SS jionter vs other brands

scottss · Post by **scottss** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:20 am

I have a delta 12 1/2" planer that I purchased about 5 years ago and I have run 100s of board feet through it. It has good dust collection and it is fairly easy to change the blades. I only paid a little over $200 for it and it has paid for itself over and over again. The draw back with it is the motor can get hot with heavy use and the blades are very thin and if you hit a knot well it might be time to flip the blades. The shopsmith planer seems a little over priced. I know you can pickup a rbi hawk or woodmaster that will also have the ability to saw, make molding and sand for a few hundred dollars more. I also have the shopsmith jointer and love it. Before I had it I either used my router table to joint edges or didn't do it. Now I joint just about every cut. The fence and ease of adjusting makes it a great choice. I have heard that the other small jointers out there are hard to get aligned. I have the shopsmith bandsaw and love it also. I recently upgraded it with the table, fence, circle cutter and backup roller kit. I can resaw with no problem and with the ability to set the saw table at the same height to catch the wood makes a extra long ext. table. It is so much better than the jet 12"' bandsaw I used to have. I do a lot of scrollsaw work and use wood that is 1/8" -3/4" most of the time. It is easy for me to cut to size on the shopsmith tablesaw then joint on the jointer then resaw on the bandsaw then clean up the cut on the planer then I can take the piece to the scrollsaw with great results. I use a dewalt scrollsaw and love it. I have used the delta p-20 and didnt like the vs you had to change the belts. I think it is great that you can voice your opinions and experience on sites like this, it is very helpful for potential buyers.

ericolson · Post by **ericolson** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:14 pm

Just been perusing the posts and thought I'd throw into the mix. The shopsmith planer is a good machine, however it is grossly overpriced to comparable machines. Both DeWalt and Delta make machines with more capacity for substantially less cost. I own a Parks 12" planer that was originally made in 1950 so the thing is built like a tank and was originally intended to be used for industrial applications. I originally had a Delta 22-540 12" portable which I would've held on to had I not found the Parks. The SS planer is much more substantial than a portable, as it's got two drive motors: one for the cutterhead and one for feeding. With the portables, you get one direct drive motor which accomplishes both tasks. That also makes them extremely loud in operation. Both have their pros/cons, but cost is the biggest consideration. DeWalt is, by far, superior to Delta in construction and after market service.
As far as jointers, I would stay away from a 4" jointer for anything but hobbiest use. It's simply too small for my taste. I started out with a 6" jointer and quickly outgrew its capabilities. I currently use an 8" jointer and am seriously looking to upgrade to a 12" machine. I'm fortunate in that I have a separate shop, so I can have larger stand alone machinery. If you're tight on space, then the 4" SS may be a serious consideration for you. No matter what, you need a jointer for successful woodworking.
There is a common misconception that wider boards are the bane of all woodworking and that you need to do glue ups of narrower boards to ensure flatness. While true in some instances, it's more often than not a falacy. Why wider stock is disparaged so much by the woodworking mags, instructors, etc. is beyond my depth of knowledge. I consistently use stock (project depending, of course), in the 8"-12" range. I glue up the wider stock for panels, bookmatching, etc. With careful stock preparation and proper joinery, I've never had a problem with wood movement. I've got three slabs of cherry in my shop getting acclimated that are 28" wide and 72" long and they are still dead flat (table tops for a dining tables). If you take a look at what woodworkers of the late 18th century and 19th century used, then you may scratch your head about the whole narrow stock to minimize warping issue. Chippendale, Federal, Shaker, Stickley, Greene and Greene, etc., furniture styles all commonly used single width boards in case construction. Some boards were up to 20" wide. Some table tops were single width up to 36" wide!! And, over the course of a couple of hundred years, those table tops are still dead flat!! Unfortunately, boards of that width nowadays are either outrageously expensive or extremely difficult to find.
While SS and mechanical arts instructors are extremely knowledgeable, and I DO NOT want anyone to think I'm talking in a negative light about them as I'm not; history does a pretty good job of disproving the need for narrow stock glue-ups.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:05 pm

Eric - I agree with your comments above - even the use of wider boards in some cases. However we have to face the fact that not only is wood extremely expensive now-a-days, but the quality of the boards is not comparable to even a few decades ago. This stems (no pun intended) from the fact that the quality of logs and/or trees is not high. We could get into another thread (if I understand what a thread is) about this subject. Let it suffice to say that narrow growth rings - larger trees and logs - straighter trees and grain of years ago gave resulting more stable lumber. Sometimes we now even get limb wood. Not really knowing the stresses in the lumber we have, it becomes wise to use narrower boards.

