Tanner Engineering 6" Jointer

[kanemitchell99]

Hi guys,

Looking to buy a used jointer and need some advice.
I have found a Tanner Engineering, 6" jointer online that looks perfect for what I want. Has anyone heard of this brand before or know if they are any good? The plate on the jointer says they originate from Auckland in New Zealand.

The jointer has a blown motor but this is no issue as we have a few motors lying around at home and we happen to have the same motor as the one that has blown (0.75hp, 1400RPM).

Is there any specific things to look for when buying a jointer? Such as points of wear or low quality components?

It comes with sharpened blades and a spare set of blades along with a new belt. Considering it is only $200 it seems like a pretty good deal.

What do you think?
418471

[orraloon]

Hard to tell from one pic but it looks like a solid machine. I would check that all adjustments move and lock in place so the infeed table has to wind up and down and lock in place. Fence has to slide side to side and lock upright and at set angles. Outfeed table looks like it is adjustable too. Check for cracks in castings, table surfaces not dished and just general condition. A machine that old may likely need the bearings in the cutter head replaced but that is not all that expensive to do.
There have been a few restorations of of old jointers on this forum in the past and google will bring up others. As to the motor replacement I think 0.75hp to be a bit on the light side and may explain why that one burned out. 1 hp or more would be better.
If you are the kind of guy who likes to fix things up then it could have potential.
And welcome to the forum.
Regards
John

[kanemitchell99]

Thanks John,

We ended up getting it and it has worked pretty well so far. The motor does seem to be working a bit when putting hardwood timber through it but it has held up so far.
Only thing is now is that we need to get a thicknesser too!

[orraloon]

Good it's all working. As to motor size just keep it on light cuts for the hardwood. Later if you do replace the motor then go a tad more grunt. Reason I said that is my jointer is about that age and a bit smaller at about 4&3/4'' wide and the 1hp motor has to work on full width hard woods. I still love the old thing.
Got a lot more character than whats on offer today.
Regards
John

[JaCee]

Hi, how did this work out for you? I'm new to woodworking and I've just been given an old Tanner 6' buzzer that I'm having trouble finding any information, operating manuals, maintenance guides to help get it up and running. How did you find this sort of info?