Planer vs. joiner

[supper shaun]

Wondering if I have the basics on the difference between a planer and a joiner and if there are any suggestions for which one makes more sense for beginning DIYer.

The planer makes for level and smooth boards. The joiner makes for crisp 45, 90, and 135 degree edges. But aren't these somewhat similar functions? At least at 90 degrees? The joiner can also make a rabbet joint quite easily?

Does either make more sense for when first starting out? I have maybe unrealistic dreams of redoing our kitchen cabinets and thought that one of these would be needed to do such a job.

I appreciate your suggestions and may have another newbie post that is in similar fashion.

[rlah]

I'm sure others can explain the difference better... but I don't have room for a jointer in my garage space... I bought a planer 7 months ago and have been very pleased with what it can do. If you have the room and the money, get a jointer too. It will give you *straight* edges and *flat* surfaces - characteristics you must have for fitting pieces together. But I have gotten by with using a router table as an edge jointer. And I use the planer with a sled and shimmed workpieces to get reasonably flat surfaces... It will depend on how well you setup these alternate tools to do the "jointer" tasks.

When my wife and I saw the first pass of a rough piece of walnut as it came through our new Ryobi AP1300 planer, we could hardly believe our eyes... a beautiful (and almost flat) surface which almost did not need any sanding before finishing. I'll not forget that moment.


rlah

[Knottscott]

In a nutshell, the jointer makes one face of a board flat, then straigtens an adjacent edge at 90 degrees from the flat face...it won't do well with the task of making two faces parallel to each other.

A planer won't flatten or straighten a board very well without help...it's primary functions are to make one face parallel to the opposite face and reduce thickness in the process. If a twisted board goes through the planer, it'll come out smoother and thinner,but still twisted. That's why a jointer and planer work so well together...a pass through the jointer flattens one face... that flat face gets placed down on the planer and the planer makes the top side parallel to the bottom. With the help of a planer sled as a jig and some shimming, a planer can be made to flatten a board by using the sled as the flat reference face.

Using both in tandem is ideal. If I could only have one, I'd go with the planer because with some effort it can do part of the jointer's job, but a jointer can't be made to do the planer's job effectively. There are several other options for making an adjacent edge straight at 90 degrees to the face.

[LarryG]

Welcome to the forum. I've not noticed your name before, but that's my fault, not yours.

Yours is a question that gets asked a fair amount. The answer, in a nutshell, is that the jointer and the thickness planer are a two-tool team that do separate but complementary jobs. A jointer will make the opposing surfaces of a board flat, but not necessarily parallel to each other. A thickness planer will make the opposing surfaces of a board parallel, but the board will not necessarily be flat.

If you're going to be working with much rough-sawn lumber, you really need both. Many find that the cheaper prices of rough lumber quickly helps offset the price of these two tools.

If you can have only one ... ack, that's another question that's asked a lot, and is tougher to answer. It somewhat depends on the nature of your projects. However, since there are makeshift ways to "joint" a board using either a table saw or a router, many say that the planer would be the better choice if you can only afford one. I guess I would grudgingly agree, although I personally would probably give up my planer before I gave up my jointer.

EDIT: Looks like at least three of us were all typing about the same thing, at about the same time.

One thing I forgot: yes, most jointers have rabbeting ledges, but I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who actually used it. It's a lot easier and faster to cut rabbets with a table saw or a router.

[Knottscott]

"...EDIT: Looks like at least three of us were all typing about the same thing, at about the same time."

"... A jointer will make the opposing surfaces of a board flat, but not necessarily parallel to each other. A thickness planer will make the opposing surfaces of a board parallel, but the board will not necessarily be flat. "

Yeah...but you put it alot more eloquently! ... that's the jointer/planer quote I've been in search of for years!

[supper shaun]

Wow--that was fast. Thanks for all the replies.

[mac_daddy]

I am also at that dilemma: jointer or planer. From my previous experience back in Jr high, the planer will press cupped boards flat under its rollers when planing, but the cupping will not be fixed when it exits. I've seen some jigs made with a sled, some strategically placed shims and hot glue that seems to come close to jointing board surfaces.

[TheRic]

I'll have to say if three people were typing the same thing at the same time in response to a question it's not just 1 persons opinion, but a general consensus.

I'll have to agree that Larry has a way with words, not to mention wood.

[JR]

Another reason you might have a planer, but not a jointer:

Most S4S stock at HD or similar stores comes in 3/4" thickness. If you want 1/2" or 3/8" finished boards, the planer is what you need. Similarly, if you want 1" or 1-1/4" thickness, you might glue up two boards, then plane to correct thicness.

I just did a project requiring 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and 3/4" thicknesses. I could have found a way to do it without a planer, but it would have been a real hassle. I used my jointer, but it wasn't absolutely mandatory.

JR

[LCHIEN]

BTW, not to nitpick,
A joiner and a jointer are two different tools.
Everyone assumed you were asking about a Jointer which they described quite well, I have nothing to add.
A joiner is a tool, most commonly a biscuit joiner, for joining two pieces of wood along an edge. Likely you would have used a jointer to ensure the edges were straight and square befor joining.

[TheRic]

BTW, not to nitpick,
A joiner and a jointer are two different tools.
Everyone assumed you were asking about a Jointer which they described quite well, I have nothing to add.
A joiner is a tool, most commonly a biscuit joiner, for joining two pieces of wood along an edge. Likely you would have used a jointer to ensure the edges were straight and square befor joining.

He's not called the "Internet Fact Checker" for no reason at all.

[LarryG]

... straight and square befor joining.

Not to nitpick, but it's "before."

Seriously, good catch. The OP used the word "joiner" at least three or four times and I missed it completely since he was so obviously talking about a jointer.

[scorrpio]

If you plan to be doing any sort of woodworking, invest in both tools.
Used in tandem, they can take about any board and make it straight and smooth, with parallel sides, crisp 90 edges, and proper thickness.

Rough lumber at lumberyards will cost you 2-3 times less than "S4S" lumber at Home Depot. You'll recoup the cost fairly quickly. Yeah, and nothing like picking some trash-bound wood at a demolition site, and turning it into beautiful stock in your shop. Why S4S was in quotes? Cause most of those boards are already warped sitting in the rack at HD - as they were likely milled and stored at different locations. Even if you painstakingly sift through and pick straight ones, chances are many will go out of straight in the process of acclimating to the shop.

I also would say planer first as edge jointing can be done (with a jig) on a table saw or on a router table. Face jointing can be done in a planer with a sled and shims contraption.

[onedash]

Well my first real tool was my jointer...Then I bought a good table saw..I had a POS table saw. After I had my jointer I finally upgraded my table saw and later followed with a planer.
If you have a really bad board try to use it for smaller pieces. You can usually get quite good pieces no matter how warped, cupped or twisted if you can make several small pieces out of it...