Bruce · Post by **Bruce** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:26 pm

One of the Shopsmith Traveling Academy instructors told my class that a big reason that wood quality has declined in the US is that the best lumber is being shipped overseas. That's too bad!

curly57 · Post by **curly57** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:15 pm

I just got the phone call today, Woo Hoo!! my jointer and planner and belt sander will be here tommorrow!!! I did the buy two get one free deal, couldn't pass it up!! it's been almost a month since I ordered them, so as you can tell I'm pretty pumped up about getting them. I'll let you know how they run in a few days. Happy woodworking!!!.....Curly:D

scottss · Post by **scottss** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:56 am

Now thats something to be pumped about. Way to go Curly Christmas in febuary. Or should I say happy birthday. I just bought a joint-matic for my half century birthday.

ericolson · Post by **ericolson** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:16 am

charlese wrote:However we have to face the fact that not only is wood extremely expensive now-a-days, but the quality of the boards is not comparable to even a few decades ago. This stems (no pun intended) from the fact that the quality of logs and/or trees is not high. Let it suffice to say that narrow growth rings - larger trees and logs - straighter trees and grain of years ago gave resulting more stable lumber. Not really knowing the stresses in the lumber we have, it becomes wise to use narrower boards.

Chuck;

I agree with everything you're saying and I am now chagrined. I often forget that I'm in a geographical location where hardwood such as cherry, walnut, hickory, and red and white oak are abundant. Folks here even use walnut as common firewood!! I'm also fortunate in that I have access to a kiln and another fellow that will custom saw logs I bring to him to whatever dimensions I want. I need to remind myself that I used to have to go to outrageously expensive hardwood dealers. I am extremely fortunate in that I can pretty much get an entire tree milled up. During our recent ice storm, on my property alone, I lost a huge hickory and two oaks which will get me a substantial amount of lumber.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:23 pm

ericolson wrote: DeWalt is, by far, superior to Delta in construction and after market service.

Since Black and Decker that owns Dewalt just bought (about a year or 2 ago) Porter Cable and Delta, service should be the same. In fact the Dewalt repair center is now the Dewalt/Delta/Porter Cable repair center that also fixes Black and Decker in our town.

And for those that didn't know WTC who is the parent company for Ryobi also makes Ridgid Power Tools, and own Milwaukee.

I believe Bosch own Skill.

So Shopsmith is quickly becoming unique in it's ownership.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:07 pm

[quote="ericolson"]Chuck]

Hey! I am jelous! Wanted to buy a small portable band mill a couple years ago, but wife said NO! That was a good thing as I would have had to travel a bit to get any storm downed trees.

Am VERY interested in any report you care to give concerning the sizes and quality of lumber you get from your downed yard trees. Do you think your sawyer can give you an appreciable amount of quarter sawn wood? Any deformed chunks or burls? Any useable limb wood? Will you have the lumber graded? Shucks! I know - Too many questions! I dont expect you to feel that you should feel obliged to answer them so I'll just quit here.

I'm just very jelous and very interested in you progress to get lumber from your trees.

Best!

rubberneck · Post by **rubberneck** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:35 pm

I owned and regularly used my Shopsmith jointer for over 20 years. Good solid and accurate "little" tool. Little being the key word. I found the beds to be to short to get a good accurate edge for glue ups on any but the shortest of projects. I finally sold it on Ebay and with the proceeds bought a Delta 6" jointer with much longer beds. I have found it to be a real plus! Rigid and Delta are both great machines and can regularly be purchased in the $350 range. I think you will be much happier going this route. Wish I hadn't waited so long to do it myself!