Best power jointers according to redditors
We found 20 Reddit comments discussing the best power jointers. We ranked the 13 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 20 Reddit comments discussing the best power jointers. We ranked the 13 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Look up Paul Sellers on youtube. He will get you started with the very basics of hand tools. You need:
So for about 200 bucks you can get into it and do most anything. It will takes you an hour (once you get the hang of it) to do what a domino machine can do in 3 minutes, but a mallet and chisels don't cost $1500.
With hand tools you will likely want to pay to have your wood stock all pre-shaped to be flat and square. If you'd like I could throw together a list of basic power tools that will probably add a zero to the budget if you bought everything at once, but give you great return on time investment 120$ for a circular saw, $200 for a thickness planer etc. The big thing is to buy basic and only buy when you need it. Not every project uses every tool.
Now get the fuck out there and make some bird houses, planters, Adirondack chairs or anything you want to get the saw dust started!
Edit:
>it will takes you an hour
Different brand name, same exact jointer:
http://www.amazon.com/Steel-City-Tool-Granite-Cutterhead/dp/B00GGP6L0G
By a large margin
Oy vey. I drank the Festool Kool-Aid a few years ago and it's a very polarizing brand in some parts (largely due to the price tag; think Apple products). I own a pretty sizable chunk of Festool tools and they all have their pros and cons. I don't swear by them as the end-all be-all tool but as a tradesman and someone that both works in the field and is short on time, they fit my "process" quite nicely. Anyways, without further adieu:
I own the Domino DF 500 Q and love it. That said I think if your dad is drooling for a Domino you should consider the Domino XL DF 700. It's a lot of cash ($1,400) but it'll do pretty much anything your dad needs (and they also make an adapter that lets him use all of the DF 500's bits to make it that much more versatile)
So assuming you do spring for that there's over half your budget right there (gotta love the green kool-aid) but there's literally no other tool like it on the market and I think it's truly worth its weight in gold.
With that taken care of and assuming you're not sick of riding the Festool wave I'd highly consider a dust extractor. They make numerous sizes but I'd offer up the CT36 as a recommendation or even the CT26. I own the CT48 and it's a bit cumbersome and if I had to do it over again I'd opt for a smaller one. If you go for the Festool CT26 you're looking at $650 but I do think the dust extractors are great tools.
Okay, so you've got your Domino and your CT26 and are $2,075 of your slotted $2,500. Now it really gets to personal preference. At this point I think I'd suggest the ETS EC125 with the 150mm Hard Sanding Pad.
I love the EC125 and a reason is because you can put the larger 6" pad onto it and have both the 5" / 6" sander (they both use the same motor). Lots of bang for your buck there and I personally feel the EC125 is the best sander I've ever used (save for some of the pneumatic sanders).
So of your $2500 you're $4 over budget should you opt for all those tools. BUT WAIT - most places will let you "bundle" the Domino w/ a dust extractor and take off 10%. Just go to a place like Hartville Tools and look for "package deals" and you can find them for the packaged price. Here you go: Festool Package
Anyways, hope that helps you out. If you have any questions just let me know about any of their tools. I don't own all their tools but I do own a handful and I'd be happy to give you any knowledge I might have that can help you.
Some random advice based on your post. I'm assuming that this plays out over the timeframe of a few years.
Miter Saw
I wouldn't prioritize a bigger miter saw. Whatever you have is probably enough for trimming out your house. For fine woodworking, the miter saw is basically used for rough cuts...you don't need a great one unless you really want to build it into your workflow, in which case, I'd go with a Bosch Glide or a Kapex.
Planer
This is a must-have for fine work. Precisely dimensioning material without one of these is basically an exercise in historical re-enactment.
If you get a helical head on any tool, make it this one.
Jointer
If you can swing it (and it sounds like you might be able to), an 8" jointer (or a 12" J/P) is a better option than a 6" jointer.
A lot of lumber you will find at the lumber yard falls in the 6-8" range. Some boards will be wider. Few will be wider than 12". This is a good 12" J/P. This is a good 8" jointer.
99% of the time, both surfaces are going through the planer anyways, so having a helical head on the jointer is irrelevant. The other 1% of the time, you can take advantage of the helical jointer to save 1/32" or so of material. Basically, get the helical head on the planer, not the jointer, unless you're buying a combo machine or you have unlimited cash.
Table Saw
The first SawStop I would consider as a reasonable option is the 3HP PCS. It carries a ~$500 premium over the PM2000, which is probably its closest non-sawstop competitor. Decide if that's worth it to you. The lower-end sawstops carry a premium of over $1000 for the safety feature, which is not as palatable.
