While glancing through the local craigs list I somewhat regularly see
old jointers for sale (sans motor and stand) for $50 or so:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...534317278.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/an...508550957.html

Of course it depends on the particular instance, but in general, how
hard is to get something like that working again?

If you were looking at one of these, what should one keep an eye out
for?

Where would one look for blades, motor, belt, etc.?

[I realize that I'd probably be way ahead in both hours and dollars to
get a minimum-wage evening/weekend job for a month or two and just buy
a new jointer.]

There are frequently even ones _with_ motor and stand for less than
$100 (almost always old Craftsman units):

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cs...533498002.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/da...501402373.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cs...511117283.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...463665166.html

I love the stand on this one:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/an...532109093.html

P.S. to CL posters:

For pete's sake look up the difference between "joiner" and
"jointer" when trying to sell either. Kids these days... mumble...
mumble.

P.P.S. to same:

It's spelled "planer" -- WITH ONE 'N'. [I don't know what I'll do if
Usenet and mailing lists get replaced by those awful web-forums. Do
they run all posts on those through some sort of automated tool that
mucks up the spelling, grammar, and punctuation? Do you get kicked
out if you use complete sentences or your real name?]

--
Grant Edwards grant.b.edwards Yow! ... I have read the
at INSTRUCTIONS ...
gmail.com