Vintage 8" Jointer
- Thread starter JECulver
- Start date
Miss the Pontiacs
Well-known member
Nice find. What did that set you back? Wouldn’t a two cutter head be a standard. Or do some have singles or more than two?
Packard V8
Well-known member
The two-blade cutter was standard back in the day. The bad news is it will beat your wrists into early arthritis or carpal tunnel. A real ***** to use.
If one plans to use it to run many board feet, consider a three or four blade cutter head or a spiral.
jack vines
If one plans to use it to run many board feet, consider a three or four blade cutter head or a spiral.
jack vines
crguy
Well-known member
That's a real jointer! Some of the old clamshell heads were prone to loosening up and causing a bad wreck. You might consider upgrading to one of the new Byrd Shelix heads.
Miss the Pontiacs
Well-known member
$220 seems pretty reasonable to me. Late last fall I picked up an older Hitachi F1000 6”Jointer/12”Planner for $300. It is tucked in my back garage that at the moment has no heat or sufficient wiring for lighting. So have not been able to play with it. Pic is not mine, but is similar.
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crguy
Well-known member
It's been done on lots of older jointers. New bearings & head.
JHuston
Well-known member
I have a late '20's Hutchinson that came factory with a two blade clamshell head; I was able to source a Powermatic planer head, machine the extra length down and fit newer bearings. It's a lot of machining time, but the joiner has a three knife gibbed head, I have enough blade stock to make several extra sets, and the joiner works better/ is safer. Plus, it was far less expensive than buying a ready-made head.
I know some people use clamshell heads, but they either know more than I do about how to set them up safely or have less trepidation about using Kung Fu Grip technolgy to hang on to a knife cruising at a few thousand rpm. Me, I think that a vintage joiner with a modern cutterhead is the best of both worlds.
-James Huston
I know some people use clamshell heads, but they either know more than I do about how to set them up safely or have less trepidation about using Kung Fu Grip technolgy to hang on to a knife cruising at a few thousand rpm. Me, I think that a vintage joiner with a modern cutterhead is the best of both worlds.
-James Huston
Packard V8
Well-known member
They are simple to set up and were safely used for a hundred years, so that's not the issue for me. That it will literally beat you to death is the deal breaker.
(BTW, someone here PM'd me that he hadn't noticed the two-blade jointer being a problem with impact on the wrists. Turned out, he'd only edge-jointed a few pine boards. Joint the face side of several hundred board feet of seasoned pecan and get back to me on how your wrists feel. So how one perceives the 2-blade head depends on breadth of experience and duration of use.)
Agree completely. If I had to use an old two-blade jointer, I wouldn't take one as a gift. With an improved cutter head, they can be a sweet machine at a fraction of the cost of a similar capability new jointer.
jack vines
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Packard V8
Well-known member
When working with rough cut stock, usually one side is jointed before putting it through the planer. A planer needs one flat, smooth side to accurately thickness the second side of rough stock. If only jointing edges, why use an 8" machine?
jack vines
jack vines
jimreed2160
Well-known member
Nice piece of iron. I am sure you will enjoy using it.
I have a 6" jointer that has only been used for edge jointing. Face jointing on it is real rock and roll, so I use handplanes most of the time. Using a scrub followed by a #7 tames any board and is not scary.
Good luck making shavings.
I have a 6" jointer that has only been used for edge jointing. Face jointing on it is real rock and roll, so I use handplanes most of the time. Using a scrub followed by a #7 tames any board and is not scary.
Good luck making shavings.
Packard V8
Well-known member
Agree, Jim. If one is only smoothing a couple of planks, hand planes are a pleasure to use.
Machines are for when many board feet and/or very hard wood must be processed.
If a three blade jointer is sharp and tuned, the stock being face jointed just hums through. On a two-blade jointer, the work gets done, but much noisier and more impact on the wrists as the stock is being held down.
One not-yet-mentioned advantage of edge-jointing on a large machine is they often have longer tables and produce a straighter edge.
jack vines
onesojourner
Active member
That is exactly what I would do with this machine.