Customer Reviews

Palmgren 84261 12 amp 6-1/8-inch 1-Horsepower Benchtop Jointer with Dust Collection, 120-volt 1-Phase

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been buying woodworking machines for 25 years and usually I stay away from benchtop machines because of the poor quality. This machine was a pleasant surprise. The casting and fittings are more like you would find on large shop machines.The fence is heavy and locks up like a rock with the substantial levers. The motor appears to provide plenty of power . I planed a six inch piece of oak and got a nice finish.This is probably the "most bang for the buck" I have ever gotten. If you're running out of room and\or money I highly recommend this machine . I'm looking forward to trying some of their other products. rs

Like some others reviewing this item, it is my first jointer. I am very happy with its performance and features so far. Setup was fairly easy and I've already jointed/trimmed numerous pieces of lumber for a project I'm working on (a workbench).

Pros:
+ Small footprint - can be easily stored when not in use (as long as you can lift it!)
+ Heavy enough that on a sturdy saw-horse temporary table, it does not have to be bolted or clamped down
+ Cuts straight and smooth.
+ Dust collection works very well!
+ Responsive customer support: Per below, my unit came with several broken parts damaged in shipping. Palmgren was responsive to getting me replacements.

Cons:
- Packaging stinks: Though double-boxed, the unit and parts themselves were packed in flimsy styrofoam. The styrofoam was practically shredded in the box, and as a result, three of the four plastic parts on the external part of the unit were broken: the depth knob, the dust exhaust tube, and the cord strain relief piece. They would be better off using just thicker cardboard pieces and no styrofoam at all.

Summary: Great unit from my perspective of an amateur woodworker and first-time jointer-owner. I can't speak in comparison to other jointers. Solid, heavy unit that is more substantial than any other cheaper end or portable tool I've had before. Great support for getting parts replaced in shipping: important because based on other reviews here as well, you just might have the same problem! I took off one star for the damage: I was not going to take off any stars when I thought I had just one broken part, but with three broken parts, and what may be a pattern, I took off the star for the extra hassle/overhead.

Update on 3/22/06: I previously received the three replacement parts from Palmgren. However, two of the three replacement parts require almost complete disassembly of the unit: the dust tube is part of a manifold, and the cord strain relief requires actual disconnection of the AC cord from wire nuts, etc. For many buyers, the risk or hassle of this may not make the purchase of this item worth it. Buyer beware of a good product likely to come damaged due to poor packing.

This is made in China and apparently packaged for surface transport only in China. The packaging is so inadequate that it's a virtual certainty it will arrive damaged.
There were screws and bolts rattling around inside the carton, the styrofoam was crushed. Upon inspection, the power cord strain relief was broken off leaving the cord itself in a ragged hole with sharp edges.
After unsucsessfully adjusting the infeed table I discovered one of the leveling bolts was sheared off in the casting making it impossible to align. I took the machine apart and found that the entire casting that supports the infeed table was broken in half.
This very same machine is available from ShopFox and also from Sears Crafstman, I strongly reccomend buying it from Sears if you choose to buy it at all, One less trip in a truck might do it good. Parts should be redily available from Sears as well. They sell it for @249. every day.

I have outfitted some large shops in my career with some large machinery. Now I'm semi retired and have a small garage shop with very limited space. I needed a jointer and have virtually no place to store one. Bought this Palmgren based on one good review (the preceding one) and crossed my fingers. This little work horse is built as good as any of the big, quality European machines that I purchased back in the day. I read lousy reviews on other bench jointers and I just wish those guys (or girls)could have known about this one. Just don't buy it thinking your going to throw it up on the shelf when your finished, unless it's a low one. This thing is built. It has a great fence (cast iron) that adjusts easily and stays in place. It's accurate and stabile and I am very impressed with the thought that went into the design. I don't know how they can build them so inexpensively.

Well must say i just got this machine last week. Ran around 100 feet of hard maple through it. Worked great nice clean square edges. The machine is really heavy for a bench top due to the cast base. The fence locks up tight and stays where it is put. The blades seam heavier than other companies.
Went out looking for a mortising maching today saw an almost identical jointer at sears. All in all if someone is in need of a smaller jointer I would deffintatly recomend this one over the others.

Just thought I'd throw my two cents in. May be an issue with the packaging, but I had issues with my power switch. I emailed palmgren about it this morning and recieved a quick response that they'd send a replacement and throw in extra knives as well.

Judging by many jointers that I've seen, this thing is solid. This is my first jointer so I can't make any comparisons as far as jointing quality, but it is heavier than all that I looked at. I too looked at Amazon reviews and decided to take a shot (had a 75 dollar gift card, amazon had 25 off and free shipping). When it arrived, I nearly broke my back lifting it. You won't have to worry abou this thing sliding or tilting when loaded down.

Fence is solid and very adjustable. I had never used a jointer and had this thing set up in an hour. Had a friend over that does a significant amount of woodworking and he was impressed. Being new to jointing, I didn't know how to 'tune' my jointer (getting things paralles, etc.). He grabbed a straight edge and was amazed that it was nearly perfect right out of the box. Overall, I'm very pleased. I've bought some tools based on reviews in the past and haven't been pleased. This is definitely not one.

I spent a lot of time shopping for a benchtop jointer and actually bought one (another brand)which I promptly returned after taking it out of the box and looking it over. I never even heard of palmgren until I stumbled across it on Amazon.com. After reading all of the reviews I took a chance on it. I received it and about broke my back trying to move it. It's built unbelievably rock solid for a tool in it's price range. I was really impressed with the fact that I actually talked to a person without any recordings when I called the company's number.

I just got this jointer tonight and my first reaction was "Wow, that's heavy!". I needed the hand truck to get it into the basement, but it was worth it. 30 minutes later, it was set up and both the 90 degree and 45 degree stops were dead-on right out of the box. I ran a few test cut on some oak and maple and was very pleased with the results; straight, smooth, what more could I ask? I don't have a lot of room, so most of my tools (with the exception of the table saw) are benchtop models; this is the beefiest of any of them! I should mention that the chip/dust collection work great, but it does require either a 30 gallon trash can or a 30 gallon garbage bag. I've seen poor reviews of other benchtop jointers, but I can't think of anything else I could want on this one except, perhaps, a depth-of-cut gauge.

This is my first jointer and had never heard of Palmgren, but took a chance. This unit was fairly easy to set up and dial in, it took about 30 min from box to cutting a perfect 90. Packaging didn't seem to be as bad as some of the reviews led me to believe. I would buy another Palmgren if it came down to it. Might have to see what other products they offer.

I did alot of research on a small jointer and read alot of reviews before i bought this one. I also watched on ebay what people were paying for the sears version plus shipping. And this was a better deal for a brand new unit with a warrenty. I finally bought it and it is every thing i thought and hoped it would be. And the shipping was free bonus. This is a great little unit for the guy with a limited space to work. But be prepared it is heavy.