For a lot of reasons, I never bought a jointer... mostly because they are expensive and it takes a lot of discipline for me to stay on course and build up the funds; but a jointer was always the "next" tool in my list... like, for years, it was always the next tool purchase. 
Anyway, I set my sights on a Euro style jointer planer machine, to help save space and to save money over separate machines (I sold my lunchbox planer last year)... and I wanted one with enough capacity to process glued up body blanks.
I looked at a lot of machines, but in the end, the only one in my price range was the CWI. Like most tool companies, their machines are built to spec in China and other locations. Most of the reviews that could be found seemed to indicate that they were at least on par with the likes of Grizzly, if not a notch higher. So, back in February, I pulled the trigger and ordered their 16" combo machine. They advised that they were low on stock, but the next batch would be ready to ship around the July time frame.
Well, much to my surprise the machine was here a month early. It arrived on a semi truck with lift gate service. It was packed on a pallet and fully crated.
OK, let's get some dad-level box jokes out of the way right off the bat...
It's a major award!
OK, so uncrating was fairly uneventful. The bonus is that I have now renewed my supply of 3/8" plywood to use for fixtures, quick templates, etc.
The fence and blade guard were wrapped and stowed below on the planer bed. All cast iron beds were coated in protective oil and rust-inhibiting paper, with a plastic drape over the whole thing.
I lifted the jointer bed up and removed the fence, guard and manuals.
Took a quick measurement. Wow!
Once I settled down a little bit and regained my decorum, it occurred to me that I should have had the driver orient the crate 90 degrees the other way. My thought was that I could build a ramp from the box sides and wheel it off the pallet like that, but I had in mind that the wheels were in the other orientation...
After thinking about it for a few minutes, I grabbed the wheeled lift bar that comes with the unit and was able to strategically pry and pivot the pallet and turn it 90 degrees.
Next, I spent quite a lot of time mopping off the protective oil. They did a nice job of getting everything protected and I found no rust anywhere. Once it was all wiped off, I went back over it and cleaned it with naptha to remove more residue. Lola was not impressed in the least.
During the cleaning process I did find a few scratches on the outfeed table. That was a little disappointing, but they were not deep and had been smoothed at the factory. It's certainly nothing that will affect functionality.
After cleanup, I applied a coat of wax to the beds.
OK that's really long, I'll continue in another post.
Anyway, I set my sights on a Euro style jointer planer machine, to help save space and to save money over separate machines (I sold my lunchbox planer last year)... and I wanted one with enough capacity to process glued up body blanks.
I looked at a lot of machines, but in the end, the only one in my price range was the CWI. Like most tool companies, their machines are built to spec in China and other locations. Most of the reviews that could be found seemed to indicate that they were at least on par with the likes of Grizzly, if not a notch higher. So, back in February, I pulled the trigger and ordered their 16" combo machine. They advised that they were low on stock, but the next batch would be ready to ship around the July time frame.
Well, much to my surprise the machine was here a month early. It arrived on a semi truck with lift gate service. It was packed on a pallet and fully crated.
OK, let's get some dad-level box jokes out of the way right off the bat...
It's a major award!
OK, so uncrating was fairly uneventful. The bonus is that I have now renewed my supply of 3/8" plywood to use for fixtures, quick templates, etc.
The fence and blade guard were wrapped and stowed below on the planer bed. All cast iron beds were coated in protective oil and rust-inhibiting paper, with a plastic drape over the whole thing.
I lifted the jointer bed up and removed the fence, guard and manuals.
Took a quick measurement. Wow!
Once I settled down a little bit and regained my decorum, it occurred to me that I should have had the driver orient the crate 90 degrees the other way. My thought was that I could build a ramp from the box sides and wheel it off the pallet like that, but I had in mind that the wheels were in the other orientation...
After thinking about it for a few minutes, I grabbed the wheeled lift bar that comes with the unit and was able to strategically pry and pivot the pallet and turn it 90 degrees.
Next, I spent quite a lot of time mopping off the protective oil. They did a nice job of getting everything protected and I found no rust anywhere. Once it was all wiped off, I went back over it and cleaned it with naptha to remove more residue. Lola was not impressed in the least.
During the cleaning process I did find a few scratches on the outfeed table. That was a little disappointing, but they were not deep and had been smoothed at the factory. It's certainly nothing that will affect functionality.
After cleanup, I applied a coat of wax to the beds.
OK that's really long, I'll continue in another post.
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