Benchtop Jointer Recomendations

[jp_spins]

Although I would love to a stationary jointer I just don't have the space, does anyone have a recomendation for a benchtop jointer. As of now I've looked at the Craftsman, Delta and HF.

thanks

[goslin23]

I picked up the Ridgid JP0610 from HD a couple of weeks ago on clearance (for a "you suck" price). It isn't really that large of a machine, but it does have decent sized cast iron infeed and outfeed tables and it was dead on square (even though it was a floor model). It might be a little larger than what you are looking for though. So far it has performed well.

JP0610 jointer/planer

[LCHIEN]

the delta shopmaster (JT160?? or JP160?) is a good performer if you can give up planing long boards becasue the bed is not long enough.

I think maybe you should stick with wood less than 3-4 feet max on this jointer.

I had one for a few years, finally got a JT360 (or JP360?) the floor standing one..

[havighurst]

I have the Craftsman. It is solid cast iron (very heavy) and has worked very well for me. However, I am limited to the length of board that I can use on it. When I bought it, it was on sale and it was during Craftsman Days and I paid less than $180 for it. If you would be paying full price ($249- I think) you might be better served trying to wait for a sale, or trying to make room for a full size for about $100 more.

While I haven't had to replace my knives yet, they are readily available at Sears.

[Garasaki]

2 things:

I would strongly suggest checking out the used market. Patience is your friend....you should be able to find a good deal. The really good news about doing this is that, chances are, anything you buy WILL NOT decrease in value. So you can sell it when you find the room for a floorstander.

Sort of along those lines, you might look at older Delta 4" jointers on the used market. Here is mine...it's more or less benchtop sized

[Slik Geek]

Are you sure that you can't find the space? I fear that you will regret the short bed length all too soon and regret that you didn't put the money into a jointer that really fits your needs.

I would be cautious with the Craftsman.

I had an earlier version of that Craftsman about 10 years ago. In spite of truing the bed (by sanding), and adjusting the bed repeatedly, I couldn't get consistent results.

I finally discovered that the infeed bed would "sag" significantly when it was moved downward, causing the tables to be far from parallel. The result was gaps between boards that I intended to glue up. Really awful gaps. The elevation mechanism had significant play.

Through experimentation, I found that if I would overshoot my desired setting, and then bring the bed back up, I could get it close (significantly improved). There still was too much play to allow adjustments to fix the problem. It was frustrating to spend hours of tuning without reaching solid performance.

I gave up and got a real jointer and gave away the Craftsman. (I couldn't in good conscience sell it to anyone).

[eddy merckx]

If you plan to use your jointer on top of your bench and put it away afterward, you'll want something light weight. The Craftsman is pretty heavy, I think about 100 lbs, so it's not something you're going be moving very often. It is all cast iron. I think the Delta is around 30lbs because it has aluminum components.

My experience was with a Palmgren bench jointer which looks exactly like the Craftsman. It has a good, solid fence and excellent dust collection. Like I said, it is hard to move. It is also really, really hard to make the tables level with one another.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but you may quickly find a bench jointer rather limiting. If you plan to have your jointer on a stand anyway, something like the HF 6" jointer is only 18-20" longer and much more capable. You can currently pick one of these up for under $200. Some people park their joiners under the wing of their tablesaw to get them out of the way.

Eddy

Eddy

[cabinetman]

My first jointer was similar to this one. Got really good use from it until I bought a larger one. It took a little adjusting to set up, but once there, it was fairly easy to maintain. They can be found pretty cheap. I usually see them at tool sales in the classified, or garage sales.

[jp_spins]

HF does have a 6" rabbeting jointer on sale for $199 plus I have a 15% off coupon, at the risk of sounding like an idiot but does that jointer only make rabbet cuts?

[sparkeyjames]

Right now if you have the newest HF (with sale ending 8/27) flyer the 6 inch rabbiting full size is on sale at 199 and with the 15% coupon it would be even less. Some members here own this jointer and have very little trouble with it. With a lift base under it you could put it anywhere. HF has one of those pretty cheap too.



sparkeyjames

[Anna]

My jointer is a benchtop Palmgren, and I agree with the guys who said that you'll probably find the benchtop jointer very limiting.

Although it's a benchtop tool, you want something that's fairly heavy for stability and to limit the vibrations. That means that you'll probably build a base for it anyway because getting it on and off your bench can be (literally) back-breaking.

Once you build a base, you have practically the same footprint as a full jointer. The bed is also about 20 inches shorter than a full jointer, which, as noted by others, will limit the length of boards you can joint properly. Once you get around to adding on to the beds, you'll be really regretting not getting the full jointer anyway.

Then you'll be hoping some newbie is out searching for a benchtop so you can unload it and sneak in the new full-sized version into your shop without your spouse knowing about it.

Just speaking from experience.

Anna

[ragswl4]

I had a ShopFox 6" table top jointer. It worked just OK and as Lorin and others have said you are pretty limited in the size of stock that you can easily and safely pass over the tables. Even a 3 ft board was a chore for me. I sold it and bought a HF 7" (really a 6" I think) for a $100 on CraigsList. It had never been used.

After some alignment help from folks on the forum I got it working great and it serves me well. It is really not that large and could easily reside under the table saw when not in use or even behind it on the outfeed side. I have learned my lesson, only buy the machine once. It you really don't have the space I would go for one of the old Craftsman or Rockwell or Delta.

I read a lot of reviews on the Delta Benchtop with the aluminum fence and every one had problems keeping the fence square.

[JR]

Then you'll be hoping some newbie is out searching for a benchtop so you can unload it and sneak in the new full-sized version into your shop without your spouse knowing about it.

LOL!!

I bypassed the benchtop phase. But I put the unopened carton in a quiet corner of the shop fopr a couple of months. After I finally put it together, I was able to answer, with a straight face, the question, "Is that new?", with, "Why no, Honey, I've had that a long time!"

it worked. Just that once. Do not try this at home. Professional on a closed course. Depicted activities can be dangerous. Not recommended for casual use. LOYL in mirror might be closer than it seems.

JR

BTW - during that experience I also discovered the real value of a penny jar. I normally put all my pocket change in a bin every evening. That bin financed my BS and jointer purchases.

[gwyneth]

I'll let others comment on the merits or demerits of benchtop jointers--just wanted to say that Grizzly also has a 4" and a 6".

To jp_spins: no, rabbeting jointers are normal jointers with ledge thingy that can be set for rabbets (kind of like a rabbeting fence on a power hand plane, but upside down).

[eddy merckx]

HF does have a 6" rabbeting jointer on sale for $199 plus I have a 15% off coupon, at the risk of sounding like an idiot but does that jointer only make rabbet cuts?

Nope, it is a regular jointer with a little ledge for cutting rabbets. I don't think anyone uses the rabbeting feature, but they come on most jointers.

If you get one of the HF jointers, you might want to budget for a better set of knives. $20 or so will get you a good set from Freud or Sears.

These are surprisingly competent jointers otherwise. The fence is solid and it is very easy to get the tables set up. All in all a pretty decent machine at a good price.

Eddy