Sell me on the SS jointer

[adrianpglover]

Been looking at jointers recently, and I'm wondering if I should go with the SS jointer to pair with my Mark 7, or if I should go with another brand. I currently have a Grizzly table saw and DC, and am happy with the quality and customer support of both. Spec wise, it looks like I could get a new Grizzly jointer with a spiral cutterhead delivered cheaper than the SS one, and still have a larger table overall. A benchtop jointer wouldn't take that much more space than the SS version, so I'm struggling to see the advantage of buying an SS one. I hardly ever see them for sale used separate from a full setup, and often they're covered in a lovely layer of rust to have to work off of it.

So please, those of you out there who have the SS jointer, please sell me on it. I love the SS brand, but when it comes to my wallet, I'm currently at a loss as to why I would choose the SS one over some other brand, like Grizzly, Porter Cable, Dewalt, etc.

[gac5ss]

The SS jointer for me works as part of a system. If I had more room in my shop space I would probably go with a Grizzly 6" or 8". But then again it depends on what you are going to make. Currently I have an extra SS jointer and SS bandsaw. I have yet to list them on eBay, but will price them to sell as I need them out of my way. I will probably list them for $150 each and buyer pays for shipping. Some on eBay go for more, some less. The jointer I am selling would have the older style cutter head guard, not the feather board style. I would have to look again as I don't remember if it has the dust collection port.
Jerry

[RFGuy]

Adrian,

IF you have the shop space and can get something standalone, by all means do it. I have the Shopsmith 4" jointer and have used it A LOT over the years, primarily for edge jointing. For the projects that I do and board widths I choose, it is next to useless for face jointing lumber for me. Even edge jointing is problematic with it. Similar to sawing one edge, the small infeed/outfeed beds of the Shopsmith 4" jointer mean that you will mostly be following the edge contour on any bowed/twisted boards, rather than removing the bow or twist. Yes, it probably will take some of the bow out, but more passes will be required and you will lose more of the usable board jointing on the Shopsmith 4" jointer compared to a standalone 6" or 8" jointer. Note, if you go with a benchtop jointer, you have the same limitation as the Shopsmith 4" jointer, i.e. you really need as long of a bed as you can fit in your shop.

[DLB]

So please, those of you out there who have the SS jointer, please sell me on it.

I can't. I use one, probably the first tool I'd replace with standalone if I had the room. Biggest attraction to me has always been that it doesn't add much to the value of a used Mark that includes one. The quality is good and the mounted Jointer, at 4", is fine for most of the work I do. And I like the idea, you can saw and joint with two or three steps between those operations which is great for some projects. Its downfall is that when you need a full size Jointer, even if it is only 5% of the time, that's what you need.

- David

[RFGuy]

Adrian,

One more point...there are many ways to do woodworking depending on the tools one has available and your skillset. The Shopsmith 4" jointer has come up in past threads and there are MANY supporters of it on this forum. The bottomline is IF you can guarantee that you have a perfectly flat and straight face on one side of the board, then you can reference that flat face to make one flat and 90° square edge to it. From there you can plane the opposite face and then saw off the final edge to width giving you hopefully a board that has 4 square corners and equal dimensioned width and thickness. This is the proper use of a jointer and planer to get dimensioned lumber. Of course there are variants and ways people attempt to make it work when their jointer isn't wide enough, they don't have one, etc. Below is a good and short video from the Wood Whisperer that shows proper jointer and planer use. My main problem with the Shopsmith 4" jointer is it is too narrow to allow me to face joint many of the boards required in my projects, so I have to assume that I have a flat (and straight) surface face or try to hand plane it, which isn't something I am good at yet. I assume many of those who recommend the Shopsmith 4" jointer here are only edge jointing and assuming they have one perfectly flat face on the board (like I am forced to do) to reference against. Either that or their lumber is always smaller than 3.5" in width (because you NEED that Shopsmith auxiliary fence kit!). Hence my dream of an 8" or 12" jointer in my shop. Make sure you look for as long of a jointer bed as you can get, if you want to joint for example 6' or longer boards. The length of the jointer bed will determine how easily you can remove a concave/convex edge/face on the board.

