Best 6" jointer for the money?

[runway1]

Having a problem table saw jointing some 48" long boards. Seems the ends taper one way or another.

Anyhow, looking into a jointer now. Thinking of the Grizzly G0654. How's that compared to the Harbor Freight $299 jointer?

[sibi1972]

Passing the tool section in HD last night I saw the Ridgid 6" jointer for $301. Not a bad price, sometimes they mail coupons for $50 so that could cut it to $251 and I haven't been let down with mine.

"Red"

[runway1]

>Passing the tool section in HD last night I saw the Ridgid
>6" jointer for $301. Not a bad price, sometimes they mail
>coupons for $50 so that could cut it to $251 and I haven't
>been let down with mine.
>
>"Red"

Wow, I'll check that today. Thanks!

[brburns]

That would be a good deal. I had the Ridgid jointer for a couple years with no complaints. Only sold it to upgrade to 8".

You might want to watch Craigslist in your area for a used one. I see 6" jointers on there all the time in my area.

[Sawduster]

I'd go the extra $110 or so and get the Griz between those two. Somewhere out there on the net, and maybe in a few places, are lists of HF "Bargains", that is those HF tools that are of decent quality and longevity that they are good deals. Don't know if that jointer is on the list or not, but with the Griz you get a product with a good reputation in both customer service and reliability of product.

[sibi1972]

Jerry,

I'd stay away from HF if I could on big tools but between the Griz for $411 and the Ridgid for as little as $251 (if 'ya can come up with a stupid $50 coupon) I'd go the path of least resistance BC I'm a cheap guy, I just hate to spend extra if I may not have to.

"Red"

[beamerweb]

HF has some decent big tools but this jointer isn't one of 'em.

It'll joint wood just fine, but the fence is a NIGHTMARE to adjust. I went through a complete setup and tuning of a friend's once and that fence was just absolutely horrific. The machine ran just fine, not much in the way of tuning was needed - all the tables were plenty flat and the blades were almost perfectly aligned out of the box.

[sibi1972]

'Bout 5 years ago I'm in HD with a couple of buddies and I'm looking at the power tools. I see the 6 1/8" Ridgid jointer on sale for $250. The guy who drove had a small SUV. So I buy one thinking it's a real low price and at least it looks like a real tool.

But when I get to the counter, they take another $50 off the price. I don't feel I robbed them. I just stayed quiet and paid what they asked.

When we get back to work we opened the box and littered it all over the inside of my car.

So for $200 I got this jointer and I knew nothing about jointers at that time but it's been fine for what I've needed.

It's not a toy and BC it has worked well for me is why I usually reco that Ridgid jointer. Specially if one can be had for $251 ;)

EDIT: ... and the look on my wife's face when I got home and showed her "what I bought today" was ... well... you can imagine. BUT did you have to do THAT in the car??? Coulda' been worse I told her. ;)


"Red"

[Sawduster]

I was just responding to the question the OP asked. Besides, every one of the Rigid jointers I've seen on display have the blade gaurd bolt broken. It would seem to me that there is an issue with that, or else there is someone in the Austin Texas area who goes around to all the HDs and breaks that bolt. :)

One of my pet peaves about the big boxes and Sears and such is that they can't any of them seem to properly assemble the stuff they sell. And what does get assembled, albeit half arsed, continues to be on display even after stuff gets broken. What makes them think I want to buy something that apparently is quite difficult to assemble and quite easy to break?

[runway1]

What city? My HD here in so-cal has it for $429.

[brburns]

You mean the bolt that keeps you from removing the blade gaurd? After removing it twice I decided that that bolt was pointless anyway. The only way I could see breaking it wouls be to take the gaurd and turn it too far forcefully.

[Sachbvn]

Holy cripes - I just checked online and they have it marked at over $400... hmm... I always remember it being somewhere around $369....

Anyways - $301 for that sounds like a pretty good deal... at least, compared to what it normally is marked.


Zac

[Sachbvn]

lol - I do agree with that. It seems like EVERYTHING that can possibly be broken on a stationary tool... IS broken (on atleast one of the many displays) at Sears, HD, etc....

Things you'd never break in your own shop in a million years, using the SAME piece of equipment.... some A-hole has managed to walk by and break.... or maybe it was the A-hole setting it up that really didn't give two squirts.

