Thread: Which 6 inch jointer?

If you can spend $2k, go for an 8" if you have the space


1. Do all of these jointers cut square and true? Any jointer can be made to cut straight and square, the question is how much messing around will it take to get there and will it stay that way


1. Is the Laguna or Carbatec better or are they equal? Can Laguna justify the extra cost!!!? Depends if the Carbatec is a true helical head (inserts slightly angled, like the Laguna) or not. See here: Which jointer should I buy? you want helical, not spiral

2. In comparison to the straight knife Jointers
- would either of these still be better than the best straight knife jointer
Ie.. Would you go Carbatec spiral head or the best straight cutter on the market ( jet/ Laguna?) I ask this as the better straight knife jointers still cost more than the Carbatec spiral head!! A helical head will pretty much always give you a better finish than straight knives and will be quieter as well. What you're paying for in the top end straight knife machines will be name and (hopefully) build quality; better castings, bearings, etc.


​Hope that helps a bit, can't really say which of them I'd take as I've never used them

Go 8" you won't regret it! The extra 2" makes a difference......

If I can choose again I will buy the best and widest, yes, it often means the most expensive.

6" is too limiting.

at least 8 or 10

if you can spend $2000, you can probably spend $4000. Think of it as an investment.

Just five words, 8", parallelogram, spiral carbide head.

John

Thanks for the reply guys.
Unfortunately I really am limited in room and cannot go above 2K ( that's stretching it)!

So by the sounds of it the Laguna is a genuine quality machine and as a true helical jointer would beat most of the rest. Does anyone have any experience with this machine? Does it take a lot of mucking around to set up/does it stay square and true? Is it worth the bang for the buck?

Okay I guess I will ask this out of curiosity- Would you guys go an 8 inch Carbatec straight knife jointer for $1600 or the best 6inch helical cutter. (2000)
Don't think I can do it with my space and at 245KG but I'm curious if you had the choice best 6 inch vs average 8inch?

Thanks all

I'd take the extra width, especially on a jointer. You generally don't use a jointer for finishing, so any tearout from straight knives will be cleaned up by the thicknesser or sander.

That being said, the whole job starts at the jointer and you don't want to have to constantly check that it's accurate.

I've got the carbatec 8 inch straight knife jointer. It performs well. I also have a 15 inch Powermatic helical head thicknesser. The jointer simply gets the stock flat and square on one side. I then use the thicknesser to make the stock faces parallel, including running the jointed surface through at least once. I wouldn't get a 6 inch. Too limiting. The extra 2 inches are used more than you might imagine.

Cheers,

ajw

you can change the cutter head to helical head later on if like, but you can not turn a 6" to 8"

All the best