New 12” jointer

Re: New 12” jointer

Barry Irby

Congrats on the jointer.

I installed a Shelix head on my old 6" Rockwell jointer. I like it a lot. Got it directly from Byrd. Google them. They have some in stock and some you have to wait for them to get to your version to make it. I bought mine with the bearings already installed. Installation could not have been easier. They even sent a few spare cutters. (Not that I would EVER hit a nail or rock, you know) I even sold the old head and knives.

I am in the process of buying and old 15" planer and will replace the head on that as soon as I get it.

Re: New 12” jointer

Brian Holcombe

Minimax is good, they make stand alone jointers (In addition to jointer planers) but smallest size might be 16”.

I prefer Tersa to spiral. Smaller scallops, easy blade replacement.

Single phase was important to me as well, but I have two three phase machines now and feel that a RPC is no big deal to use and opens up the realm of good used industrial machines.

Tersa Cutter Question

Thomas Skaggs, Foothills of Mount Level

I often work with curly and figured woods. They can be wicked to surface. I started out with a straight knife jointer. Tearout was really awful sometimes. When I scaled up the size of my jointer (Bridgewood) I got a shelix cutterhead. I found the tearout was reduced quite a bit.

So now there are Tersa cutters. It's obvious to see how easy and fast they are to replace. That's great. But they appear to work much the same as the straight knives. Wouldn't their cutting action produce a similar problem on figured wood as the knives? I confess, I don't know much about Tersa.

Can someone enlighten me? Thanks!

T.

Re: New 12” jointer

Hank Knight

How much can you afford? Oliver makes an outstanding single phase 12" jointer with a spiral cutterhead. It's north of $5K. (http://www.olivermachinery.net/machines/jointers/4260) I have a Hammer 12" jointer/planer that is a wonderful machine. It runs about 2/3 the cost of the Hammer. Mine has straight knives (got a deal on it second hand - almost new, with straight knives). You may not need the planer feature, but the machine is very compact and is perfect for my small shop. I used to have a little Inca 10 1/2" jointer/planer with a Tersa cutterhead. I loved it and used it for 20 years. The Hammer is a much more robust machine. Thomas Skaggs is right about the Tersa head. It is a straight knife arrangement and has the same tear out issues as any other straight knife machine. But, boy, is it convenient when it comes to changing knives. My Hammer has an easy change knife system that is nice, but it's not nearly as easy as the Tersa system. I think Laguna also makes a 12" stand-alone jointer, but I don't know anything about them.

Re: New 12” jointer

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

I have had the spiral insert version of the Hammer A3-31, which Hank mentions, for about 4 years now. The reason I purchased a 12" combination machine was to gain access to a 12" jointer without paying an arm and a leg for a stand alone jointer with spiral blades this width.

This is not a cheap machine for the amateur, but it is totally worth it if you can afford the cost. 90% of the wood I work is interlocked and hard, and the A3-31 has never had a difficulty taming all. I am still on the same set of carbide inserts, although on the second face. Each insert has 4 faces, so it will be several more years before they are changed out.

The shorter beds of a combo machine have not been a limitation at all. My previous machine was a dedicated 8" jointer, which had long beds. I build medium-to-large pieces. In any event, there are bed extensions available should you need the extra length.

I am not trying to sell this particular machine, but illustrating the reasoning behind getting a combo as an alternative to a dedicated 12" jointer.

Regards from Perth

Derek

i second derek's comments

Adam of Oakland

i've the same a3-31 that derek has with the helical cutterblock. it's by far the most expensive machine in my shop, but i rely on it heavily and it's been steadfast.

Re: New 12” jointer

Michael van pelt

Thanks! Food for thought! Trying to buy the most for the least! Never thought of a combination but sure makes good sence!

Re: Tersa Cutter Question

Brian Holcombe

Thomas,

I’m careful about grain direction and I joint slowly.

For sure.

Thomas Skaggs, Foothills of Mount Level

After 25 years of curly woods, bird's eye and wood like sapele I have found no magic bullet. That said, I agree, slow, light and easy yields better results.

That said, if I ever can build up the funds, I might get a wide sander to use for final passes. Now I just need a visit from the "money fairy"!

T.

Wide sander, not without its problems

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I bought a used Performax 18" and I am surprised how much I use it for dimensioning, especially thin stuff. But I don't use it on show surfaces. Even with a 100 grit belt it leaves nasty rogue scratches that are tedious to remove by hand sanding. As sloppy as I am about a lot of the project I can not abide by any scratch that finds its way into the final product. I finish sand by hand and I find even the faintest scratch as I scrutinize progress with the final grits. These leave regrets at having started with the Performax.

I suppose the solution would be to follow up with 120 or finer but it is such a pain to replace the belt that I just avoid belt sanding show surfaces.

No problem

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

While I mostly gave up on heavy grit (24-36) abrasive planing on my P-max, I set up a work flow for all of the stock in a given project. I usually start with 80 grit to get parallel surfaces, then switch through the gits up to 150. It also helps to work the stock at slight alternating angles to the drum with the final cut in line with the face grain. Takes all of 90 seconds to change belts. The guys I've spoken to who have trouble with errant scratches have usually either not put sufficient tension on the wrap which allows the abrasive to buckle a bit, or tried to hog off too much with each pass. Also, if working a belt for any appreciable time, its a good idea to check and adjust the inboard tensioning clamp as the belts (especially new ones) can stretch a bit as they get warm.

Re: For sure.

Brian Holcombe

It’s pretty comparable to a helical head, the shop near me has one and I trust the tersa with sharp knives over that shelix.

I just planed about 100~ linear feat of Iroko to .110” with zero tearout. Does the same with radial grained woods that I know to be very tearout prone, the kind of stuff I set my chipbreaker very carefully for with handplanes goes through the machine.

I made up veneered panels recently, once the veneers were glued down I took them down to .030” (total panel was about 0.5”) without having any mishaps (coming apart or chipping out ).

Sharp knives do more for the work than anything else, imo.

Re: New 12” jointer

Michael Wilkins

Going to second he idea from Derek about the combo machine. I recently took delivery of the A341 J/P machine from Hammer, with the Silent Power cutter head. It leaves such a smooth surface that I am contemplating selling my dual drum sander. Got the sander to get rid of the ridges from the straight knife J/P machine I had earlier.

Grizzly has some nice looking jointers with spiral heads that may be worth a look.

Re: New 12” jointer

Michael van pelt

I am seriously considering the 12” spiral head Grizzley. Anyone own one?

Re: New 12” jointer

Larry Clinton At Frankfort, (Central) Indiana

Not the 12", but I have the Grizzly 8" with the carbide spiral inserted head. It does a great job, 99% of the marks left disappear with a light 100 grit sanding.

I also have a 20" stationary planer with the Byrd head, can't really see any difference in the quality between the two cutter heads.

Re: New 12” jointer

Paul Blackwell

I purchased a Grizzly 6" jointer with a spiral head with carbide inserts about six years ago. It leaves an incredibly smooth surface even on gnarly woods. Only a light sanding is required to finish. I'm very happy with it.