What size jointer do you have?

[ken masoumi]

I know this question often comes up to whether to buy a 6" jointer or go bigger( 8") ?most members who have already upgraded to 8" jointers will chime in and recommend not to waste money on a 6" jointer .
I wonder how many of us 6" jointer owners are out there that are quite happy with the size and have no intention of upgrading but shy away from recommending this size knowing or assuming most members will disagree and think 6" is way too small .

[John Lanciani]

First one in, none of the above. You may want to add a line or two to the survey, I know I'm not the only creeker with a 16" jointer and I believe that there are a few even bigger swimming around here.

[Phil Thien]

I had an 8-5/8" Inca jointer, and sold it. Huge mistake.

I now have a 6" benchtop Ryobi with universal motor. It actually isn't terrible. This is from when Ryobi stuff was made in Japan. In fact, the design is pretty impressive.

I have purchased a 12" jointer head (still not here) and I plan on trying to make a 12" jointer. I expect it to be a miserable failure! It has been over a couple of weeks and the jointer head is still stuck in transit. Of course, Mercury is entering retrograde, so...

Right now I use a planer sled for boards wider than 6" that I don't want to rip/joint/plane/glue.

When a single, wide board isn't critical, I rip boards in half on a table saw straight rip jig, then joint them.

If someone has the wherewithal to get an 8" (instead of 6") I'd encourage them to do so.

Using the planer sled isn't the end of the world, and I get great results, but it is SLOW going.

Or get one of those big 10" or 12" jointer/planer combination machines, those look awesome, too.

[Steve Schoene]

Me too. I have a 16" jointer (actually a jointer/planer combo). It replaced an 8".

[Phil Thien]

16" jointers everywhere. Wow.

[Keith Hankins]

I had a horrible 6" jointer from delta that i gave to my brother. I could have had the 8" with spiral cutterhead or the 12" parallel beds for with 4 HSS knives. I went the bigger is better and don't regret it. Cut's fine, and there has been so many times when that extra 4" came in handy. Don't miss having the spiral. For the money only thing I'd do different is go get a big old american made battleship of a jointer for less rather than the griz, but it has served me well

[Robert Boyd]

American 24" jointer.

As always bigger is better.

[Tai Fu]

I have a 12" jointer of unknown make. Looks old and the whole thing is cast iron. Weights a ton too. Has parallel beds. Blade seems to tear out wild grains easily so I'm not sure if this means I have to upgrade to spiral. The only trouble is I can't figure out how to sharpen such a long blade. I have taken the blade to a grinder and while it's not precise, it works well.

[Erik Loza]

16" jointers everywhere. Wow.

If my business is any indicator, there definitely should be a "16-inch" choice....

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I upgraded about 5 years ago to a 12" jointer/plane combo from an 8 inch jointer/14 inch planer.

16" combination machines are also seen in hobby shops...........Rod.

[David Hawxhurst]

sold my 12" combo in favor of a larger 16" combo.

[Phil Thien]

If my business is any indicator, there definitely should be a "16-inch" choice....

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

This thread should be renamed "Jointers - YOLO" ("You Only Live Once" for the acronym challenged).

[Alden Miller]

I have a 10" jointer, not listed as an option to select.

-Alden

[Loren Woirhaye]

I have a 10" INCA right now and it suits the work I do these days. I've owned 4", 6" 8" and a 12" J/P combo. I could work with a 6" machine with not much trouble. I prefer an iron planer with a 220v motor however. I'd rather blow a spare five grand on a wide belt sander than huge jointer or combo.

[Curtis Horswill]

I also have a 16" jointer, it is a Knapp 16" Jointer/Planer combo.

[Lonnie Gallaher]

A #7 Union and a #8 Stanley.

I couldn't resist. :)

[Andrew Fleck]

A #7 Union and a #8 Stanley.

I couldn't resist. :)

Ha ha! ...........

[Mike Cutler]

I checked the 6" size because that's the one I have that is working right now. Time permitting, I have 16" jointer in the rebuild process.
I've pushed the limits of my Jet 6",and it's been a good machine, but it is limited. I've almost pushed it over mutliple times.:eek:

[Rich Riddle]

I own a 14" Minimax FS35. Upgraded from an Inca 10". It works great and hopefully will have a new Shelix head in the near future.

