Need suggestions on old jointers to buy

Old Craftsman Jointers are really nice. I have refurbed 6 jointers in the past year. The one I liked best was a Craftsman 6 incher from 1943 and it was an absolute Beast. Shouldn’t be to hard to find an older 4-6 inch jointer for under $100 that will work in a pinch. As long as the beds are flat and parallel you should be in business. Blades are easy to come by.

-- Chris, Washington The State! http://www.chris-crafts.com

There are a lot of good jointers out there and frankly I like the older machines. That being said you can’t just go out and buy any one you see and expect it to be in ready to use condition. If you are looking at a machine that is older then 30 years then chances are it will need some work.

Things to look for when you go to look at a jointer are:

Do the tables move as they should?
Is anything broken or missing (many older machines do not have spare parts being sold anymore)
Is the fence square to the table across its entire lenght/can it be made square?
Does the motor run?

If you buy an old machine expect to need to replace the bearings on the cutterhead and in the motor. If you are not willing to do that then seriously re-consider buying an old machine.

I’ve got an old craftsman 6” from about 1985. It does the job. I couldn’t get along without it.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://gagnerwebsite.com/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

There are always handplanes. :)

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

All the old 4” jointers I’ve worked with have been excellent machines. The
older 6” machines are spottier in terms of quality.

When the 4” jointers fell out in favor of larger machines, so the quality
of home-shop equipment dropped as well. Of course there were still quality
machines being made, but if 4” is all you need, Delta, Craftsman and Shopsmith
are all generally excellently made. In the 6” size there’s a lot more variation
in terms of design and manufacturing. Good old 6” machines are common
as well, but tend to be used more heavily and many of the older 6” machines
have funky fence designs and/or slightly warped tables.

I restore machine as much as I woodwork, and love old jointers.

my suggestions would be a walker turner, beaver, Atlas, or if your extremely lucky Oliver.
any of these 6 inch jointers are well worth the effort of finding and restoring. usually not too expensive either.

one other brand to mention is inca. swiss made aluminum machines, but high quaity, and light if you need to move them around a small shop.

The thing to remember with buying a used old jointer is that it may take a few days to rehab it and get it going. and never turn one on until you have personally verified the blades are set and tightened.

-- Junior -Quality is never an accident-it is the reward for the effort involved.

I have seen an old Walker Turner in Ohio. Need to call him today to see if he still has it. Also seen a couple of small Atlas jointers but they are a little to far away. I havent seen any Beaver jointers but they are Canandian so dought I wil find any around here.

-- USAF Ret. 2006

Man,
Read the title and was expecting a discussion on ebaying old #8’s. Can’t help with your question, but I agree with Wayne, get a 22” plus jointer.

-- www.newageneanderthal.blogspot.com . @NANeanderthal on twitter

Just got back from Dayton Ohio. I purchased a Walker Turner Model P910 all origional except for the belts and the power switch. Looks really good to, no rust. It runs good and it was only $125.

-- USAF Ret. 2006

Sounds like a great score! Post some before and after pics please!

AND I also retired USAF in 2006 :-)

-- Todd http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid6255915

lol, retired CAF myself. I too would love to see the before pics, just to confirm it’s completeness.
I am glad you got the walker turner. It is a very nice machine.

-- Junior -Quality is never an accident-it is the reward for the effort involved.

Ok, here are some photos I just took. Ive never loaded photos before so forgive me.

-- USAF Ret. 2006

awesome, that is an amazing price for one so complete. the one I rehabed had no base or the foot for the guard. and it looks like the original motor. well done.

one thing to remember is that the gibs are angled and only seat properly one way.

I think you got a great deal and you should be very happy with your purchase.

-- Junior -Quality is never an accident-it is the reward for the effort involved.

Thanks. Now the fun begins cleaning it up and painting.

-- USAF Ret. 2006

Loren is right about some of the older cast iron stuff. I have a ShopSmith 4” jointer that weighs a ton. Smooth and accurate. Very well built. I just don’t use it much since buying glue-line rip blades.
Wanna buy mine?
Bill

-- bill@magraphics.us