A couple of observations. HF is IMHO good for disposables, and that
includes the majority of their machines. I own a HF 1" belt sander I
bought for $25 on sale and use just to sharpen things, and its fine for
that, but if it broke during use it would not injure me physically and
I can afford the dollar loss. Don't be seduced by the price,
generally, you get what you pay for. Second, last time I noticed,
jointer cutterheads spin at high rpm with knives in them; so how much
confidence do you have in the engineering and manufacturing tolerances,
much less the assembly process, of a tool built to sell for so little
when during its operation you are standing right above that cutterhead
pushing wood through it. Third, think parts. Unless this is a one job
throwaway purchase, you might need a part from time to time.

Do yourself a favor, get a quality manufacturer used, or if new, go
Grizzly benchtop for $199, or the old standby 6" jointer for about
$350, the latter machine (or its predecessor) served me very well for
12 years until I upgraded to an 8" machine. Wilke Machinery sells
their Yorkcraft 6" for about $320, and I hear its a very servicable
machine. My two cents.

Mutt

On Jan 25, 8:28 pm, Everett Cotton
wrote:
I know that Harbor Freight is considered at ground zero for most if
not all of there power tools, and most everything else. However I was
wondering about the 6" jointer. They are on sale at the local Harbor
freight for $ 199 minus 15%. This sounds like an amazing price. At
present I need a jointer for truing up square wood for turning 34 "
legs for Islands. Would appreciate any help in making the decision to
buy it. What I really want is a good used jointer, but have not found
anything suitable in my four month search.

Thanks in advance

Everett Cotton