[Ray Newman]

Have a 8" which fits nicely in the shop and is compatible with the work that I do. Anything wider and/or longer would have taken up too much space.

Also have a UK-made Stanley #7 with corrugated sole.

[Andrew Joiner]

I'm jointerless.
I ditched(cobwebed) my jointer in 1979. At that time my lumber yards delivered kiln dry graded S3S lumber to my commercial shop for way less money than the cost of me flattening and straightlining it.

These days I use sleds to process rough lumber in my hobby shop. I prefer sawing to get the initial straight edge on a board hands down over a jointer. It's faster and takes less effort.

I use a thin lightweight planer sled to flatten faces of stock. I built a flat planer table similar to this one, only mine's 16' long:http://lumberjocks.com/assets/pictures/projects/329947-438x.jpg




It's like a jointer with power feed. Another plus,you don't have to press heavy,long lumber down flat on the jointer tables.
Even though I have the space and money for a big jointer, I prefer sleds.

[Charles Coolidge]

This

280914

with this Byrd Shelix cutter head installed

280913

[Bernie May]

I have a 10" grizzly jointer/planer. I like it, but I am going to sell it and get a Hammer 12 jointer/planer. If I had the space and money, I would get a 16" jointer and 20" planer, both with spiral heads.

[William C Rogers]

I now have a 14 inch Mini Max FS35. I checked the 12 in box as it was somewhat close. Started with a Craftsman 80's 6 inch and quickly went to the Delta 6 inch, well you know why. The Delta was a good jointer, but found the MM at a great deal. I don't know that I need a 16 inch, but really like the 14 inch. Nice to join wider boards.

Bill R

[Earl Rumans]

I have a 12 inch but it's a combo jointer/planer not a standalone jointer.

[Peter Kelly]

I have a 16" one but it's a MiniMax combo machine. I've also got an old Makita 2030 combo with a 6" jointer which I still find myself using from time to time as well since it's closer to my workbench. Kinda not bad with edge jointing smaller workpieces.

[Steve Jenkins]

16"Oliver made in 1949

[Ralph Butts]

16" Hammer A3 41

[johnny means]

20" Felder J/P

[Peter Quinn]

8" DJ 20 with spiral head, had a 6" for a short time, not quite enough for my basic needs. Maybe some day I'll go with a 16" combo, but its really the length I need more than the width. I need 16" on the planer, 12" on the jointer would be nice, but an overall length approaching 108" is really the goal for me, not sure you can hit that in a 16" combo as delivered, not sure about dealing with bed extensions etc. In the present the 8" gets it all done with a little help from my #5 Stanley jack plane. I could see a 6" working for some small shops and not for others, but IMO 8" is really the first size where you get enough mass to behave like I prefer.

[Mike Heidrick]

12" DJ30 and 20" DC580 separates.

[Ole Anderson]

I have an older 6" Craftsman King Seeley. It serves me well, but I would like something more up to date, although I seldom face joint wood, I mostly use it for edge jointing, so I get by with a 6". Running out of room for anything much bigger.

[Stew Hagerty]

I voted that I have none. Which isn't quite true:

I have vintage #7 & #8 Stanley Jointers, a very old 30" Mathieson Woody, a 4" Straight cutter for my offset capable Incra Router Table, and a sled for my DW735 Planer. If I ever need more, which I only have one time, I simply take my material and go over to our local woodworker's clubhouse and use the 8" they have there.

[Jeff Duncan]

I had to vote for my 8" since there's no option for 16". I use the 16" more though so that would be my first vote…..if it were available:rolleyes:

Still keeping my eyes open for a nice 20" to come along:D

JeffD

[Malcolm Schweizer]

2 1/4" and it joints boards of any width. http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=52414&cat=1,41182,48944,52414

[Sam Beatty]

I picked up a G0656PX (http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-x-72-Jointer-with-Spiral-Cutterhead-and-Mobile-Base-Polar-Bear-Series/G0656PX). I've been putting it to the test since I got it and I can't really imagine going any smaller. I was up in the air about a 6" or an 8" and I think I made the right choice.

[Jaromir Svoboda]

I have a 16" jointer.

