Thread: 8” jointer buying advice

1.5 hp is plenty for a jointer, I had a 10” Woodfast one for ages and it was only 1.5 hp 3 phase and when I demonstrated it to the guy who bought it, I took a 12mm cut off a piece of 6” iron bark that he had and it ate it easily, needless to say he bought the machine and was happy. The 6” Pioneer planer we had for 50 years only had a 1 hp motor and It never faltered. Keep it sharp and the tables clean and waxed and it will be fine.
$4500 for a machine that you use for probably less than 10% of the total time of a project is uneconomic. Save the money and buy something else with the change, like a Festool domino, you’ll get plenty of use from it.

Hi Sawhack

My advice is to buy the best you can afford. I have a powermatic 8" jointer with a helical head and it is a great unit, much much better than the carbatec combo jointer/thicky it replaced. I can't comment on the Laguna 8" jointer but I had researched it and was intending to buy it before the powermatic came up at a end of brand run-out price. Carbatec or sherwood branded machinery are sold at a price/quality point - you get what you pay for. Likewise, laguna machinery are also sold at a price/quality point. The $1500 price difference reflects the quality difference.

Due to past (and costly) experience I won't buy any carbatec branded or for that matter sherwood branded machinery. That is just my personal preference. Others on the forum will disagree as they have found their carbatec or sherwood branded machinery to be quite good.

I also have the dewalt DW735 thicknesser. I can recommend Woodcraft Supplies for Byrd or CTS helical cutterheads for the DW735, makes a huge difference.

Hope this helps

Regards
Twosheds

Hi SawHack

I've had a few small jointers through my shed, and currently have an older 8 inch Carbatec long bed with straight knives (spirals would be a very welcome upgrade but I'm happy with straights as long as I keep them sharp!). I have also had a fair bit of use on industrial jointers - so have some idea of what a 'perfect' machine is capable of, albeit at a industrial price tag!

My quick review of the carbatec - Is it an SCM - no, but I think it is a fantastic 'serious hobby' machine, and at the end of the day will produce perfect glue lines in anything up to about 2.4 meters.

The parallelogram beds are 'perfect' - after many years of use and rough treatment through 3 shed moves, they are still perfectly aligned.

The fence is 'ok'. Once set it is fine, however don't trust the stops! Slightly frustratingly it needs to be set off an engineers square each time, but once set will not move. The fence is probably the weakest link - but a common problem across many jointer models, and with a minute or two of setup will give great results.

The 1.5hp motor power is 'fine' - more is ALWAYS better, however with sharp knives will happily do a 2mm pass on 150 wide hardwood. 3 hp would be a great upgrade in the machines you've described.

Is it my 'forever' jointer - perhaps not - I'm currently tossing up the spiral upgrade vs buying an 'industrial' machine.

Does it get great results - Absolutely! If you can find a used one like I did, it is hard to go past - mine was $600 off gumtree - hard to do better than that!


However.....

You will quickly find your dewalt thicknesser will be the weak link in your machining.

I would really stress you consider a nice combination machine..... If I was looking at spending $4500 on a laguana I would instead sell the current dewalt ($700), put that money, plus the spiral upgrade (700) money plus the 4500 to a serious combination machine - such as the Sherwood or Woodman 16 inch spiral for $5500.

Honestly, a serious machine like that is a joy to use - it will eat anything you throw at it!

Cheers, Steve

Thanks for the responses, it’s given me much to think about. It does seem like a overkill spending all that on seldom used piece of kit, but at the same time I don’t think I’ll regret having something that I know I can grow with.

I hadn’t really considered the combo machines, didn’t like the idea of the shorter beds, and they just didn’t seem as “solid” as a stand-alone jointer. That said, it would save space, and provide a much wider jointing capacity (though not sure if I need it…)

So back down the rabbit hole of combo vs separate I go.

Originally Posted by Sawhack

That said, it would save space, and provide a much wider jointing capacity (though not sure if I need it…)

I've got a Carbatec 8" helical head long bed jointer and a Carbatec 13" spiral head thicknesser (the ubiquitous lunch box). The helical head definitely makes a difference in the cut quality. What sleake says is spot on regarding this jointer. The parallelogram beds are easy to align and stay aligned. The helical head and the parallelogram adjustment were my main reasons for picking the Carbatec (no Timbecon in Brisbane). I wanted machinery that wouldn't require fussing over and the Carbatec, despite its lower price, fits the bill there.

I haven't moved with the jointer but I do use it's wheels to move it around the garage and so far I haven't had to readjust the beds in 4.5 years. When I started using the jointer I checked the fence for square each time and when I moved the fence across the bed I'd check it again, I don't anymore because it was/is always square. I don't use the fence tilt at all so can't really comment there. More power would be nice but I normally take off ~2mm or less a pass and it's more than adequate for that. Would I pay $1500 more just for more power? No. Control the feed rate and depth of cut and it produces an excellent finish each time.

I've highlighted part of your last post because that is actually the only reason I would consider upgrading from this jointer. Never say you won't need the extra capacity, your next 'look at the grain on that board!" board will always be 1" wider than your jointer (always!). If I upgrade, it would definitely be to a 16"/41cm SCM or Hammer combo machine. But that said, I'm in no hurry at all to upgrade.