If you do any custom finish work,
or trimming out in old houses, a
jointer/planer can fast become
your best friend. Carpenters in the
field who don't have access to
these shop machines end up
paying a mill shop upwards of $30
an hour to surface hardwood stock
or any unusually dimensioned
material.
Last year, Hitachi introduced
the P 12RA, which combines a
12-inch planer and a 6-inch
jointer. Like its big brother, the
Hitachi F 1000A jointer/planer,
this compact version is a side-byside
machine with one motor
driving a separate set of knives for
each function. But unlike the
320-pound shop model, the P
12RA weighs only 83 pounds. The
jointer bed detaches from the
planer to make it easy to