[jack forsberg]

got a 6" a 8" a 16" but this one is the big boy

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/tool613/wadkinRM006.jpg (http://s927.photobucket.com/user/tool613/media/wadkinRM006.jpg.html)

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/tool613/wadkinRM007.jpg (http://s927.photobucket.com/user/tool613/media/wadkinRM007.jpg.html)

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/tool613/002-40.jpg (http://s927.photobucket.com/user/tool613/media/002-40.jpg.html)

[Rick Potter]

I had to do it. I clicked 4" in honor of my Shopsmith jointer, but I do have an 8" DJ20. I am waiting for a guy with a 'jointability' setup to chime in.

Rick Potter

[johnny means]

got a 6" a 8" a 16" but this one is the big boy

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/tool613/wadkinRM006.jpg (http://s927.photobucket.com/user/tool613/media/wadkinRM006.jpg.html)

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/tool613/wadkinRM007.jpg (http://s927.photobucket.com/user/tool613/media/wadkinRM007.jpg.html)

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/tool613/002-40.jpg (http://s927.photobucket.com/user/tool613/media/002-40.jpg.html)


Ummmmm, jointer.

[Keith Weber]

Another 16" here. Northfield 16HD.

[Mark Wooden]

I have a 6 " Powermatic, an 8" Delta/ Milwaulkee/ Crescent and a 12" Crescent, using the Delta and Powermatic, the Crescent is torn apart for a restore. I got another 6" Delta shortbed around here somewhere too........
And when the right 16 to 20" shows up...........

[Shawn Pixley]

No jointer. I work neander for flattening / squaring stock.

[Tai Fu]

So why so much emphasis on large jointers? Wouldn't a planer be more important for flattening work? I think Woodgears site said you could face joint one side, and flip it over and face joint the other side, if you only have a 6" jointer and needs to face joint a 12" board. You can then feed it into the planer and clean everything up. I don't have a planer and the 12" jointer has proved useful in guitarmaking as well (use it to flatten headstock surface, neck top, face joint fingerboard in preparation for planing, resawing, etc.) however you can't completely dimension stocks with a jointer alone (well I have tried... I face joint the board, then resaw it on my bandsaw and then run it through the jointer...) so conventional wisdom would say you want a large planer...

[Phil Thien]

So why so much emphasis on large jointers? ... however you can't completely dimension stocks with a jointer alone (well I have tried... I face joint the board, then resaw it on my bandsaw and then run it through the jointer...) so conventional wisdom would say you want a large planer...

A lot of the posters w/ real wide jointers have combo machines, so a single machine is both a jointer and a planer.

Those that have real wide jointers that AREN'T combos probably have obnoxiously large planers. Maybe someone should start a poll on planer sizes.

[Tai Fu]

I don't have obnoxously large planer... I do not have space for one. I really need thickness sander than planer because I thickness woods that are less than .100" thick, a planer would turn it into wood chips.

[Andrew Hughes]

After more than a year i found my sweet Oliver 166.The day we met and now.

[Michael Mahan]

16" MiniMax FS41 Classic here , Just got it , not even got 220 power till Thursday

[Frederick Skelly]

Ken, I have a 6" jointer. It works just fine for the things I build.
Fred

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Ah heck, I'll pile on. I have a, wait for it, 16" jointer. It's actually a Felder J/P.

That being said, don't let this thread discourage someone from a smaller one. 8", or even 6" is perfectly adequate for most things. The few times they aren't, there are other ways to get the job done.

As usual, Jack's machines are incredible, and for the record, you guys with the big old Oliver's sure make the green on my felder look pretty lame. If I ever get a wild hair, I'd trade it for vintage industrial.

[Jeff Duncan]

So why so much emphasis on large jointers? Wouldn't a planer be more important for flattening work?

No, the jointer flattens one face and edge, and the planer then cleans up the other face. You can't flatten stock on a planer without resorting to some sort of jigs or other funky setups. If you mill a fair amount of rough stock at some point you may grow out of the small jointers.

"so conventional wisdom would say you want a large planer…"

As for the planer it really doesn't have to be any wider than the jointer, though they usually are if you buy separates. I run a 20" planer which is all I need for my work. If I had a larger shop with more power then I might be tempted for something bigger. But the 20" handles all I need it to;)

good luck,
JeffD

[Marty Gulseth]

I have a Rockwell late 40's or early 50's vintage 4". Small and simple, but the price was right - and it has sentimental value, having previously belonged to my late FIL, who in my book is still a strong contender for all time best FIL and Grandpa.

