WOOD :
Shop Tested: Benchtop jointers
Shop Tested: Benchtop jointers
Whether yours is a small shop or a new shop, set it up for big-league lumber surfacing at an entry-level price point with a benchtop jointer. Our head-to-head test points you to the right model.
How to know if a benchtop jointer is right for you
■ Ranging from $250 to $1,100, these are the lowest priced jointers to buy new.
■ The small footprint (about 20×30") and light weight (35–70 pounds) allow you to easily lift and store it when not in use.
■ The 6" and 8" board-width capacities of these machines match those of their more expensive floor-standing counterparts.
■ Many models in our test include disposable or inexpensive cutters or knives making sharpening unnecessary or optional.
■ You can place a benchtop jointer on a stand or workbench at a height comfortable to you.
■ Chip collection proves excellent when using an appropriate shop vacuum or dust collector.
Cons
■ The short infeed and outfeed tables make it difficult to work with boards longer than 5–6'; you'll need workpiece support stands for those.
■ The small motors do well enough with shallow cuts (1/16" or less) but require a much slower feed rate when cutting up to the maximum 1/8" depth. Deep cuts could also overwork the motor.
■ Long-wearing carbide knives and cutters are rare on benchtop models; you'll likely get steel cutters or knives, which dull faster.
Cut quality cuts later effort
Ideally, a jointer would leave wood surfaces without any tooling marks that need to be sanded or planed away later. But since that is rarely the case with a jointer of any size, your tolerance for sanding or hand-planing after jointing might center your choice of jointers on cut quality.
To evaluate the quality of cut for each model, we face-jointed walnut boards with a 1/32"-deep cut, then rubbed white chalk on the surface to reveal high spots (tooling marks), as shown below. Four machines, the Grizzly G0945, Rikon 20-800H, Shop Fox W1876, and Wen JT3062, produced the cleanest surfaces.A jointer provides the best and fastest way to flatten the face of a board and square an edge to that flat face. Paired with a thickness planer, it quickly and reliably processes less-expensive roughsawn lumber into project-ready, surfaced boards, a capability that can pay for itself in short order.
They're powerful, but don't push it
All 12 test jointers use 110-volt motors that are smaller than those you'll find on a floor-standing model. To measure each jointer's ability to handle full-capacity cuts, we face-jointed 6"×3' hard-maple boards, removing 1/16" per pass, and recorded the time it took. The Grizzly G0946 cut fastest at 1:03 (an average of three tests), with six other models taking 1:12 or less. The Delta 37-071 took the longest at 2:18. The three 8" jointers handled 6"-wide maple in 1:11 or 1:12; when using 8" maple, they needed just 3-5 seconds longer. (See the chart on page 50 for power grades for each unit.)
To really put them through their paces, we next set the jointers for the maximum ⅛"-deep cut and repeated the tests. The 8" jointers fared best here, requiring only a slightly slower feed rate. All 6" models, however, required a significantly slower feed rate to make the cut, with some bogging down even then. The Delta could not complete this demanding cut—but we don't recommend doing this with any of these jointers. Instead, limit full-width cuts to a shallower depth and reserve full-depth cuts for narrower boards or edge work.
■ The small footprint (about 20×30") and light weight (35–70 pounds) allow you to easily lift and store it when not in use.
■ The 6" and 8" board-width capacities of these machines match those of their more expensive floor-standing counterparts.
■ Many models in our test include disposable or inexpensive cutters or knives making sharpening unnecessary or optional.
■ You can place a benchtop jointer on a stand or workbench at a height comfortable ,,,,,,,,