The problem is only that you have so many choices. For a long time, the hobby shop standard was a 6” three knife jointer (and there were 4” jointers before that). Lotta stuff got made with those.
Go back to needs and wants, your budget and what you plan to build. Do you need a spiral cutterhead? Do you plan to work with woods that are hard on steel knives (pecan, hickory, teak,...) or prone to tear out (figured woods)? Is changing knives a problem for you - might be once a year for a hobbyist?
Are you going to work with long timbers - for doors, countertops, etc - where you need long infeed/outfeed tables?
Do you need a high horsepower machine - hard wood, deep cuts?
Do you need fancy adjustments - parallelogram machines, handwheels, digital readouts? Will you be changing depth of cut often and by much?
FWIW, I have a 12" j/p combo (Robland). The jointer is a short bed. Never use the 12" planer - switchover is a bit of pain but worse is having to switch back and forth if you need one more part - instead I have a separate 15" Powermatic with steel knives.
Speaking for myself, I'd be looking for used equipment. New prices have spiraled out of control. For example, looks like the 'basic' straight knife 8" Griz jointer is 2x the price it was 5 years ago.
-Mark
Mark,
So true... 6", 8", 12", etc. jointers. Handwheels, levers, straight knives, spiral/helical. 72", 7x", 82", 8x" beds, DRO, non-DRO.
After dinging something with my lunchbox planer, and it using straight knives, I'd rather deal with segmented cutters.
Furniture builds: I plan on making 2+ dining room table tops in 2022, 1 for my dining room and 1 for my outdoor entertainment area (between 6' to 8' long and maybe 1-2 more down the road?), so I would imagine a slightly longer bed would be better for that. Other than that, more nightstands, built-in desk (less than 7' long), master closet built-ins (faceframes/drawer fronts), blanket chests, bedroom furniture, and maybe some items for friends/family (dining room tables, smaller items like dresser, end tables/nightstands, cutting board/butcher block).
Budget: I'd be ok with spending between $5,000 - $7,000 for a combo or 2 separates, just as long as they are "life long" tools, great quality/reliability... you know the rest.
Wood type/s: Definitely using Red\White oak, Walnut, Ash, Cherry, Maple.
Maybe down the road: pecan, hickory, p.h., and maybe 1-2 exotics.. but these would be most likely a very small percentage of items I would build with these woods.
I am a 1 man hobby garage shop, so I wouldn't move that jointer much, if ever? Ease of use, and reliability, would that be parallelogram, or dovetail? Also, would 2hp work, or would that be overloaded? 3hp much better choice?
I can't see myself affording/buying a stand alone 12" jointer, ever...so 8" wide would probably be it, if I never went with a JP combo. A combo, I'd be ok with 12" & shorter beds.
Regarding "fancy" adjustment question. I don't need handwheels, but if those are easier and better for accuracy, why not. I don't need a DRO, so I am ok without that. If parallelogram is easier to use, better in terms of quality and longevity, sign me up!
Prices: Yeah, new equipment has definitely gone through the roof, but regardless... I am not sure I really want used. I'd prefer new.
If I just purchased a jointer, 8", I'd use my 12.5" Dewalt lunchbox planer until it broke or I needed to hop up to a 15".
I know PM, Jet, Griz, Laguna all have sales, which would help ease the pain of the higher prices, but I don't know which way to look. They all appear to be either China or Taiwan built, same/similar castings, 1 year warranty on the motor only while some have 2-5 years on the rest of the jointer.... I hear stories on all of these jointer.. they are great, crap, ok.. Phenomenal customer service, crap service.. great build.. poor build... I guess there is no rhyme or reason with any brands, $2000 - $4,500 jointers... Just appears to be.. "you just happened to have been lucky.." or.. "you just got a lemon, because we've all have wonderful experiences with that brand/model.
I bought a brand new SawStop 3hp PCS..it sat for almost 1 year until I had the electrical install. Once the electrical was installed, the saw never worked. Flashing red lights over and over.. issues upon more issues.. troubleshooting upon troubleshooting.. etc.. They finally sent me a brand new saw and I've only ran it once since receiving it.. (turned it on then right off) and I received the new replacement end of May/early June (?) of this year. I guess I am just fearful that it will trip for no apparent reason and blow another cartridge and then damage/destroy my $$$$ blades.
My point is, I don't want to go through another migraine with another expensive tool. Also, SawStop (like PM, or some other higher end tool) is glorified on most/all forums.. then again, it isn't perfect and they all have flaws, so.. I guess, in the end, does it matter if I spend $5k+ on a jointer/planer combo.. or $2k - $3k on a jointer as well as a planer?
It is a little frustrating, because I still don't know what is "best" for myself/shop, and projects. All I know is... I want to stay with woodworking for a long time (20+ years), so a quality product is my end goal. Also, I don't have a problem paying for that tool. Buy once.. cry once.
Thanks again! Rory