[Dtronc]

I own the same Rigid jointer (albeit the older model). I am also a new woodworker, and I love the machine. Prefoms very well, set up is pretty intuitive, but knife changes are MUCH easier witha jig - although that s most any jointer I ve found with the exception of the spiral heads. Surely any would suit you well. Only reason I ended up with mine was a good deal on the FB marketplace.

- jutsFL

Just saw the same one pop up, maybe I will check it out it! Thanks!

 

[Holbs]

Here is a picture of my now gone Rockwell 6" jointer vs my current GeeTec 8" long bed jointer. You can see why I have a much easier time jointing long boards with the long bed jointer. Though, with the Rockwell, I learned alot. Such as how to use a jointer, setting knives, etc. A great beginner jointer that I would never of paid $150+ for.

 

[Dtronc]

Here is a picture of my now gone Rockwell 6" jointer vs my current GeeTec 8" long bed jointer. You can see why I have a much easier time jointing long boards with the long bed jointer. Though, with the Rockwell, I learned alot. Such as how to use a jointer, setting knives, etc. A great beginner jointer that I would never of paid $150+ for.

- Holbs

OOOO That thing is a beast!

 

[CaptainKlutz]

+1 Owned a Ridgid jointer for several years. Picked mine up on closeout for $320 brand new, when BORG stopped selling the jointer in stores. Solid tool, not much that can go wrong, works as well as my old bench top 6" Rockwell, but was better for longer boards due longer tables. Only sold it as I replaced it with a used 8" GeeTec unit.

+1 Count me as another who thinks buying a 6" model can be waste of time/money, as larger mass and longer tables on 8", make working with boards over 4' easier, and working with larger 8/4+ lumber much safer. It takes some practice to learn how to joint long boards on short jointer bed.

+1 Unless you desire the smell of new tools, buying a used jointer is really easy. Not many parts, and they last for decades as long as no rough abuse that breaks cast iron. Blades are cheap, and easy to adjust. Even a new machine will need to have blades checked and adjusted before use.
I wouldn't pay more than $250-$300 for used 6 inch jointer, maybe $400 for Delta Dj-10 if it is prefect shape. Should be able to find an 8" jointer for $500-600 used, as they were less than $1000-$1200 brand new. A new Delta DJ-20 (8") sold for up to $2000, so might need to pay up to $750 for used Delta. I can tell you that at these use prices (at/below 50 percent of list), that good machines sell quick- especially an 8" version. It might seem like they are not available, but in reality the issue is they sell in a few hours, or same day as they are listed.

Frankly, Not sure part time home shop needs a jointer? Many times question if I even need one laying around? About only time I use it, is when I have a large pile of rough cut boards to process. If I only need to joint a couple boards, I use hand planes instead.

They were two keys that idled many uses of my jointer:
: I made a work bench that would easily clamp 8' long boards on edge, and learned how to use #7 & #8 hand planes. I can joint 2 boards to create an edge joint at same time, faster than using power jointer. Requires less than 5 minutes to joint 4-6 boards to make a panel.

: Other problem I face is lack of space in my garage. So my jointer as not conveniently set up, so to run any boards over 2 ft long, requires moving it away from storage wall and hooking up dust collector. Even with mobile bases, and 'Dust Right' quick connects on dust collection; it takes time and space. I can clamp and joint 2-3 boards at my bench, faster than I can move and hook up the silly power jointer.

Don't get me wrong: If I needed to joint more than 15-20 boards in a day (making panels, cutting boards, etc), I find using power jointer faster and am happy I have one. But in last 4 years since I got my 8" jointer, have only set up jointer for a few hours of work a couple times each year.
So you might want to consider if spending $80-100 on used Stanley #6/#7 from fleabay & $80 on Veritas PM-11 blade; is a more versatile investment than another large power tool you seldom use?

Best Luck with your decision.

 

[SharkeysEnd]

I'm a weekend and evening woodworker, and I use my jointer almost every day. But that's because I have a friend who is a cabinet maker, and he gave me access to his scrap hard wood pile. It's all rough cut stuff.

I had been making myself crazy trying to find a decent jointer, and then I finally got fed up and bought a 6-1/8" craftsman for $75. Despite the fact that the infeed table is slightly cupped, I get by with it. But it offered me the opportunity to be patient and pick up an 8 inch jointer when I can find one.

Someone above replied that they saw an old Powermatic jointer for 500 bucks. I just saw a posting for an old green one and they were looking for $1000. The last DJ-20 I saw was listed at $1195. Sheesh

I know a lot of people advise the last tool first approach, and I do try to do that. But with the jointer, I did want to wait because projects were being held up. I didn't mind dropping $75 just to get started. I have definitely gotten more than my moneys worth out of it in the last three months or so. Hunting for an 8 inch one has been proving a challenge. I check every day, several times a day, and usually they are 3 to 5 hours away. A couple of reasonably priced ones have popped up, but were sold by the time I heard back from the seller.