# Best bench top jointer



## spike2225

I'm ready to purchase a jointer. A bench jointer will best in my shop. I've read alot of mixed reviews on Delta jointers, not much else. What is the best, and most affordable bench jointer?


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## GeorgeC

"What is the best, and most affordable bench jointer?"

Which criteria is the driving factor: best or most affordable. They are not necessairly and are probably not the same machine.

G


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## iamwelty2

Just replaced my Delta bench top jointer with a Ridgid jointer with stand... it's a HUGE improvement... maybe, bigger than huge!! It finally went on sale at $299 and I got 10% off because it was a floor model with some minor damage... basically about the same price as the Delta... I would skip the table top and go with a bigger better unit.


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## beelzerob

This topic is vastly important to me, as I have need of a jointer and planer basically as soon as I can find one I can afford. So please elaborate if you can....what is so different about the bigger jointer? It seems like jointers only do one thing, and so it seems hard to understand how they could benefit from being a part of a huge table as opposed to bolted onto a frame you build. Any info you can give on the different a bigger jointer makes is helpful in the decision making process!


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## Mr Mac

The longer the in and out feed tables are the easier it is to work the wood. Shorter units are good and will do the job but it seems so much easier to control longer pieces with the longer units. 

Longer units are also, in many cases wider than their benchtop brothers and some have a rabbeting ledge. from what I have seen and heard, the HF unit is actually pretty good compared to a lot of other units at twice the price, but, that's just what I've heard. Go in there with a 20% coupon and make a good deal better.

Mac


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## iamwelty2

beelzerob said:


> This topic is vastly important to me, as I have need of a jointer and planer basically as soon as I can find one I can afford. So please elaborate if you can....what is so different about the bigger jointer? It seems like jointers only do one thing, and so it seems hard to understand how they could benefit from being a part of a huge table as opposed to bolted onto a frame you build. Any info you can give on the different a bigger jointer makes is helpful in the decision making process!


OK... Picture you are trying to joint an edge on a 1 X 6 piece of oak. The smaller table makes it much more difficult to hold the piece level and flat especially during the last few feet. A longer wider table makes is easier. The Delta 160 being retailed for $250ish dollars features a table 33" versus Ridgid's floor model's 45" (being sold at many Home Depots $199 - $299. The Delta has no dust collection and it's not advised to install one (however I made one for mine) The Ridgid is included with Dust Collection. The Delta weighs 41 pounds vs Ridgids 213 pounds. Delta comes with a 2 yr warranty the Ridgid has a Lifetime warranty... The Ridgid features a full 1 HP... as the song says "On and On, On and On"


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## Colt W. Knight

IMHO those newer Delta table top jointers are pretty "toyish". Id rather have a smaller 6" jointer with longer CAST IRON beds. The quality of my work has increased exponentially since buying a quality jointer.


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## Webster

A used, somewhat older Delta is what comes to mind.
Have a look on 'Craigs list' or some 'buy and sell' papers. You should be able to find one with a large bed for a pretty reasonable price......probably less $$$ than what you'd pay for a smalll new jointer.

Rick


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## Mr Mac

Webster said:


> Have a look on 'Craigs list' or some 'buy and sell' papers. You should be able to find one with a large bed for a pretty reasonable price......probably less $$$ than what you'd pay for a smalll new jointer.
> 
> Rick


As Rick stated you should be able to go to Craig's list in your area and find deals like this all day long... I would certainly recommend this over a bench model any day of the week and twice on Sunday!

Mac


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## dbhost

Now with all the naysayers having spoken up I actually have something to contribute here...

Bench Top jointers do have a place in the shop. Specifically the small shop. The disadvantages of a bench top model are many, and the advantages are typically cost, and size. I own a bench top, and it works fine, but mine has a cast iron table and dust collection (2 things the Delta lacks).

The jointer I own was sold under the Sunhill Machinery name, but was made by Geetech. Woodworker Supply used to sell the 6" model, they presently have the 4" model. The same machine is sold by Woodworker supply under the Woodtek brand name, but at $279.00 they can keep it. If I am spending that kind of money, I am going to clear the space and get the Ridgid, or even the HF 6" floor model jointer, or a used one from Craigslist...


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## beelzerob

Mac, I wish that kind were common. Jointers overall are a pretty common item...theres about 3 in the local bargain sheet that comes out every week. 90% of the used jointers I see around here are Craftsman, and a lot of those are just tabletop kind. 

