for convex or concave cutting
Electric brake.
swing away guard over the knife head.
built in electricals for motorized feeder.
Very low dust emissions meets European standards.

Comment: This is the first machine out of the box that worked immediately. It is very quiet even jointing oak or maple. I am very happy with it The Byrd surfaces clean up with a minute or two sanding I start with 150 grit AL OXide. Surfaces are clean with no tearout in tiger maple (close spaced curls) I have cut 3-4 inch knots with no tear out. It will also cut end grain (curring boards or chopping blocks )without tearout. The controls are at the edge of the infield table.

The sliding fence has a built in foldout fence about 3 cm (1.25 inch) so that when planning 1 or 2 inch thick boards your hand can rest on the fence as a safety feature.

For boards longer than 6 feet, support is needed past outfield table. price is about 22K