Orbital Sander
Unless you have a need to feed the green dragon, the $70 Bosch RO sander is a great choice. I agree that this would be a good addition to your current tool set.
Ridiculous amount of clamps
Unless they're on sale, buy clamps a project at a time. Personally, I use F-style clamps way more often than my schmancy parallel clamps, and I use small sizes way more than the huge ones.
Bigger house to put this stuff in.
You can do a lot with a little bit of space. My shop is inside of a room that takes up less than half of a two car garage and my only complaint is that I can't figure out where to put a drum sander. Chances are I'll kick out the miter saw when that day comes.
Dust Collection
If you have bigger tools, this will become a big deal. Jointers and Planers generate a lot of chips. You can fill up a shop-vac in minutes. The ideal solution is a big cyclone for the large tools and a small dust extractor for the small tools. There are more modest options for the big tools, too, but I'm not the expert on those.
Bandsaw upgrade
Unsure what your bandsaw is, but serious power tool work really wants a nice bandsaw. If you are working with something underpowered or with a limited resaw capacity, this might be an area to think about upgrading.
I have a decent older tablesaw sturdy contractor grade, but it's fence is shot so I would likely invest in some form of decent fence system for it assuming around $200-350
I would spend the rest on cutting tools for the lathe... still not sold on Carbide as a sole cutting solution.
Since I have nothing and have been shopping lately... Also assuming the products were actually available for purchase.
What’s that jointer in the back corner? Ive been eyeing this 6” model lately since CL in my area is awful for jointers.
You should probably spend $1000 on a Domino Joiner.
Yeah, you could look in to smaller bench top models of table saws and jointers, lunchbox planers, etc.
Ive seen people create some pretty cool work areas out of small spaces.
The downside is with smaller tools comes less surface to reference your workpiece during the cut, less power and dust collection...
These are some smaller "budget" tools that I've heard good things about:
Benchtop "Lunchbox" Thickness Planer
Benchtop Jointer
Benchtop table saw
Benchtop Drill Press
No, it was pretty easy to do. We used the Kreg deck jig.
For several years, Rockler had crazy sales almost back to back. They have almost exclusively quality to high quality woodworking merchandise, and I would just wait for sales to come out and scan anything that I might want or need. I routinely got 50%-70% off of really great things. I got this Jet 6" jointer, which was going everywhere else for about $600-$700 for about $220, brand new at a Rockler sale. It was being phased out of the line, but there's nothing wrong with it. I use it all the time, and I used a precision Woodpecker's 24" straightedge to check it, and everything was dead flat. Sadly, all of those sales evaporated with the economic downturn, but for about 2 years there, I stocked up on so much. They still do 20% off on a bunch of things pretty regularly, but I'm so spoiled now by 50%+ for so long on so many things that I tend think "Meh, not worth it." :)
If anyone is interested, it was this jointer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055NKDQ8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Uhhhh cool, but the Festool Domino Jointer is over $1k alone. There are plenty of alternatives to a domino jointer, mainly a router with a slot cutting bit and some biscuits that would be more appropriate for DIY.
Additionally, there is a crosscut table saw, a jointer, and some super expensive clamps. Sure there are alternatives for all those as well, but if you're not showing how to use those, well, a professional woodshop is not DIY by definition, right?
Sure you can
Kreg KJDECKSYS Deck Jig https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CIP4G2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PKsYDbEDK319B
I have recently purchased my first home with my fiancée, and like all of you, have an enormous list of projects we'd like to do. I am fairly handy and am prepared to tackle any project (with supervision on electrical). All that being said, I have always used other people's tools when working on projects, so I don't have many of my own. I have a budget and would like to purchase all of my tools on Black Friday/Cyber Monday to get the best bang for my buck. I'd like your advice on which tools are the best for my budget.
We are planning on renovating the master bed, bath, and closet, kitchen, mudroom, and the laundry room. I also plan on making a kitchen table, coffee table, cabinets, dresser, etc. The first project is the laundry room and mudroom, which will require tile, built-ins, cabinets, and replacing washer/dryer. I have a tool budget of $5k-7.5k (ideally staying on the lower end) and would like your thoughts on my equipment list.
If you've used any of this below, what did you think? Are there any cheaper or better alternatives I should consider?
Last question: does anyone know where I can find plastic sawhorses that allow me to put a 2x4 across the top, but also allow the legs rotate for easy storage? My dad had these growing up and I cant find them anywhere. I have found all plastic ones, but I'd like to have the wood so I can saw through it and replace it as needed.
Thank you for your help! I look forward to keeping you updated with our projects.
Cutech 6 inch with Spiral Cutterhead is a great machine with plenty of power and great results. I normally happy with Grizzly but this was a great machine.