Jointer Questions

[N80]

I got a saw mill a few years ago. Mostly for posts, beams, and 2x6 type stuff.

But, I'm also sawing a bit of decent hardwood and starting to do some woodworking. I'm not an experienced woodworker but I have a large lathe that I have some experience with. I have a benchtop planer, a good bandsaw and various other tools. I've built built-in shelves for the house.

Now I have some projects that would benefit from a jointer. I'm not deep enough into woodworking to buy a floor standing jointer. The bench top ones do not inspire much confidence and I may be edge jointing some long (7-8' boards).

Anyway, there is a 6" Delta floor standing jointer on Craig's list near by. It is an older model and made in the US. Guy says "it works". It is about $350. Problem is that the blade guard is gone and I don't see any such parts available for this model anywhere on the internet.

I like have reasonable safe guards on my tools and equipment so I'm leary.

Wondering what more experienced woodworkers think about operating a 6" floor standing jointer with no blade guard.

 

[Topzide]

NO! As this type of machine is quite dangerous. The gruad swings away as needed to allow the board to slide past. Find one complete or save and buy new. Drizzly often has some good sales.

 

[4570Man]

If you adjusted the fence to the width of the board so there’s no exposed cutter it would be relatively safe. Or most jointer guards just fit in a round hole. Something else would probably fit. But I’ve seen 6” jointers with all the parts for $350.

 

[D&D]

Wondering what more experienced woodworkers think about operating a 6" floor standing jointer with no blade guard.

I would not use one without guards in place. Heres a pretty good article about them

6" Jointers

These machines flatten and square lumber with unequaled speed and accuracy.

www.woodmagazine.com

 

[garry1p]

of all the woodworking tools I have owned and there was Lots of stuff the least used machine I had was the jointer.
Blade guard can be worked around but what about blades without new blades it wont be worth much.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

To me this is a big deal, I'm betting you will "very soon" wish it was an 8" jointer.

A guard can easily be made, but it will always bug you that's it only 6" wide.

I had a 6" and I always hated it because it was always "just" a little too small, I moved up to an 8" and I've been happy with it for more than 40 years.

SR

 

[3Ts]

I have a 6" floor mount jointer and wish it were 8" or maybe even wider. I do run boards wider than 6" at times and to do so I have to remove the guard. Get a wider jointer.

 

[N80]

Thanks guys.

I have searched online and have not seen any decent floor standing jointer in the region for $350.

I was wondering if the blade guard was similar on most Delta or Rockwell type machines. But that would be a shot in the dark and could get pricey if done by trial and error.

As for the blades, you can still get them with no problem and they are not expensive. For $400 or less there are helical blades that come with new bearings. That would be pushing the total price up around $800.

Sawyer Rob, I agree. An 8" jointer would certainly be better. But this is a minor hobby and I'm trying to keep costs down. I do also have a 13" planer. You can get bench top 8" jointers for around $600 with cast iron tables. They all look like the same design and most are made in China. They have "spiral" blades which is not the same as helical but the cutters are carbide and have two cutting edges (so you can turn it when one side is dull). This might be the answer but the tables are relatively short for working longer boards. This one is made in Taiwan not the "people's republic".

8" Spiral Cutterhead Benchtop Jointer (Cast Iron Tables) - CUTECH 40180HI

 

[TBob42]

I've found some interesting items on Facebook Marketplace. I just picked up a fairly new Grapple bucket on the cheap. I had a couple hours round trip to the People's Republic to pick it up. But it's just not useful to the former owner. You might consider looking on FB, in your own area of course.