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Delta™ 6'' Variable Speed Bench Jointer
Offers a wide range of speeds for fast, efficient jointing and surfacing of soft woods, hard woods and plastics. Delta ShopMaster Model JT160 6" Variable Speed Bench Jointer with a 10 amp., 120V motor; 2-knife cutterhead, cutterhead guard, push blocks, wrenches and instruction manual. Delta™ 6'' Variable Speed Bench Jointer

DELTA 37-275X 6'' Professional Jointer

The DELTA 37-275X includes 1 HP, 120/240 Volts induction motor, enclosed stand, dust collector connector, center-mounted fence, 3-knife cutterhead, cutterhead guard, push blocks, instruction maual Quality glue-ups time after time. Delta's 6" professional jointer makes it easy with a 1 HP motor, rack and pinion fence system, three knife cutterhead and easy-to-position infeed table.

DELTA 37-275X 6'' Professional Jointer

Jet JJ-6HHDX; 6'' L BED JOINTER HELICAL HEAD KIT
Helical cutterhead with indexable carbide inserts. Extra-long heavy-duty cast iron infeed and outfeed tables. Two-way tilting fence with positive stops at 45 degrees and 90 degrees to handle bevel operations. Powerful 1HP motor. Heavy-duty, one-piece steel closed stand. Jet JJ-6HHDX; 6'' L BED JOINTER HELIC HEAD KIT

Jet JJ-6CSDX, 6'' Deluxe Jointer with QS Knives
Three high-speed steel knife cutter head. Extra-long heavy-duty cast iron infeed and outfeed tables. Built-in rabbeting ledge. Two-way tilting fence. Powerful 1HP motor. Heavy-duty, one-piece steel closed stand. Jet JJ-6CSDX, 6'' Deluxe Jointer with QS Knives

Powermatic 54HH 6'' Jointer with helical cutterhead
Helical cutterhead with four-sided knife inserts. 66" long adjustable infeed and outfeed tables. 38" two-way tilting fence with positive stops. 1HP motor offers plenty of power. Powermatic 54HH 6'' Jointer with helical cutterhead

JET - JJ-6CS, 6'' Closed Stand Jointer, 1HP, 1Ph, Two Way Tilting Fnce
1 HP totally enclosed fan cooled (TEFC) motor. Heavy duty one piece steel stand. Large cast iron tables. Three-knife cutterhead. Infeed and outfeed table height is fully adjustable. JET - JJ-6CS, 6'' Closed Stand Jointer, 1HP, 1Ph, Two Way Tilting Fnce

JET - JJ-8CS, 8'' Closed Stand Jointer, 2HP, 1Ph 230V Only
Extra long, large, cast iron tables. Center-mounted, large cast iron fence is equipped with 90 degrees and 45 degrees positive stops. Heavy three-knife cutterhead. Rabbeting ledge is built into the table. JET - JJ-8CS, 8'' Closed Stand Jointer, 2HP, 1Ph 230V Only

DELTA 37-365X 8'' Precision Jointer (DJ-20)

The DELTA 37-365X includes 1-1/2 HP, 120/240 Volts, 60 hz, Single Phase motor, 3-knife cutterhead module, cutterhead guard with wrenches, rabbeting ledge, tilting fence, push blocks, two pulleys, instruction manual. Runs on sealed, lubricated-for-life ball bearings. Unique parallelogram support system allows the table to move in the same arc as the cutterhead when raised or lowered. This uniform, close clearance to the cutting blade acts as a more efficient chip breaker. Extra-long infeed table provides a full 76-1/2" of work support.

DELTA 37-365X 8'' Precision Jointer (DJ-20)

POWERMATIC - Powermatic 8'' Parallelogram Jointer 2HP,1Ph or 3HP, 3Ph

Extra long 82" bed length for better work support, innovative fence design that allows you to turn a handwheel that tilts the fence in and out with positive stops at +/-45 and 90 degrees. The parallelogram design keeps the table in close proximity to the cutterhead. This design also insures the table remains perfectly parallel, even after years of of tough duty. 3-knife cutterhead. Wired for 3 phase, motor delivers 3hp.

