10 or 12 inch Jointer/Planer

[Christ Kacoyannakis]

Hi all. Really starting to gear up the shop, and looking at buying equipment. I have done a lot of research on jointer/planers, as I have a very small shop, and am looking to save some space. I don't really want a bench top planer. I have pretty much settled on the Hammer line of jointer/planers for their ease of changing knives, switching from jointing to planing functions and overall high quality.

However, I can't decide between the 10 and the 12 inch. While I know bigger and heavier is generally better, I also have to get this thing from the garage (drop off delivery point) to the basement (shop location). The difference is about 100 pounds weight, and the cost difference is significant. I don't want to be penny wise and pound foolish (good pun), but I also don't want to waste money.

I looked at my stock of wood, and tried to think back to all the wood I have ever bought and used. I only have one board that is bigger than 10 inches (it is 10.5) and realistically, I don't need that width, it just was a nice board of basswood, so I bought it. In reality, it will probably get ripped first. The only time I really need anything bigger than 9 or so inches in after I have joined two boards up to make an archtop back or top, and the 12 inch planer is not going to help there anyway. I pretty much only make instruments. I might decide at some point to make some smaller furniture, but the difference in 10 or 12 inches doesn't seem like it will help me much there either, since even small side tables will have joined tops wider than 12.

So, what do you all think about the 10 or the 12 inch jointer/planer choice? Thanks for your help and advice.

[Mattia Valente]

If you're building guitars, I'd say the 10" should be fine - only thing it won't do is joint or plane 1-piece electric guitar body blanks, but neither will the 12", so it's a bit of a non-issue in that regard. I have a basic 'portable' 13" planer and have just bought a 6" jointer, which is all I have space for. 8" would have been nice to joint stock for resawing, but I don't do a lot of that anyway.

[Clay Schaeffer]

The Hammer looks like a well made machine, but I think I would consider buying a 6"jointer and a 15 inch planer instead. If the machines are placed on mobile bases they can be tucked into an odd corner when not in use.
A 15 inch planer is more useful than a 12inch planer for general woodworking. A 6 inch jointer can "flatten" a 12 inch wide board by removing the fence and guard and running the "hump " side down and flattening the center of the board (obviously this takes some care, but is a common wood working technique). The planer then takes care of milling and surfacing the rest of the board.
If you think you can get by with a 12 inch planer I would go with a 6 inch jointer and a 12 inch bench top planer. Low cost and easy portability.

[Paul E Buerk]

I'm lucky enough to have a Robland 12" jointer/planer, but a 10" would have been sufficient. The one thing I like about the size is that I can move the fence and distribute some of the cutting time across the blades of the cutterhead. Not a huge deal, though. I've yet to make a guitar wider than 20".

Hopefully you're getting a mobility kit or mobile base for it. If not, consider it. One thing I do wish I had was a spiral cutterhead instead of the straight knives, though. Not sure what the price differential would be between a 10" and 12" jointer/planer, but if it's enough to get the 10" with a spiral head for the same price as the 12", I'd recommend the 10".

Having said that, if I had the room I'd get a 12" jointer and separate planer. The combo is fine, but because it has to be convertible you don't get the benefit of a huge heavy honkin' fence. I have to check mine absolutely everytime I use it, even with the stops adjusted.

[Christ Kacoyannakis]

Definitely getting the mobility base, no matter what size. The price saving going from the 12 to the 10 is not enough to pay for the spiral cutter head, but I am looking into that regardless. I use curly and highly figured woods quite a lot, so the spiral head is a must have. Many other luthiers have also suggested the spiral cutterhead. It is always nice to work without limitations. In a perfect world, I would have a separate jointer and planer that would handle the widest boards that I ever glued up for any project. They would be connected to separate circuits and have dedicated dust collection lines running to a system located outside my shop. Unfortunately a lot of compromises have to be made, and a slightly smaller jointer combined with a planer is going to have to be one of them. In the shops I have had access to in the past, there were lots of separate full size machines, but they were poorly maintained, never set up correctly, and the blades were always dull. By buying better quality machines (even though smaller) and making sure they are properly set up, tuned and have sharp blades, I hope I will find more satisfaction in using my own shop.