IF/WHEN that assumption about a perfectly flat and straight face on the board is incorrect then edge jointing on the Shopsmith 4" jointer is a PIA and you can be chasing the dream of a perfectly flat and square result. Similarly when trying to joint a long board that isn't kinda straight to begin with, because of the short jointer bed.

[edma194]

It works. I used mine for edging boards but mainly I've used the table saw and a manual powered planer to get a flatten the edge of a boards. I mainly used milled wood with very flat faces that don't need a joiner to finish but I'm building up stock of more roughly cut boards but I now I have a DeWalt planer and plan on using a sled with that for flattening wider boards. The rabbeting feature seems useful, but has been more easily accomplished with a router for my needs.

If you would ever need one they are available on the used market at good prices as long as it's convenient for a local pickup. Shopsmith puts them on sale periodically as well. I'm wary of the short bed low cost bench jointers available, but I haven't used one either.

[adrianpglover]

So I have the SS planer and about a year ago I finished making some 5' shutters for the inside of some windows. They turned out great. My FIL had given me some rough (very rough) cut cedar that I used for the project. I flattened them with the planer using many, many passes, and flipping them between. No, it didn't take out any bowing or twisting, but it took out a large bubble-like shape in one 10" wide board. I tried "jointing" them on the table saw, but yeah, that didn't turn out so great and I had quite a bit of issues with it. Almost lost a shutter when one of the longest boards pulled open due to the cupping on it. Realized through that project that the next big purchase needs to be a jointer. I won't use it a ton, but I'll need it every now and then.

I'm currently talking with someone "local" who has a jointer listed on craigslist, so we'll see how that goes. Also have to get the wife's approval on spending the money.

[RFGuy]

Adrian,

Yeah, I have the Shopsmith 12" planer (Mark V mounted one) and I have no complaints with it...other than the weight to lift it on/off the waytubes. I have gotten A LOT of use out of mine and enjoy using it every time. I just want to say that the Shopsmith 4" jointer is built very well, but it just doesn't have the features that most of us need today for jointing for a majority of projects. Like you found out if the lumber is well behaved you can get by without a jointer, but when you need a jointer - you need a jointer. Most of us, with the majority of lumber commonly available, need a jointer. Even going to a big box store and buying S4S lumber doesn't mean you will get straight and flat boards, so caveat emptor. Sounds like some great projects and glad you are getting good use out of your Mark 7. Enjoy!

[algale]

I'll take the opposite argument just for fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Shopsmith jointer. I have a Grizzly 6" jointer. But there are time I wish it were an 8" or 12".

But not often.

Also, there are ways to joint wider boards without buying a 6", 8", or 12" jointer. Most lunch box planers are 12" or 13". You can easily rig a sled for the planer that will allow you to face joint a board up to the width of the planer. Just google it.

Face jointing can also be done with routers and a jig. Again google it.

So, unless you routinely work with wood more than 4" wide, the Shopsmith jointer might be fine for you. Ask whether you want to dedicate the space/money needed for a bigger jointer if you you don't often need it. When you need it, there are other solutions. If you aren't a cabinet shop where time is money, the extra time needed to make or set up the planer/router jigs used for face jointing wide stock isn't a big deal.

[RFGuy]

Alan,

Thanks. Yes, you are right and that is why I was saying above that there are many ways to do woodworking. All dependent on the tools one has and your skills. I need to try to make a decent planer sled for face jointing boards, but my challenge is the Shopsmith Planer which only has a 4" capacity. There are different designs for planer sleds, but the ones I really want to use require much more height than the 4" height restriction allows (assuming 8/4 lumber for jointing). Also, I am usually jointing longer boards, so I'd want at least a 6' planer sled and want it to be as close to dead flat as possible, so perhaps a 3/4" Baltic Birch base for example...or at least that is what I have in mind for one day.