"JustME" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi all,

I'm fairly new to the woodworking world so I need some help with this
one. I'm wanting to purchase a planer or a jointer, but not sure which
one I should buy FIRST? I would like to purchase both at the same time,
but I can only afford one at the moment. I would like to build small to
medium furniture, so each of these tools is a neccessity, but we can't
always have what we want. As far as the value of each tool is concerned
which would offer me the most starting out? Which models would be good
for a beginner as well? Thanks for all your help.

Matt in Benton, AR

IMHO, if you can only have one, get a planer. If you have a table saw, it's
not that hard to do edge jointing on it with a bit of fixturing. Probably
90% of the work I do on my DJ-20 is edge jointing. If you're determined to
do so, you can even do some face jointing with the planer, again with enough
fixturing. OTOH, it's a lot harder to duplicate the results of a thickness
planer. If I was starting out, I would go with either the Delta 22-580 or
the Dewalt DW735. If I already had a dust collector, I'd probably save $130
and go with the Delta. If I didn't have a dust collector and didn't plan on
buying one soon, I'd lean towards the Dewalt. The Dewalt has an integrated
chip ejection fan that according to feedback I've heard works reasonably
well. I can't speak to that personally, since I have the Delta 22-580.

todd