# 8" jointers - any thoughts?



## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

So, I am inching closer to pulling the trigger on buying a new 8" jointer. Hoping to get input from you guys. CL has been unhelpful for almost a year now so I've looked at Grizzly, Jet and Powermatic. I've decided to go straight to a spiral/helical head as I like to work highly figured wood. Either by buying one with the head already in it or upgrading the head myself - more on that in a second. Key issues for me are power, length of bed and reliability of the equipment and support of the company. OK, yeah, cost is also a factor...

Since installing a byrd shellix in my planer, I've come to really appreciate the helical approach. The slicing action is better than a straight cut of the spirals. A big plus is it's American made and actually costs less than the German and Chinese spirals out there, at least when you buy the head from Griz. Both Jet and PM have helix options, too.

So, it's down to the PM 60HH, Jet JJ-8HH, Grizzly G0656PX or Grizzly G0656P upgraded to a byrd shelix. 

The Powermatic and Jet have 2 HP motors while the Grizzes have 3 HP. So +1 for grizzlies.

The Powermatic has 54 knives vs 36 for the Jet and 40 for Griz spiral or shelix. So +1 (or even more) for the Powermatic. Powermatic has a helix so +1 again. I can upgrade the non spiral griz (G0656P) to a byrd shelix so +1 to that option.

The Jet has a 66.5" bed vs 73 for the PM and 72 for the griz. Kind of a -1 for the Jet. Probably knocks them out of the running. The inch difference between griz and PM is a wash, IMO.

So, price. I'm going by prices I found on the internet. Shipping and delivery weren't factored in, yet anyway.
The PM seems to go for $2240, 
The Jet - 1940, 
The griz spiral G0656PX 1250. 
If I upgrade the straight knife version of the griz (G0656P) to a byrd shelix, it works out to about 1180 (yeah, go figure, a better head for cheaper).

At this point, the Griz with the Byrd Shelix and the PM pretty much stand out as best options. So the real question to answer, is the PM really going to deliver twice the value of the Griz+Byrd shelix? The 54 knives on the PM will take significantly smaller bites than the 40 knife head (both are the same diameter and the PM head is going at 7000 rpm vs 4800 for the griz). Smaller bites should mean less tearout, right? The Yankee penny pincher in me says Griz but it's sure hard to ignore the potential of the high speed PM helix head. 

Does anyone have the PM 60HH? Would love to hear your experiences. Anyone with a 8" griz spiral or helix planer? 

Any other thoughts on this are definitely welcome.


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## johnblackwell.jb (Jul 16, 2015)

Grizzly is the best bang for your buck

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Phil, have you looked at General International tools? They are based in Canada with a US office in TN and have distributors everywhere like Woodcraft, Marsh Power tools, Performance line tools, etc..

General® International ? JOINTERS

Current promotions


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Having internet problems - I have tried to post this 3 times. arg...

John, I have a shop full of Griz tools so I get the BftB argument! Still, the specs on the PM look really tempting. Hate the price, though.

Mike, are those prices in USD? Makes PM look cheap.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Yes, USD.


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## Bryan Rocker (Jul 10, 2014)

My thoughts on an 8" is that if you watch you can find used ones for some pretty good prices. There was a 12-16" jointer the other day on one of other forums for $1500. I would take an older bigger one before I would buy a newer smaller one...having said that I saw a Delta Rockwell the other day 8" for $150.....couldn't move fast enough.....


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## Ray Newman (Mar 9, 2009)

Something to consider. 

Before making a final decision, carefully check the price of replacement carbide inserts, their size, and how readily available they are.

On another board there was a similar thread to this and one poster lamented that while the replacement knife head was cheaper than others, he later found that the replacement carbide inserts were not a standard size, were only available through the manufacturer/importer, and cost more than others.

As with all things, the devil is in the details.... 

Bryan Rocker: a Delta/Rockwell 8", I would be all over that and even with cost of Dispozable blades, would be a steal! For those not familiar with those blades: http://dispozablade.com/

I installed Disposables on my older JET 8" and have not looked back since. Double sided and easy to change -- last time I changed blades it was 'bout a 15-20 minute task.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

It's an easy call for me - I'm a PM guy. I like the faster speed of the cutterhead and more knives, also. I have the PM 54A 6" and have been looking for an 8" to upgrade in size a bit.