POWERMATIC - Powermatic 8'' Parallelogram Jointer 2HP,1Ph

Jet 8" Jointer with Helical Head Kit, Model JJ-8HH
Helical cutterhead with indexable carbide inserts for a superior finish and quieter cut. Heavy-duty cast iron infeed and outfeed tables. Two-way tilting fence with positive stops at 45° and 90°. 2HP motor. Heavy-duty, one-piece steel closed stand.

Powermatic 8" Parallelogram Jointer with Helical Cutterhead, Model PJ-882HH
Helical cutterhead with knife inserts provides smoother, quieter cutting and finer finish than conventional systems. Extra long 82" table for expanded work support. Parallelogram design helps maintain table parallelism and eases table raising and lowering. Handwheel with worm gear system for precise fence tilting.

DELTA 37-361 DJ 30 12" Jointer

The DELTA 37-361 includes 3 HP motor, Single Phase, set of three knives, cutterhead assembly, cutterhead guard, wrenches, rabbeting ledge, tilting fence, push blocks, instruction manual. Center-mounted fence has rack and pinion movement for smooth, precise adjustment. Infeed and outfeed tables have an easy-to-use lever for raising and lowering table bed. Parallelogram support system allows the table to move up or down in the same arc as the cutterhead, allowing less space between thte table and cutterhead for safer, more efficient cutting, provides less tear-out. Hinged door and removable door panel allow for easy access to the motor and V-belts.

DELTA 37-361 DJ 30 12" Jointer

Powermatic PJ1696 16'' Jointer

Powermatic PJ1696 16' Jointer Helical cutterhead with 2-sided knife inserts reduces noise, eliminates adjustments and speeds knife changes Parallelogram construction maintains close table-to-cutterhead proximity and ensures table parallelism Large 96" x 16" table surface for maximum support and fine finish Rack and pinion adjustable cast iron fence system for smoother fence positioning and sturdy work support Full size rabbeting table supports large workpieces for rabbets up to 3/4" deep 7.5HP Motor for industrial duty Standard Equipment: Helical cutterhead with inserts Tilting fence Dust collection adaptor Cutterhead guard Tool kit

Powermatic PJ1696 16'' Jointer

Powermatic 12" Jointer with Helical Head, 3HP 1PH, Model 1285
Helical cutterhead with 2-sided carbide inserts for fast knife changes with no adjustments Rack and pinion adjustable cast iron fence assembly. Parallelogram design for close table-to-cutterhead proximity. Large 84" x 12" table surface. 3HP motor.

Jet 8" Jointer / Planer Combo, Model JJP-8BT
Combination bench top jointer/planer provides a 2 in 1 machine to maximize work space. Compact bench top design fits conveniently in small shop environments. Heavy Duty 13 Amp motor. Two high speed steel knives. Large aluminum extruded fence. Sheet metal out feed table with height adjustment.

Jet JJP-12; 12'' PLANER/JOINTER COMBO MACHINE

Three high-speed steel knife cutter head. Parallelogram design keeps the table close to the cutterhead. Extra large aluminum extruded fence. Extrmemely quick changeover between jointing and planing functions. Fence does not need to be removed 3HP induction motor. Heavy-duty, one-piece steel closed stand. Built-in dust chute with 4" dust port used for both jointing and planing operations.

Jet JJP-12; 12'' PLANER/JOINTER COMBO MACHINE

See More Jointers at Woodcraft

See More Jointers at Rockler

A jointer does mostly just one thing- cut a straight line where there wasn't one before. All of us who have worked with stock that isn't straight- and paid for it with frustration- will appreciate the beauty of a jointer. Starting a project with very straight stock makes life much easier and produces a cleaner result.