So, in an effort to collect some "must have's" so that I can weed out the potentials when sifting through craigslist ads:

6" minimum
Cast iron bed
Minimum ____" long bed
Contractor/cabinet preferred if space is not an issue

Bonus:
Dust collection


Anything else you all would add?


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## Mr Mac

An adjustable infeed table would certainly be a good thing as would positive stops for 90° and 45°. A nice to have feature would be a rabbet ledge and a back stop that moves along the table so you can use each part of the knives.


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## beelzerob

How likely are those things to find on an older used jointer? They're not primarily new-type features, are they?

By adjustable infeed table, do you mean height?


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## The Engineer

I think all jointers will have an adjustable height infeed table. That is where you adjust the depth of the cut. The table top units usually do NOT have an adjustable OUTFEED table. You have to set the knives to match the height of the stationary outfeed table. And, from what I have read that is sometimes a difficult task. Grizzly sells a cast iron table top unit at about the same price as the other aluminum table tops, but it still has the same issue with outfeed adjustment. The Grizzly weighs about 100Lbs.


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## Mr Mac

beelzerob said:


> How likely are those things to find on an older used jointer? They're not primarily new-type features, are they?
> 
> By adjustable infeed table, do you mean height?


No, the adjustment I'm referring to is the tilt of the in-feed (level) or the out-feed table (height versus blades). If you have the table set too high, the jointer will taper all the stock you pass over it. If you have the table set too low, the piece can have either a snipe, or concave cut, at the end.

I was also in the market for a bench model jointer and was looking long and hard at the Delta when a good friend of mine told me to look at the in-feed table with a straight edge while I adjusted it to see what was happening. Sure enough, as I raised the in-feed it started to tilt to the rear and as I lowered it the in-feed began to flatten and then slightly rise (this was all within 1/32 to 1/8 of an inch) which would have caused the above conditions. Mind you, this was a minor amount of movement but would have caused a gap in the joint between two edge glued pieces. 

You can stop the wheel as you set your height and the table does seem to remain fairly flat with pressure applied though I didn't have a feeler gauge to verify this. 

Again, I'm _not_ saying that all bench top units will give poor results versus a floor model, all I'm doing is telling what I know and have seen which is what led me to buy a larger, heavier unit.

Mac
​


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## Steve Neul

icrazywood said:


> I think Jet JJP-8BT is better than delta benchtop jointer. Jet JJP-8BT comes with compact design so it is best for small space. It comes with heavy-duty motor of 13 Amp that can produce 18,000 cuts per minute. It is best benchtop Jointer.


Interesting advertisement. It's for a benchtop jointer and the first picture is a guy running a floor model jointer backwards.


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## Toolman50

beelzerob said:


> So, in an effort to collect some "must have's" so that I can weed out the potentials when sifting through craigslist ads:
> 
> 6" minimum
> Cast iron bed
> Minimum ____" long bed
> Contractor/cabinet preferred if space is not an issue
> 
> Bonus:
> Dust collection
> 
> Anything else you all would add?


Besides a short table, the small cheap joiners may have a fixed fence (not adjustable for angles) and a fixed (non adjustable up and down) outfeed table. I would not want a joiner without these two features.


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## Toolman50

beelzerob said:


> How likely are those things to find on an older used jointer? They're not primarily new-type features, are they?
> 
> By adjustable infeed table, do you mean height?


My old '50's style 6" joiner has a fully adjustable sliding fence, long bed design with rabbet table, and adjustable infeed/outfeed tables. A joiner is one of the simplest of woodworking machines and these features have been around a very long time. 
Probably before 1900's.


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## Jim Frye

I've had a Delta variable speed 6" bench top jointer for over twenty years now. I bought it because I had a very small shop and wasn't making large items. It works quite well. I added a shop built dust port to accept a 2 1/2" vac hose for chip collection. The short infeed and outfeed tables make any work piece over 4' long a challenge to run on this machine. Actually, I don't use it much as my table saw with a 24T Freud glue rip blade is accurate enough to not require a jointer. I buy my stock S2S R1E and that allows me to not need a jointer very much. Since the jointer is very adjustable for depth of cut, I do use it to "plane" pieces that need a bit of adjustment. I have my jointer bolted to a shop built cabinet that puts the tables at the same height at my work bench, so I can have a longer outfeed support.


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## handydan

spike2225 said:


> I'm ready to purchase a jointer. A bench jointer will best in my shop. I've read alot of mixed reviews on Delta jointers, not much else. What is the best, and most affordable bench jointer?


I also wanted a good jointer. Then I read about needing spiral cutterheads with indexible carbide inserts and a big floor model with cast iron surfaces. Then I decided to just use my table router.


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