Regards,

Marty

[jim gossage]

I have an 8", but my wife doesn't believe its that big...

[Eric Shapin]

6" jointer here. Many units have the rabbeting ledge integral to the indeed table; my unit's ledge is a separate piece of bolt-on cast iron. The significance? I regularly flatten 9+ inch boards using the method in the below link. An integrated rabbeting ledge would have been a deal breaker for me.

http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/milling-wide-boards/

[johnny means]

I think Woodgears site said you could face joint one side, and flip it over and face joint the other side, if you only have a 6" jointer and needs to face joint a 12" board.

This is a falsehood that gets repeated often. If you joint a cupped our twisted board in this manner, you are very likely to and up with two different facets that are not parallel. If it does work, the board probably didn't really require jointing.

[Phil Thien]

This is a falsehood that gets repeated often. If you joint a cupped our twisted board in this manner, you are very likely to and up with two different facets that are not parallel. If it does work, the board probably didn't really require jointing.

It won't be perfect but the method should allow the user to remove high spots, like you might find in a twisted or cupped board.

[Larry Gauerke]

I have a 4" jointer, an 8" jointer and a 16" jointer from the late 1800's.

Larry

[Mark Bolton]

got a 6" a 8" a 16" but this one is the big boy

Jack,

One must ask a few questions. Not to get to personal,... but ;-)

1. Do you ever sleep?

2. No offense but did you hit the Canadian Lottery?

3. Where do you find the time to impeccably restore these machines?

4. Wow?

[Lee Reep]

Ken,

Maybe the best way to judge what you need is what do you plan to build? I have a 6" jointer and it serves me well. I have a DeWalt 13" planer, and that also serves me well, since I often glue up narrow segments of differing woods for cutting boards, and want to plane my wider "glue-up" on its top surface.

If I ever ran across a wider, classic old-iron jointer, I'd probably buy it to restore it. Until then, I can live happily with what I have.

[Myk Rian]

I have an 8", but my wife doesn't believe its that big...
Jointers. Not pointers.

[George Bregar]

16" Club. S.A. Woods. 7.5 HP GE Motor.

281598

[Tobias Lochner]

I have a Delta 8". Upgraded from a 6" years ago and have not found any need to go bigger. I have upgraded my planer to 20" and this combination suffices for all of my cabinetmaking needs.

[jack forsberg]

Mark
i have not got them all in a Jackafied condition.:p

I do like my 6" Bursgreen c 1950 with it parallelogram tables and skewed knife head. the little beast is heaver than my 8" long bed General.

281610


http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=12515





Jack,

One must ask a few questions. Not to get to personal,... but ;-)

1. Do you ever sleep?

2. No offense but did you hit the Canadian Lottery?

3. Where do you find the time to impeccably restore these machines?

4. Wow?

[andy photenas]

wow im kinda new to pro cabinet making and i have to ask what on earth do u guys use a 16 in jointer for? and doent a machine like that run $7-$12k in price tag?
Ps i have a 8" powermatic(if i rember its 72") and the other then limiting the work to 8" in width look how long the table is as thats what limits how well it will work on longer stock. I love my jointer very much its so nice when i put new blades on it they are hard to pick up off the outfeed table cus its sealed with air to it ! Then i know i set my tool right :)

[mreza Salav]

A 14" J/P combo.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Well, sometimes a wider jointer can save you time and that's important in pro work. You might glue up a 16" wide panel out of unsurfaced boards for a 20" wide frame and panel door. Run the rough panel on the jointer a few times, feed it through the planer, then through a finishing sander. If you had a 20" jointer a panel for a 24" wide door could be done this way. It's all rather extravagant unless you're financially incentivized to maximize productivity. These days with the ability to easily outsource most cabinet doors...

There's also the usage of people who are doing stuff like getting 14" wide mahogany boards and resawing them.

I will tell you for sure that in terms of increasing shop efficiency for the pro working to get established I'd say a wide belt or stroke sander is a wiser investment than a big jointer. I say this a bit sheepishly as I recently scored and mothballed a 16" jointer I don't even have room to set up. I did acquire a stroke sander and small wide belt first though.