The wider your jointer, the more useful it will be for flattening the face of your stock. An 8 inch wide jointer is nice to have and very versatile, but very expensive too. There are economical 6 inch machines available that do a good job, though. 4 inch machines are not much use for face jointing but they certainly edge joint. I'd rather have a 4 inch jointer than no jointer. It you plan to deal with large slabs of rough, wide stock, you must have a jointer at least as wide as the stock itself. Pro shops will have 12", 16" or wider jointers to make the initial flat pass on rough stock.

Critical to the operation of a jointer is the height relationship of the knives to the outfeed table. They must be in line for the machine to cut a straight line in wood. Some jointers do not have an adjustable outfeed table, meaning you must adjust the height of the knives in the cutterhead to match the outfeed table. This is possible but difficult. By far the better alternative is a jointer with an adjustable outfeed table. These are far easier to adjust for straightness of cut. All jointers larger than 6" have adjustable outfeed tables, most 6" do, most 4" jointers do not.

Length of tables is important to jointer operation. It's hard to get a straight edge on a 8 foot board using a jointer with short tables, because the end of the long board is not supported. The longer the tables, the better. You can build added support tables on both ends of your jointer, but note that you will have to provide adjustment for these tables to keep them parallel with the machine tables.

There are two types of cutterheads on jointers. The first is steel knives, with either two or three knives in the cutterhead. Three knifes makes a smoother cut. The second is helical cutterheads with carbide inserts. This option is more expensive, but has real advantages. The helical design makes for smoother cutting than steel knives. Each steel knife comes around the spinning cutterhead and chops at the wood in one cut, at the full length of the blade. But a helical cutterhead presents the knives to the wood along a helix, so only some of the cutter hits wood at any given moment, and some cutter is always in contact with wood, rather than the chop-chop-chop of straight knives. Straight knives work well, but helical is smoother.

There's something to be said for steel knives, though. Crisp, sharp steel is sharper than carbide because it is a uniform material whereas carbide is a composite. Fresh steel knives on a jointer are a joy to use. Helical carbide is an industrial application which is now scaled down to smaller shop machines such as those shown on this page. Industrial woodworking is more concerned with efficiency than the joy of using the machine, obviously.

Helical heads have dozens of small, square carbide cutters that bolt separately into the head. They are easy to replace, and are automatically adjusted for cutter height. With straight knives, you must adjust the height of each knife in the cutter head when you set new knives in place. This is tricky to do accurately, but do-able, it just takes time. Steel knives don't stay sharp as long as carbide, and must be changed more frequently. So, helical cutter heads cost more but are smoother and easier to adjust, straight knives are the lower cost alternative that takes more maintenance.

Some jointers have a parallelogram geometry for raising and lowering the tables. What this does is keep the distance between the table lip and the cutter head at a minimum at any height setting. This reduces chipping ahead of the cut and is probably safer because the gap between tables at the cutterhead is lesser. I say 'probably' because if you get your fingers near that cutterhead the location of the tables probably won't matter. Jointers can be very dangerous- always keep your eye on that cutterhead and keep your fingers away.

Also critical to a jointer's operation is the flatness of the tables. Iron castings move after they are cast, and if they are machined too early they may continue to move afterwards and then no longer be flat. Beware of rock bottom price jointers for this reason. Manufacturers of these machines will be least likely to age the castings long enough to guarantee that they stay flat.

Remember that if you face joint stock you will need to plane it to even thickness afterward, because face jointing leaves stock that is no longer even in thickness, if it was to begin with. For information on using a jointer in the process of resawing for thing stock, see Making Thin Stock on this site. Having a combination jointer/planer helps in two ways- two machines for the price of one, plus the space savings of one maching versus two. They have tables that aren't as long as other jointers, and may be more difficult to adjust or repair because you have more mechanical stuff located in a small space.

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