jointer Archives | Page 2 of 2 | WoodWorkers Guild of America

Spiral Cutterheads for the Jointer: Worth the Upgrade Price?

September 6, 2011 By Paul Mayer & filed under Buying Advice.

Nope, that’s certainly not your grandpa’s jointer cutterhead. It’s called a spiral cutterhead. It is a newer design that uses the concept of insert tooling rather than traditional straight knives installed in the cutterhead. Small square carbide cutters are placed in close proximity to one another along a machined spiral pattern in a steel head.…

Grizzly 8″ Jointer Model 490X Review: Part 2

August 23, 2011 By Paul Mayer & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

Part 2: Review of Functionality, Quality, and Performance In part one of this review I explained my rationale behind choosing this tool, and gave some perspective on the set up process. Now I will take a look at some of the machine’s key attributes and put it through a few shop tests. Vibration problem turned…

Grizzly 8″ Jointer Model 490X Review: Part 1

August 9, 2011 By Paul Mayer & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

PART 1: GRIZZLY JOINTER SELECTION, RECEIVING, AND INITIAL SETUP I bought my 6″ jointer in June of 1997, and outgrew it by January of 1998. I have been researching and planning for my upgrade to an 8″ model ever since. I like to put myself through something of a “cooling off” period when I get…

Ridgid EB4424 Oscillating Edge Belt and Spindle Sander

July 14, 2010 By Paul Mayer & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

Tool reviews are often written based upon an experience with a brand new tool just pulled out of the box. In this case, however, I am writing about a tool that has been put through some extreme paces for about a year, as my father and I use it extensively in his woodworking business. You…

New Grizzly Jointer

February 17, 2010 By George Vondriska & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

With a 12″ cutterhead, Grizzly’s newest jointer provides plenty of width, without taking up an aircraft carrier’s worth of length in your shop. The bed is a convenient 60″ long.Wide jointers are a real benefit when it comes to face jointing wood, which is the best way to guarantee that the material you’re using is…

Jet 22-44 Plus Drum Sander

September 4, 2009 By George Vondriska & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

I enjoy having the chance to write up the new products I see, but what those reviews lack, is any kind of long term testing. I love having the chance to use a tool for a while, then write about it. This is the case with the Performax 22-44 Plus Drum Sander. I’ve had one…

Grizzly Jointer/Planer Combo

April 8, 2009 By George Vondriska & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

Like peanut butter and jelly, a jointer and planer go together. If you really want to produce perfectly flat, straight, and square wood, you’ll need both. Having a hard time deciding which you should buy first? Go ahead, get ’em both in a combo machine. Grizzly’s Jointer/Planer Combination machine (#G0675), $1,195, does both planing and…

Steel City 6″ Jointer

March 3, 2009 By George Vondriska & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

Rock Solid 6″ Jointer. Here’s a tool you can take for granite, ’cause it is granite. The new 6″ Steel City Jointer(#40640), $1,200, has both a granite fence and a granite bed. Additionally, it comes with a spiral cutter head that sports four-sided carbide cutters. This type of cutter offers the benefit that if one…

JET 22-44 Drum Sanders

September 8, 2008 By George Vondriska & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

Two new versatile, production-class sanding machines – the JET 22-44 OSC Drum Sander, $2,451, and JET 22-44 Pro-3 Sander with Digital Readout, $2,647 – feature exclusive SandSmart variable feed control from 0 to 10 feet per minute. Variable feed control enables the operator to use the best sanding rate for each job and helps prevent…