In most cases - I would NOT bank on the idea that it really is very difficult to set up... as much as.... the assembler just didn't care. I thought my TS set up was very smooth, just follow the directions - but I guarantee there isn't a snow ball chance in hell that it would have been set up right in a big box store..... ok - now my mean green saw is feeling bad because I mentioned the possibility of it being seen in the big box store! :D


Zac

[sibi1972]

Jerry,

I knew that. I was just throwing in another possible choice in between things.

As for items on display being broken, who knows what that really means.

And in my case, I bought a jointer without knowing anything at all about them and got stupid lucky BC it does actually work as intended.

That's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it. :)

"Red"

[sibi1972]

Sorry about that. I been out most of the afternoon doing plumbing, was at HD twice but just saw this. I'll get a photo of what I actually saw tomorrow and post it. ;)

BUT -

If the Griz is $411 delivered and the Ridgid is $429, it's a toss up on price and my advise is to stay away from HF.

And the mobile base and closed stand on the Griz, it looks to be the winner there.

"Red"

[Sawduster]

From our perspective, we know that it isn't rocket science setting up tools, pretty much common sense.

But others who might be considering them might think otherwise, especially if the tool is a little different. The Ryobi BT300 was a case in point. It had a sliding table for crosscutting and I saw those installed every way you could possibly assemble them except the right way. And nothing was every adjusted so it worked right. I liked the idea of the sliding table and did some research and ended up buying one. Funny thing was that when assembled by the instructions from the start, mine was right on out of the box. And others who got the original BT3000 pretty much found the same to be the case. Thing was, someone who didn't go the extra step to find out about them likely went away with the idea that they were crap because no one bothered to set them up right in the stores. I even took a few minutes to set a few of them up right myself with an employee or two standing by watching dumbfounded. Between the lousy assembling and HD price placing them just above B&D, and the need of cutting costs in QC to get them out at the price HD wanted to sell them, the saw has now gone away.

[scottspencer]

You can get a Grizzly G0452 from Griz-auctions on Ebay for ~ $360 to your door after the Microsoft Cashback 20% promo. Enclosed base, built in wheels, stem mounted switch.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Grizzly-6-Jointer-1-HP-G0452-Brand-New-w-warranty_W0QQitemZ290265991657QQihZ019QQcategoryZ6 7227QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom/pics/jpeg500/G/G0452.jpg

[runway1]

That's darn good but I just found a used Craftsman 6 1/8" (they had to put in that 1/8") cabinet jointer on casters for $135 from craigslist. Excellent condition and only three years old.

Can't beat that.

[messmaker]

>HF has some decent big tools but this jointer isn't one of
>'em.
>
>It'll joint wood just fine, but the fence is a NIGHTMARE to
>adjust. I went through a complete setup and tuning of a
>friend's once and that fence was just absolutely horrific.
>The machine ran just fine, not much in the way of tuning was
>needed - all the tables were plenty flat and the blades were
>almost perfectly aligned out of the box.

It is a very short nightmare though. I put a welders magnet on the bed and square up the fence to it. It takes about 30 seconds. I bought the HF jointer used, years ago, and it has never given me a minutes problem. The blades are not easy to change but they are not alone on this issue. I got this jointer when money was tight and expected to upgrade down the line but can't come up with a good reason. A jointer is not that complicated. If the bed is flat, the fence is square and the blades are sharp, it will probably do OK.

[Sonny Edmonds]

With a Craftsman, you could be beating your head against the wall later.
First when it doesn't work well. Later when it becomes "Yard Art" because you can't sell it.
Just be careful about how tight you pinch your pennies.

:D

[link:home.earthlink.net/~pie/data/index.html|Sonny Edmonds ]
Saugus, CA
"Precision Firewood Specialist"

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[runway1]

Yeah, I'm not a Craftsman fan at all, after about 1975. My TS is a Craftsman from 1968 and it's a honey.

Anyhow, the thing seems to work fine for now and it's dead smooth. For $135, it'll do for a couple years.

[arcticfox46]

I would go for the closed stand Grizz that Scott posted in post #17

The closed stand makes dust collection a breeze. The open stand ones are quite difficult for dust collection.

[sibi1972]

I'd never say around here that I'm not crazy, but that's not the case this time. ;)

Maybe the price in the store is different then the one posted on the HD web site.

"Red"