Older style craftsmen jointers

[Ole Anderson]

I have the 6" Craftsman King Seeley version going on 35 years now. Has served me admirably, pitted beds and all. Setting knives is no big deal once you learn how using the drag-a-straightedge 3/16" method. I did upgrade the motor a bit years ago and had to build a custom dust collection shroud. Would I take a brand new 8" jointer? You bet.

[Thomas Wilson]

I had a Craftsman 6” Jointer with fixed outfeed table for more than 30 years. I learned to sharpen and set the blades. Standard sliding block measurement technique has already been mentioned. It works well but is slow. I can tell you my techniques if you buy one and have problems. I am a slow-moving, meticulous sort of woodworker. I like to get things adjusted accurately. Others may be less patient. Also, I was a hobbyist and had limited funds. Nonetheless, I and friends who used my shop built a lot of furniture using it mainly for edge jointing.

If you can afford something with longer beds, wider cutting head or better dust collection by all means get it. These are obvious weaknesses of this model. The jointing function is a pretty simple machine and this one can do it. Just be sure the beds are flat, all the parts are there (spares are basically not available), and the motor runs. I sold 2 of these in the early 2000’s for $100-125 each. One was my father’s, the other was mine. Both were in perfect working condition.

[Zachary Hoyt]

The one I had was listed on Craigslist for $50 and about 5 miles from me. I bought it, used it for 10 years or more, and sold it for $100 this summer, after I bought the Jet. In that time I put in one set of knives, so I didn't use it hard, but it was used on every instrument I built, except for fiddles and mandolins.

[Dave Sabo]

What Andrew said. The fixed outfeed table would be a non-starter for me. I'm not familiar with vintage Craftsman machines, there may be old Craftsman jointers that have adjustable outfeed tables.

lots of adjustable bed craftsman jointers out there.

there are a lot of guys out there that are ignorant to the fact that many of the “fixed table “ craftsman jointer are actually adjustable by three screws from underneath. Some have an adjustable cutterhead in addition. Even with a fixed table design - I wouldn’t necessarily pass on a low priced example if the table and cutterhead are already properly adjusted.

for certain , a modern designed jointer is easier to dial in if need be. But that doesn’t automatically make the older ones boat anchors. A cheap enough 6” jointer that is already properly set up is a great tool.