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## Bricknhank (Dec 28, 2013)

Phil,
I was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago. I am big on old US made machines with most of my machinery being either old Delta/Rockwell or Powermatic, but couldn't find a decent 8" jointer to save my life. I ended up buying a PM882 8" jointer. I felt bad about buying my first Asian machine but it actually has been a very good performer. I got the straight knive head. I think that you said that the PM bed length was 73" but mine is 82" and that is what I like about it. That long bed has come in handy many times. Is the bed longer because I got the parallelogram style jointer?
Hank


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## Bricknhank (Dec 28, 2013)

*Upon further review......*



Bricknhank said:


> Phil,
> I was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago. I am big on old US made machines with most of my machinery being either old Delta/Rockwell or Powermatic, but couldn't find a decent 8" jointer to save my life. I ended up buying a PM882 8" jointer. I felt bad about buying my first Asian machine but it actually has been a very good performer. I got the straight knive head. I think that you said that the PM bed length was 73" but mine is 82" and that is what I like about it. That long bed has come in handy many times. Is the bed longer because I got the parallelogram style jointer?
> Hank


Sorry Phil, after re-reading your post I see that you are looking at a PM model with dovetail ways. That would account for the 11" difference in length. After spending hours adjusting and shimming dovetail ways on other jointers in order to achieve perfect coplaner bed alignment, I really appreciate the parallelogram jointer for bed adjustment. Before others chime in to blast me let me say that a dovetail jointer doesn't make for a bad jointer in any way, I just found that adjusting a parallelogram jointer much easier.

Good luck with your decision.

Hank


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Thanks for your reply!

Yeah, my CL comment was a little vague. Been looking on CL for a year now. Generally nothing or people very proud of their jointer. Also, it needs to be upgradeable to a shelix head. At this point, I feel a little like this:









As to disposable - they are straight blades and I'm looking to get a helix head. Straight blades have a lot more tearout - it's their nature. Also, those are HSS and the segmented cutters on most helix/spiral heads are carbide so they will last a lot longer. I love that if I nick a knife, I just turn that segment or at worst replace it. I've heard of pro woodworkers that have had spiral heads for years and haven't yet turned them. They are a lot quieter, too. Byrd knives are fairly plentiful and the cost isn't too bad. I got 10 replacements with my planer head. I think 4 come with the 8" byrd. I think in the long run replacing a segmented knife will be cheaper than getting a whole new straight blade set but it's hard to predict the future.



Ray Newman said:


> Something to consider.
> 
> Before making a final decision, carefully check the price of replacement carbide inserts, their size, and how readily available they are.
> 
> ...


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

That's most helpful. The 882HH is a nosebleed $3K. Impressive piece of iron, though. Amazingly long bed. Glad to hear your thoughts on parallelogram. Griz does have a parallelogram 8" for about $125 more. I'm putting that one on the list. 



Bricknhank said:


> Sorry Phil, after re-reading your post I see that you are looking at a PM model with dovetail ways. That would account for the 11" difference in length. After spending hours adjusting and shimming dovetail ways on other jointers in order to achieve perfect coplaner bed alignment, I really appreciate the parallelogram jointer for bed adjustment. Before others chime in to blast me let me say that a dovetail jointer doesn't make for a bad jointer in any way, I just found that adjusting a parallelogram jointer much easier.
> 
> Good luck with your decision.
> 
> Hank


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

I use the HF 6" rabbiting jointer, I got this for a song on Craigslist. I added the simple dust collection port shown and it works very well. My reasoning for getting a 6" versus an 8" is that lumber is less expensive in smaller widths and for most projects you will end up gluing up panels for tops or sides anyways.
"It's good enough for the kind of girls we go with."  I certainly understand why you want the 8" with a longer bed. I just don't have the room for this so I get by with the least expense possible.

Regardless of whether I buy or reclaim wood it always gets checked with a metal detector before it goes through my jointer or thickness planer. I started out using a Little Wizard and then got smart and found a full sized treasure hunter style on Craigslist. They are more sensitive and make the job go much faster; you also don't have to bend and stoop as much.


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Yeah, I have a griz 6" that works fine but it has a short bed like yours. Looking to step up to something that I can face longer boards reliably with ease. 8" isn't necessary but they tend to have the longer beds. 

Regardless, a metal detector is always a good idea. I have a cheapo hobby one. Looking to upgrade on that as well as it doesn't detect staples.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Have you considered just building a work support or an extension to your out feed table Phil? Just thinking out loud.


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## Bricknhank (Dec 28, 2013)

Phil,
If you want an 8" go for the 8". There is a world of difference between a 6" and 8". No table extension is going to make up that difference unless a 6" meets your needs 99% of the time and you have that one long project board that is 6" or under.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

No thoughts, just jealous!


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

MT Stringer said:


> No thoughts, just jealous!


For what it's worth, I have to make a lot of room for this mutha. Sell my 6" jointer, sell a sheet metal machine and clean up a bunchacrap I've been putting off forever. Oh yeah and buy at least 4 or 5 bouquets of flowers and one very pricey meal at the fanciest restaurant in town. Fortunately, I don't need to insulate my shop first. :grin:


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Does anyone have an opinion on GeeTech jointers? There is a CT-200 8" 2 HP for 699 but it appears to have a lot of rust. It's hard to tell from the picture but it could just be surface. The bed may be a little shorter than I want but the price is certainly at a good starting point. I think GeeTech makes jointers for a number of manufacturers. Perhaps some Griz but definitely Sun Hill and similar. I've read that some Jet Jointers were made by them as well. I'd want to drop the byrd head in it and think it's possible but will have to more research on that.


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