On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 07:18:12 -0600, "Knothead"
wrote:

Does $3400 for that monster seem worth the effort?

Not for timber framing.

For some uses, I can see that sort of machine being useful. But for
the quality of finish I need for framing work, I can buy S/H machines
of this size for a lot less than that sort of money. Maybe for oak,
maybe if you're feeding recycled stock and going to hit the odd nail,
if the extra benefits of carbide tooling are worth it to you....

I don't know - but don't rush at it, compare what other machines you
could have instead. Maybe you need a big 12" jointer, but that doesn't
necessarily mean you need _this_ jointer.

The Oliver
website seems to make it sound a bit too easy... " quick and easy blade
change with no setting required".

I don't know Olivers....

The usual setup isn't a "knife", but rather a line of tungsten carbide
inserts. This is an idea copied wholesale from metalworking, where
carbide inserts have been common practice for maybe 25 years now.
Their advantages are the long wear life of carbide, relatively low
cost (these things are made by the million), easy set-up and alignment
and especially for wide jointers, the ability to replace damage in
sections.

Like many thickness planers, and a few jointers, these knives are
deliberately non-adjustable, therefore don't require adjustment. You
put the right inserts in, and the machining of their holder does the
rest. A moderately trained operator can do it, not a tool-setter
(another cost saving).

However do the maths first - what are the inserts, are any included
(including spares), can you get more of them (there are _many_
variations and you need exactly the right sort) - then what will a new
"set of knives" cost you ?
--
Smert' spamionam