[Jim Becker]

The working width of the jointer (and planer) on my J/P combo is 350mm...about 13.7". I sometimes wish it was wider. Note I almost never "edge joint" on my jointer since I have a sliding table saw, but I flatten board faces before planing to thickness.

[Ron Kellison]

1949 Wheatley 8" short-bed. Found it sitting on a dirt floor in a barn. Cleaned out the mud wasp nests, removed the rust, rebuilt the old 1 HP Century R/I motor, replaced a couple of bearings, put it on a new stand and put in some dust collection. Now it's a beautiful machine and a pleasure to use in a small shop.

281951281952281953281954

[Mike Leung]

I have an Inca 570 which has a 10-1/4" width Tersa cutterhead. It is the perfect width for my needs.

[Mike Leung]

That's an awesome fence on your jointer. I wish my jointer had that fence.


1949 Wheatley 8" short-bed. Found it sitting on a dirt floor in a barn. Cleaned out the mud wasp nests, removed the rust, rebuilt the old 1 HP Century R/I motor, replaced a couple of bearings, put it on a new stand and put in some dust collection. Now it's a beautiful machine and a pleasure to use in a small shop.

281951281952281953281954

[Bradley Gray]

16" Fay and Egan, 6" Craftsman King Seely

[Michael Mahan]

I have an Inca 570 which has a 10-1/4" width Tersa cutterhead. It is the perfect width for my needs.


+1 on the Tersa head I like the quick change option to use different knives for different woods

[John Lanciani]

wow im kinda new to pro cabinet making and i have to ask what on earth do u guys use a 16 in jointer for?

Facing 16" wide boards.

Several times a year it's not big enough for the boards I buy. Building 3 board tops for tavern tables in 36"-45" widths is historically accurate and pleasing to the eye. Customers are willing to pay accordingly.

[J.R. Rutter]

410 mm (~16")

Shift the fence as needed to expose fresh portion of blades - even when face jointing :) Oh, and 8' of tables :)

[Michael Peet]

22", did not see in list.

282735

:D

Mike

[Troy Turner]

Started out with and still have/use my Craftsman 6" jointer. Bed is small and fence is well, it's a craftsman. Scored some old arn a couple months ago. It's an old Powermatic 5000. Have to restore and get it in the shop. It too though is a 6". Longer bed though :D

[ed vitanovec]

I had 4", 6", 8" and now a 12" combo, I think the 12" will be the last one for me. I found out as my experience grew so did the size of my projects, of course at the time had a larger home workshop too. I think an 8" would be more that enough jointer for most anyone.

[Jeff Erbele]

I voted. 4"
In theory it should joint an 8" wide board. ...never mind the little ridge in the middle :eek:

It came with the used Shop Smith Mark V, I was seeking. It is four more inches of jointer capacity than I ever owned, ever.
I've never plugged it in, turned it on, much less ran a board thru it.

Maybe I skewed the poll, but not sure what good it does anyway, as the best jointer is the one that works and meets your needs. Be darned if I am going to buy any machine for bragging rights. :)

The truth is I'll be buying wood shop machines staring later this year as I set up a new shop as the need arises, but at this point I don't know my needs much less what I want yet.

At this point I am wondering why I want a jointer at all when maybe one great combo jointer/planer and/or drum sander may be a better investment. ....how many machines does one need to get stock square and to finished size?

[Jeff Erbele]

No, the jointer flattens one face and edge, and the planer then cleans up the other face. You can't flatten stock on a planer without resorting to some sort of jigs or other funky setups. If you mill a fair amount of rough stock at some point you may grow out of the small jointers.

"so conventional wisdom would say you want a large planer…"

As for the planer it really doesn't have to be any wider than the jointer, though they usually are if you buy separates. I run a 20" planer which is all I need for my work. If I had a larger shop with more power then I might be tempted for something bigger. But the 20" handles all I need it to;)

good luck,
JeffD

Collectively, that makes my head spin and makes me as or more confused than Tia.

My understanding is the main job of a
jointer (typically the narrower cutter) is cleaning up and creating an edge - the width of the stock is vertical
planner (typically the wider table and cutter) is cleaning up the face - the width of the stock is horizontal; laying flat on the machine table

Why can't one flatten stock (the face, the wider dimension) on a planer? Why would one need a jig; lay it on the table and plane away?


