Rikon jointer/thicknesser?

Did You ever see one?

Curt Harms

>There was one at a Woodcraft a few months ago. The tables were aluminum and weighed 10 lbs. each, if that. WAY too flimsy. Rikon's bandsaws on the other hand ;-)...

Grizzly has a 12" Jointer/Planer due around the middle of the year that looks interesting at least in the catalog, around 650 lbs and 5 h.p.

I understand...

VTAndy4

>... that it is not a heavy duty machine, but I'm really not asking for reviews --- I just wanted to know whether it was ever brought into the U.S., or will it be brought here, etc.

It is interesting that Woodcraft had one only recently -- I believe that it is not listed on their website.

Mafell makes a portable jointer/thicknesser that has probably never been brought into the U.S. market. I don't really understand why these combination machines are not more prevalent here among 'light duty' users.

Thanks,

Andy

and also

VTAndy4

>I wanted to add that I didn't mean to sound dismissive in the previous post. I know that these machines aren't up to the highest standards --- it's just that at this point I'm more interested in their availability than in criticisms of their quality.

-Andy

Re: and also

Mike G. in SC

>Makita used to make one. I think you can still find them. They might still make them for all I know. :) It was/is a 12" planer with a side mounted 6" jointer. Hitachi also made one too IIRC. For portable power tools, they are pretty hefty. HTH's.

Mike G. in SC

Thanks

VTAndy4

>

Re: Did You ever see one? *LINK*

wilbur

>I bought a Rikon 25-010 jointer/planer one back in the fall from the Woodcraft store in New Castle, Delaware. They had to order one for me. There's still one online site that lists it for sale.

As far as the flimsiness of the machine itself, I haven't noticed it. I can joint up to 4' long boards without any problem, and I have been able to go up to 6' in length. If I built an outfeed table, I could probably go even longer. Having the capacity to joint boards up to 10" wide is just great. I've found that I need the capability to joint wide boards much more often than I need to joint long ones.

These type of machines are very popular in the U.K. and Europe. Even DeWalt sells a jointer/planer over there, although in the U.K and Europe they are called planer/thicknessers. The aluminum tables are lighter weight than your typical cast iron jointer. But the question should not be whether the tables are "flimsy". The question should be, "Can you joint/plane a board up to the capacity you need?"

The suggestion that this machine is flimsy is simply not true. The first time I ran the machine, I was able to joint boards without noticing any shakiness or rocking. Then I noticed that I forgot to put the mobile base into the locked position.

If they are still available, I think that being able to joint a 10" wide board for ~$650 can't be beat. I will agree that there are reasons to consider another machine, but being a lightweight machine isn't one of them.

You also might want to call Rikon directly.


One online store that still lists the Rikon 25-010

Consider me duly chastised

Curt Harms

>Wilbur's review is the first mentioned I've seen of someone who has actually USED one. I was interested, it'd be a lot easier to move 250 lbs. or whatever in and out of a basement shop than 640 lbs. or whatever. The people at Woodcraft hadn't even powered up the one they stocked let alone run anything through it. It sounds like some demos would have been helpful. I did buy a Rikon 10-325 and had a sick motor out of the box. Their customer service was exemplary.

Curt

Re: Did You ever see one?

VTAndy4

>Thanks, Wilbur. I'm wondering if they actually stopped making this thing. Perhaps the U.S. market is too skeptical of these contraptions? A nearby dealer has a General combination planer/thicknesser but it is three times the cost and much heavier, as well.

-Andy

I just missed a Makita last week.

Don Henthorn

>Had a roller missing but otherwise looked in good shape. Sold for $35.00 by the time I called. Grrrrrr.

Re: I just missed a Makita last week.

Tom Stockton

>35$ is a steal. the only gripe on the makita's is that the feed rollerr go bad and get gummy. Replacements from makita are really expensive but there are companies that will re do them for a lot less. There are also two versions of the makita the origanal one with 2 support posts and a second generation with four posts and two feed speeds. second generation one are way nicer.

I have the hitachi that is about 22 years old and hasd been used in a pro shop for most of that time. In that time i've replaced a few switches, the cutterhead bearings, to many sets of brushes to remember and a couple of drive belts when the bearings siezed or I forgot to unlock the cutterhead when swapping out blades but the machine is a work horse and does a real nice cut.

Even with the repairs I would say it is fairly trouble free.

I see both of these machines on craigslist going around $500, which is a lot of machine for the dollar.

The hitachi is a much nicer machine than the first version of the makita, the second version of the makita is a little nicer than the hitachi. But if I had to choose I would c pick up the first good conditiom hitachi or 2nd gen makita I saw for the right price.

Hitachi still imports a lightweight version but I wouldn't consider one personally

Re: Did You ever see one?

wilbur

>Probably not so much stopped making it as stopped importing it. If you look on the online tool stores from the U.K., it seems like everyone and his brother makes a 10" combination jointer/planer machine.

It's a shame this type of machine hasn't become more popular in the U.S. The main reason I got one was space. The second was budget. The third was that it didn't make sense to me that I was going to have a bandsaw that could resaw 10" wide boards without the ability to joint the same piece of wood, and there was no way I would be able to get a 12" regular style jointer into my basement.

There is a BIG jump between the 10" version of these machines, and the 12" models. The 12" jointer/planers are definitely stationary machines, whereas the 10" models are also designed for mobility. It's like the difference between a 13" lunchbox planer and a 15" stationary planer.

Hopefully one day jointer/planers will become more popular in the U.S. I think many people would find them useful, if they could get past the issue of it not having a cast iron table.

Rikon jointer/thicknesser - update

VTAndy4

>Hi,

To anyone who was curious about this, I received a response from Rikon. They discontinued the aluminum model in advance of a cast-iron model that is in the pipeline -- good news, I guess.

Cheers,

Andy