Used Equipment I could buy

I have 2 dj20 jointers and I’m happy with them. I think that is a reasonable buy if its a dj20.

-- Sorry the reply is so long. I didn't have time to write a short reply.

I think it depends on their condition,even if in good condition they seem like the upper end of the scale.

I would not buy any of it at those prices, but that’s
me and I’m already equipped so changes represent
hassle.

What have you already got and what is your total
budget to get set up?

Further, what do you want to make?

Solid wood furniture and plywood cabinets are
common choices.

Wow my first impression is that sounds like top dollar prices.IMHO they would need to be mint condition at those deals.Still have fun. Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Regarding the planer, I’d say get a lunchbox type unless you plane/mill all your own wood, and plan on doing a lot of bigger pieces. Lunchbox planers have been good enough for me and many others. If you have the room and money, though, go for it.
Also, to each their own, but I find cutting dovetails by hand is a better way to learn about the joint. If you’re plunking down 350 for a jig, you might as well get a couple real nice chisels and a saw, and save yourself a little cash. Maybe you already cut your own DTs by hand and are looking to expedite some sort of mass production, but I find I can cut a joint in about the same time it would take to set up a jig for the scale I work on. That said, if you have cash and space in your shop for a jig, and it interests you to use one, go for it.

-- Bailey F - Eastern Mass.

If I was looking at a planer and had to choose between a stationary 15” and a lunch box 13” I’d pick the lunchbox any day. You will want a bigger one one day, its easy to outgrow either of those two. If I did it all over I would have saved my pennies and went straight to a 25”.

1+ If it is a DJ20 Jointer, I would take a look.

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

My 2 cents would be to listen to the folks advising against stationary planers. Especially if you are a hobbyist and you are going to be planing a LOT of wood, a lunchbox planer like a DW734 or DW735 will suffice and won’t take up valuable shop space when you’re not using it. I had a DW735, sold it, bought a used Delta 15” stationary planer, sold it and am presently waiting for a good deal on another DW735 to present itself.

If the jointer you’re looking at is a DJ20, that seems to be a reasonable price to me. Quality jointers almost never show up on the second hand market near me so they stay priced pretty high.

What’s the very first tool should a hobbyist buy?

-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"

Depends on what you want to start out building. I recommend
a band saw, router, handheld drill, then a planer. This assumes
you have a decent bench, some hand planes, chisels, layout
tools like a square and a marking gauge, and some way of
getting hand tools sharp.

I’d pass on all but possibly the planer. The dust collection is overkill for anything less than a small commercial shop. I see the Omni Jig on my local CL for less than $200 all the time. The planer is a cheap Taiwanese import that got poor reveiws when it came out (probably why it’s no longer made). Even the joiner I’d have to seriously think about, due to the uncertainty of what’s happening with Delta (thinking about availability of parts in the future).

-- Tom Finnigan - Measures? We don't need no stinking measures! - Hmm, maybe thats why my project pieces don't fit.

I have a omni jig 5116 that I will sell you for 300 shipped to your door if you are interested

The model number on the planer is wrong. When I searched it to verify if I’d seen it or not the number comes up as belonging to an 8” jointer. That being said I read about a Craftsman 15” planer in the comparison reviews they do in woodworking magazines in the early nineties. Without a correct number I can’t locate particulars on this machine but as I recall the reviews were basically about degrees of good and none of the machines were dogs. The Craftsman had a distinct housing on the top end, Like a flat front sheet metal skirt in stead of a bare bones appearance. At that time Delta and Powermatic still had production in the states and along with Canada’s General line were always at the top of the heap. The good news is I don’t remember negative criticism of any the machines and I rarely forget a poor rating on such things. A 15” planer is a beast, most weigh around 750 lbs and are built like tanks and 220 is a requirement. If that machine is in good working order I’d buy it in a heartbeat. $450.00 is what you’d pay for a lunchbox planer that will wear out in a few years while this one will last a lifetime. They don’t have to be top shelf to work well. I have an old 20” Lobo and it’s still ticking right along. I wouldn’t trade it for 4 of the lunch box planers. The jointers sound good but are a bit over priced and the omnijig, well it’s a good deal if that’s the direction you want to take.

if the jointer is a DJ20 that is not a bad price(in my area) most of those that pop are asking around $1200. I would be looking into the jointer, but without knowing the model I would pass on most of that.