These, two consecutive statements are in conflict:
* "so conventional wisdom would say you want a large planer…"
* As for the planer it really doesn't have to be any wider than the jointer,

Discounting my 4" Shop Smith jointer included in my used Shop Smith purchase; the machine purchased primarily as a quick fix to universal multi-capabilities and long term primarilly drilling and boring mill), at low cost, with a small foot print; as a practical matter, I don't own a jointer, planner, or drum sander. I plan on buying some or maybe all of those as I set up shop, figure out my needs and what best suites them. Money is not an obstacle, but buying stuff I don't need, want or will use will bother me greatly.

Side bar note - In the early '80's I bought a new Shop Smith. About 20 years later, I could not tote it around with me and sold it; and missed it ever since. It is not a lot of things, but it is what it is and does what it does.

So, as I set-up a new, gee whiz shop, I struggle with justifying a jointer at all. Whats wrong with a combo machine? Why can't I plane one side and rip a square edge on a higher end table saw? Both machines should repeat the opposite two surfaces.

[David Weaver]

22" millers falls...22" lie nielsen and 28" jt brown

(i checked none- no power jointer, but i do have a power planer. jointing by hand isn't bad, but thickness planing by hand is pretty tough.)

[Jeff Duncan]

Jeff, the job of a jointer is to make one plane of a piece of wood flat. So if your trying to get a straight edge you would run the edge down to the cutter, with the wider part, (face), against the fence. If on the other hand your trying to remove bowing or cupping, (which would be on the face), then you must run the board face down on the jointer. All a planer will do is run a board through and remove material from one face. If the board is bowed or twisted going into the planer, it will still be bowed or twisted coming out. It's the jointers job to get a flat surface which references against the planer bed and allows the planer to make the other surface flat and parallel to the first.

As for the sizes it really depends on what your trying to accomplish. for the average guy doing a couple hours a week it's probably fine to have the jointer the same size as the planer. For larger shops the planer is almost always bigger. There are several reasons for this. For one, you can feed multiple boards at a time through the planer, the jointer not so much….(it can be done but that's not within jointing 101). You can also run wider glued up boards through a planer. And some shops buy their stock skip planed so that they don't need a bigger jointer, but can just run the stock through the planer right off.

I'm not going to argue the idea of getting wide stock flat on a narrow jointer, I don't believe it's a safe or accurate way to work, but that's my opinion and others will disagree. I'm also not going to tell you whether or not you need one as that would be silly. One must decide for themselves what tools they need to accomplish what they desire to do. I will say the jointer is a mainstay of almost every furniture and custom cabinet shop. It's considered one of the basic machines of woodworking and I couldn't imagine trying to build anything without one….but that's just me:D

good luck,
JeffD

[Loren Woirhaye]

In many professional applications boards are straightlined on a sliding table saw, which is probably more accurate and consistent than a straight-lining on a jointer, not to mention faster.

Many smaller face frame cabinet shops do not use a jointer. Face frame stock is often brought in surfaced and ripped on a gang saw. Warped pieces are discarded or used for smaller parts. Edges may be straightened on an edge sander, which is probably easier for employees to learn to do and probably a safer tool since the main risk is sanding back a finger tip. I have also seen long router tables or shapers with extension tables set up for straightening edged. This takes a lot of room of course.

After face frames are assembled on a pocket screw table there may be a little twist. The wide belt sander brings the face of the frame to flat and it is attached to the case, pulling it a little flatter if needed.

You can flatten wide boards on a planer sled. I've never done it. I just use bench planes - the surface doesn't have to be perfectly flat, just flat enough to plane the other side flat without using a sled. Then the hand plane side is run through the planer and the board flatness is re-assessed or let to move for a day or two.

[dan sherman]

I have a 6" right now, but once I get into a more permanent living situation, I'll upgrade to a 12".

[Jeff Erbele]

Jeff, the job of a jointer is to make one plane of a piece of wood flat. So if your trying to get a straight edge you would run the edge down to the cutter, with the wider part, (face), against the fence. If on the other hand your trying to remove bowing or cupping, (which would be on the face), then you must run the board face down on the jointer. All a planer will do is run a board through and remove material from one face. If the board is bowed or twisted going into the planer, it will still be bowed or twisted coming out. It's the jointers job to get a flat surface which references against the planer bed and allows the planer to make the other surface flat and parallel to the first.

