benchtop jointers

[jeff oldham]

could someone tell me why on a benchtop jointer there is no knob to adjust the height of the out feed table like it is on the infeed table,,i know the larger floor models has this feature,,,it seems like it would solve alot of problems,,,

[glenn bradley]

I mean this in a positive way. There are many reported problems with benchtop jointers. Adding another adjustment would probably just make things worse. I don't say this to be smug or cruel. My benchtop Delta years back had table leveling mechanisms which could be used to set the height but that was not their intention. Once adjusted it did what it was supposed to until I had to change the knives.

I imagine the included feature set has to do with the target audience. Benchtop jointers are for basic milling of smaller parts. I don't know that granular, repeatable, accurate, adjustments are part of the design criteria. To suggest something helpful we would need to know make and model. Things like knives with springs, grubs, indexed knives, insert head, etc. will drive recommendations to solve a particular problem.

[jeff oldham]

its no big deal either way,,i was just asking a question and thought someone might know the answer,,

[Jim Becker]

Jeff, I would guess that many benchtop tools are sometimes prone to "simplification" for both cost and market reasons and some adjustability is harder to incorporate on smaller devices while allowing them to be relatively stable. A compromise, in other words.

[Edward Weber]

There is really no need to, so it's done to keep costs low. Making a fixed housing is much less complicated than making an adjustable height table.

[Ronald Blue]

I used to have a Craftsman 6" contractor model. It was not adjustable on the outfeed side. So you had to get the knives installed level or it would be a problem. So you spent a little more time on a knife change. I think the new "benchtop" jointers have helical or spiral head so that wouldn't be an issue. As several have stated in different ways it's probably beneficial to have this arrangement. Definitely one less adjustment to deal with.

[Warren Lake]

id have no attraction to those machines. if for some reason I did id want an adjustable outfeed. Its not more work its less work, your knives wear as you use the machine and you can adjust the outfeed, simple and faster to just lower it.

[Richard Coers]

There is really no need to, so it's done to keep costs low. Making a fixed housing is much less complicated than making an adjustable height table.
I had a 6" Craftsman jointer that took a day to get the knives adjusted since the out feed table could not be changed. An adjustable out feed is critical for simple knife changes. You get the knives parallel with infeed table, then you adjust the outfield table to get the perfect cut for both boards to come together for a tight joint. Adjustable out feed is critical for me. How do you adjust the seam of two boards when you change the knives?