On 11/23/2020 2:29 PM, Leon wrote:
I am considering the purchase of a combination jointer/ planer machine.

I had a Craftsman 6" jointer years ago and it was useful for tying our dogs
leashes to.Â* Not much else.Â* When our last Great Dane express less interest
of being out in the shop with me I got rad of that planer.

I currently have a 15" Delta stationary planer that has no frills.Â* And the
motor has to be removed to sharpen the knives.Â* No fun there and this
actually detours me from wanting to use it al all.Â* Prior to that I had one
of the first bench top planers, a Ryobi AP10.Â* And I used that thing all
the time.

Anyway when I build for customers I have little use for a jointer.Â* I buy
S4S lumber.Â* Buying ready to go lumber saves me time and the customer money
paying me to mill the wood.Â* S4S comes in consistent sizes so materials
optimization programs work really well.

I want to focus more on smaller jobs/projects that are easy to deliver.Â* ;~)

And I want to use more exotic/expensive woods for this purpose.Â* Enter the
need again for a jointer.Â* We all know that rough cut lumber is less
expensive than S4S.Â* And with smaller projects there is no need for a
jointer that can straighten an 8' board.

With all of this in mind I am looking at both 12" and 16" jointer/planer
combo machines.

With the 16" machine I get a planer that will handle 1" wider than I can
handle now and I get a really wide jointer.

I can buy a jointer by it self and continue to use my 15" planer but the 3
car garage is getting smaller.Â* I will sell the 15" Delta planer.Â* The como
machine should only take up twice the space of my planer.Â* My Delta planer
is on a mobile base and has the larger chrome roller in feed and out feed
extensions so it has a bigger than normal foot print.Â* They do fold down
but still the foot print is bigger.

Does any on here have or use a jointer/planer combo machine?

Thoughts?

I have worn YouTube out watching videos on the offerings from different
brands.

The machines that I am seriously considering are from Jet and Hammer.

I looked at Grizzly, 12", with the spiral carbide toothed cutter head. And
that looked promising until I compared it to the Hammer cutter head. Â*The
Grizzly cutter head had 32 carbide teeth.Â* The Hammer 12" had what appears
to be a load more.Â* The Grizzly teeth seem to be spaced every other one as
blank with 4 quarter turn rows.Â* The Hammer teeth appear to almost be over
lapping next to each other and appear to have a single full complete
revolution row.

Hammer claims and some video's indicate that their cutter head/carbide
teeth, runs much more quietly.Â* I wonder if that is because you hear a
constant shearing vs, hearing 4 separate tows of teeth hitting the wood.
Anyway shocking less noisy than my 15" Delta with DC running.

Thoughts?

12" vs. 16"
16" would be lovely to have but would I ever use that capacity?Â* It's
tables are a couple of inches shorter than a conventional 8" jointer, 70"
And I'll say again, I'm not looking to straighten 8' boards. BUT WOW a 16"
jointer!!!!
12" is smaller.....and a lot wider than my current non-existent jointer.
Â*The planer would naturally also be 12" and 3" narrower than my 15"
Delta.Â* Tables are about 16" shorter than the 16" model, 54"

Comparing the foot print of the 12 and 16 Hammers, the 16" is 16" longer
and 4" deeper.

I see some complaints about the Hammer but mostly about the fence.Â* It like
most in this category is extruded aluminum attached to a sheet metal
adjustment carriage.Â* Most going to these type setups from the conventional
joiners wish for an iron fence because there is no back and forth
deflection at the far end of the fence.Â* Does that even matter? It is not
like you are ripping to a specific width on a jointer. So I don't think
this concerns me.Â* The fence does hold the angle setting with no complaints
about that.

Carbide tooth cutter heads certainly go farther between sharpening and I
suspect that a replacement set, after using all 4 cutting edges would be a
wash over replacing or resharpening high speed steel knives over the same
period of use.Â* Hammer claims 20 times longer use out of carbide teeth vs.
their double edged disposable knives.Â* IIRC their disposable knives are
between $20~$30.Â* IIRC the carbide teeth are approximately $325-$375 per set.

Thoughts?

I have pretty much eliminated the Grizzly from the mix.Â* It is much less
expensive but all things considered I think I would be happier with the
Hammer.Â* Grizzly made some where in Asia, Hammer made in Austria.Â* The 12"
Hammer and 12" Grizzly are currently priced $4250. and $3000 respectively.
The 12" Hammer is currently on promotion for 17% off regular price of
$5094.Â* The 16" Hammer is normally $6849, on promotion, $5960.

PLUS shipping and a mobility kit and a dial indicator for planer
thickness.Â* Apparently accurate toÂ* thousands of an inch.Â* And Tax.

This machine IS NOT expected to pay for itself so much as help me process
more exotic unmiled wood.

Thoughts?

The 12" Jet compares, in size with the Hammer 12"Â* All specs, that I am
concerned about are with in an inch or so.Â* Both the Jet and the Hammer
designs have been around for at least 10 years.Â* The Jet is currently on
sale at 15% off, $3654 vs $4299 through the end of this month.Â* The jet has
free delivery.

I think for $600 more the Hammer, being Austrian made vs. the Asian Jet
might make me feel better.Â* If I decide on the 16" Hammer, nothing else
that I have looked at interests me.

I looked at the MiniMax FS 30c but was totally turned off with the effort
to convert to planer mode.Â* It has the American vs. Euro guard and has to
be disassembled and removed,Â* the fence also has to be removed.Â* And then
the tables, in feed and out feed lift independently and and different
angles.Â* From what I have read keeping the tables co planer was a problem
until manufacturers tied the tables together to lift up as a unit.Â* Nothing
has to be removed on the Hammer.

So I'm leaning towards the Hammer, 12 or 16"


Well, Hammer equipment is definitely top-shelf stuff and I've never heard a
complaint other than the pain induced by writing the check for it. I use a
Robland X-31 combination machine which has a 12" planer/jointer, table saw,
spindle shaper, and even a mortising machine. It is definitely bottom tier
equipment compared to Hammer but I've had no problems beyond replacing the
original knives with flip-over insert blades and replacing some belts in 20
years. As in all things, you will invariably find stock that you need that
just won't fit into your equipment. I fell into that with my dining room
table but was lucky enough to get somebody in the WW guild to run my big
slabs through his heavy iron.

--
Bodger's Dictum: Artifical intelligence
can never overcome natural stupidity.