Shop Fox 6" 110V 1-1/2 HP Benchtop Jointer Expired

I admit to being an old-timer spoiled by classic woodworking tools, e.g. a vintage Powermatic 6" joiner that dates back to the '60s, but what's with all the short beds on these modern joiners?
How are you supposed to get a long board properly joined straight on a 28" long bed?

If I had to get a reasonably cheap joiner, and had already exhausted all opportunities to get a solid vintage used one (Craigslist, eBay, etc), I'd gamble on the WEN 8" one instead.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/WEN-1.../314922714
The bed on it is 33" long (only 5" more, yes), but it has extendable bed rollers that should help when working with long stock.

Now to wait for the WEN hate and Shop Fox love (a Chinese shop allegiance thing)

Wow, some serious misinformation in the thread here. I'll offer a few bits as I've no dog in this fight or brand war (I just sold my Minimax CU300 and prior to that I had a 1963 Powermatic 60 - 8" jointer in the metallic green.)

A jointer makes one edge perfectly flat and 1 board face perpendicular (exact 90* or adjustable potentially)

This operation occurs PRIOR to you putting the board through the planer as it will make the opposing face, perfectly PARALLEL to the original jointed face - but will NOT assure that it's perpendicular to the edge.

Now before the handtool lovers jump on - yes, both machining operations can be accomplished by hand planes and often is in high end handcrafted furniture. I've made 5-6 bespoke pieces myself with no electrons and it's a workout bar none. Of the two operations, a jointer is a simpler one to substitute with handtools. Face planing boards, especially wide boards - sucks. There really is no easy way to put that.

Now, back to shopfox, it's the premium line of equipment from Grizzly, simply branded differently. Just about all of the casting work for these machines is accomplished in a few plants overseas though so powermatic, delta, rikon, wen, shopfox... comes down to 3-5 plants in total I understand. However, the after sales support and service, how true the adjustment mechanics are AND how easy they are to get back to true is what differentiates each machine. Shopfox is generally better than any of the entry level chinese/taiwanese casting & milling ops shops. The premium line from Grizzley is above that and so on (on up to Northfield if you really want to get nuts about "modern" old iron equipment. (http://www.northfieldwoodworking..../heavy.htm)

it's a decent price on a nice little utility jointer. Don't expect to be running 10' 8/4 oak or cherry on it though.

I am going to be in the market once more once I get my tail moved back to Colorado, but I'll likely be sticking with a combo in case anyone is curious (per my earlier 'sold' my minimax comment.)

30 years of sawdust behind me, hopefully, another 20 more. And as Norm always says, the most important tool in the shop - safety glasses! (behind your brain :p)

Michael

Once you move on from construction 2x4, maybe you'll realize that a planer doesn't actually flatten lumber. On 4/4 boards, you'll never get that cup or twist out without resorting to sleds, hot glue, shims, etc. If you value your time and have the space, jointers are a no brainer.