As for the sizes it really depends on what your trying to accomplish. for the average guy doing a couple hours a week it's probably fine to have the jointer the same size as the planer. For larger shops the planer is almost always bigger. There are several reasons for this. For one, you can feed multiple boards at a time through the planer, the jointer not so much….(it can be done but that's not within jointing 101). You can also run wider glued up boards through a planer. And some shops buy their stock skip planed so that they don't need a bigger jointer, but can just run the stock through the planer right off.

I'm not going to argue the idea of getting wide stock flat on a narrow jointer, I don't believe it's a safe or accurate way to work, but that's my opinion and others will disagree. I'm also not going to tell you whether or not you need one as that would be silly. One must decide for themselves what tools they need to accomplish what they desire to do. I will say the jointer is a mainstay of almost every furniture and custom cabinet shop. It's considered one of the basic machines of woodworking and I couldn't imagine trying to build anything without one….but that's just me:D

good luck,
JeffD

Thanks for taking the time to explain in detail.

RE: < If the board is bowed or twisted going into the planer, it will still be bowed or twisted coming out. >

I should have mentioned that I was machinist my trade. I can equate those results to a surface surface grinder, the machine shop version of a machine who's main purpose is to produce flat surfaces and with the correct grinding wheel can produce very fine finishes. With the right set up, it also can produce angled surfaces, or a tapered surfaces. The point is though, one can encounter the same problem as you described on the planer. If one has a rather thin piece of stock that is slightly thicker on the ends and slightly thinner in the middle, and one lays it the magnetic chuck; when energizes the electro-magnet, the stock is pulled to the table with an extremely high force, bowing the part, in this example the middle. If one is not aware of what they are working with and fail to correct for it, you can grind away 'til there's nothing left and never obtain two parallel sides. One would clean up the top surface, release the magnet to flip the stock and work the other side. As soon as the magnet is released the stock will spring back to its relaxed state. Next one would flip the part and grind the surface that was face down. Energize the magnet and the part will bow the opposite direction. The fix is in the setup, either an alternate way to hold the stock or shim the low area to prevent bowing.

On another note, the machines I end up buying will be determined by the projects I decide to take on which include cabinets, furniture, a dining room table, an office desk, night stands, work stations for my wife's hobby room, a shop bench, a wood workers bench and more. I think a planer and jointer will be on my list, (or a combo machine). I tend to think the 4" jointer Shop Smith attachment is not going serve my needs. That is not why I bought the Shop Smith but was pleased to learn it was included.

The good news is I have a future new neighbor, (already a great friend), who has a fully equipped cabinet shop. He has all the machines, knows what he is doing and has offered to assist and advise once I start equipping my shop. House framing is scheduled to start next week. With moving, mega-landscaping, wiring & lighting the garage for a shop, plumbing airlines, dust collector etc.; I'm maybe 9 months away from any serious wood shop machine purchases, other than a good table saw as the first and early purchase.

[Jeff Duncan]

Thanks for taking the time to explain in detail.

On another note, the machines I end up buying will be determined by the projects I decide to take on


That is a sound plan! I believe the wisest method of buying equipment is to buy what you need for the work you do. So many posts of folks looking for advice on what to buy before they really start doing any wood working. I say start doing projects first, using whatever is available and you'll learn what you "need" as you go.

Having a friend with a well equipped shop nearby certainly won't hurt either:D

good luck,
JeffD

[shane lyall]

12 Fay Egan and 6 inch Delta. I started with a little benchtop and went thru a 6, an 8, and now my 12. It's like planers, I always want one a little bigger. I love the 12 but if I find a 16 at a good price, I'll bring it home...if I can hide it from LOML!

[Jim Becker]

wow im kinda new to pro cabinet making and i have to ask what on earth do u guys use a 16 in jointer for?

Flattening faces of material before planing to thickness. Even narrower board can sometimes benefit from a wider bed as you can "skew" heavily figured stock for a more shearing cut. You can also clean up edges of curved constructions, such as bent laminations, easier with a wider tool. As I already mentioned, I almost never do edges on the jointer...the exception being something "unique" that can only be done that way. My sliding table saw does the job otherwise.