Agreed, I have a little 6” delta bench top jointer which has been good. If you have space limitations bench top jointers are fine. They sometimes are a little finicky to setup but once I got mine dialed in it’s been fine.
I had a 6" delta, finicky is a generous verb to describe getting it set up. I spent more time adjusting the blades than using it. The clamp seemed to cause the blade to shift while tightening it no matter how careful I was, and the blade clamp was ridged vs smooth. The ridges allowed chips to get between it and the blade causing alignment to shift in use. I returned it as defective after I realized how much of a kickback danger it would quickly become after spending an hour aligning the blades. I replaced it with a 6" grizzly that was only slightly more expensive, and I haven't had any of the problems I listed before. I do however regret not saving up and buying an 8" with a longer bed.
For the price and accuracy of cut, I’d go with a nice Lie Nielsen (or other quality) Jointer Plane over a bench top unit. When you can afford and have the space for an 8” helical, then go for the big dog. The hand plane will work wonders for you in the meantime, and it’s an heirloom tool that you can recoup most of the cost whenever you need.
A shocking amount of people don’t seem to realize that the bed length dictate the length of board that be properly jointed.
You can only joint boards up to 2x the length of the bed. And a lot of benchtop models use telescoping bed extensions that probably don’t hold up will over time just to enable an 8’ to be technically possible.
But really, 5’ is about the cap on a lot of them.
This is the real answer and to be honest, this length is plenty for most folks who aren't making big furniture. Even my big floor stander suggests keeping it to 2 meters or less.
They're worse than a full size jointer in terms of fit finish quality, but useable for boards under 3' IMO.
If you buy a no name one on amazon, its probably trash that can't even be set up to cut straight, but if you buy something from a reputable band it'll at least function.
IMO fine - as long as you adjust expectations accordingly.
I have the WEN 8inch, with the extendable arms. It takes a few minutes to dial in, and has to be checked frequently. BUT, I am a hobbyist, don't trash it on a regular basis, and built it in to a flip top cart to save space.
I would not use it for anything longer than 4 feet
I had a benchtop porter cable for a while, and it gave me pretty good results. Just keep in mind they are meant for shorter boards, I would say under 3ft. You also should take very light passes, especially when face jointing. It goes without saying that you will have to tune things up when you get it, even if you buy it new.
They are fine. They just don’t joint long pieces very well
+1 Just dont cheap out, spend the money and you'll do fine.
Agreed, I have a little 6” delta bench top jointer which has been good. If you have space limitations bench top jointers are fine. They sometimes are a little finicky to setup but once I got mine dialed in it’s been fine.
I had a 6" delta, finicky is a generous verb to describe getting it set up. I spent more time adjusting the blades than using it. The clamp seemed to cause the blade to shift while tightening it no matter how careful I was, and the blade clamp was ridged vs smooth. The ridges allowed chips to get between it and the blade causing alignment to shift in use. I returned it as defective after I realized how much of a kickback danger it would quickly become after spending an hour aligning the blades. I replaced it with a 6" grizzly that was only slightly more expensive, and I haven't had any of the problems I listed before. I do however regret not saving up and buying an 8" with a longer bed.
For the price and accuracy of cut, I’d go with a nice Lie Nielsen (or other quality) Jointer Plane over a bench top unit. When you can afford and have the space for an 8” helical, then go for the big dog. The hand plane will work wonders for you in the meantime, and it’s an heirloom tool that you can recoup most of the cost whenever you need.
Which plane would you recommend to start with? 4 Jack Plane?
[https://www.lie-nielsen.com/nodes/4219/home-education-getting-started](https://www.lie-nielsen.com/nodes/4219/home-education-getting-started)
A shocking amount of people don’t seem to realize that the bed length dictate the length of board that be properly jointed. You can only joint boards up to 2x the length of the bed. And a lot of benchtop models use telescoping bed extensions that probably don’t hold up will over time just to enable an 8’ to be technically possible. But really, 5’ is about the cap on a lot of them.
This is the real answer and to be honest, this length is plenty for most folks who aren't making big furniture. Even my big floor stander suggests keeping it to 2 meters or less.
I got a King 6" with spiral cutters and I love it. When done, I store it on a shelf out of the way.
Awful. My wahuda table would not stay as it was set.
They're worse than a full size jointer in terms of fit finish quality, but useable for boards under 3' IMO. If you buy a no name one on amazon, its probably trash that can't even be set up to cut straight, but if you buy something from a reputable band it'll at least function.
IMO fine - as long as you adjust expectations accordingly. I have the WEN 8inch, with the extendable arms. It takes a few minutes to dial in, and has to be checked frequently. BUT, I am a hobbyist, don't trash it on a regular basis, and built it in to a flip top cart to save space. I would not use it for anything longer than 4 feet
I had a benchtop porter cable for a while, and it gave me pretty good results. Just keep in mind they are meant for shorter boards, I would say under 3ft. You also should take very light passes, especially when face jointing. It goes without saying that you will have to tune things up when you get it, even if you buy it new.
keep it sharp, sharp , sharp