Your board must be flat first for a planer to work effectively, which you can achieve using a jointer. However, neither woodworker would confuse the importance or use of either tool. In America, most woodworkers refer to a jointer exclusively by the same name, whereas others in Europe and Australia may refer to it as a planer. The cylinder housing the cutter in a planer rotates at high RPMs, trimming the board as it’s fed through the machine.Īnother reason why some may confuse a planer with a jointer is due to linguistic differences. Unlike a jointer, the cutter head in a planer is set on top of the wood. The rollers also double up to feed the planer itself. In a planer, there are two feed rollers applying pressure under the block of wood, ensuring it stays flat along the deck. This means you use them at the beginning of a project to help you achieve flat and uniform wood to work with. Woodworkers categorize jointers and planers as preparation tools. On the contrary, you use a planer to make a board have a uniform thickness. What Are The Differences Between a Planer and a Jointer?Ī common misconception is that a planer makes a board flat. Larger jointers are primarily used for industrial purposes. In general, an 8-inch jointer is great for most home woodworkers. Stationary (floor) models range from 6-inch and beyond, although up to 12-inch is more than enough for most people, unless running a good-size production shop. If you go with a benchtop, then choose one that’s at least 6-inch or more, with a decent motor size. In most cases, universal motors power benchtop jointers and have shorter beds in comparison to stationary variants. We recommend benchtop jointers if your workshop is small or if you only work on smaller projects such as chairs or small boxes. There are essentially two types of jointers: The knives remove the excess amount of material parallel to the two tables, ensuring the board is flat along its length and perpendicular to the board’s face, thanks to the fence. The cutter head blades protrude outside to file the board coming into contact as the head rotates. The cutter head contains at least two or more blades, the more blades being better. Also, the operator should be hands-on, to maintain a suitable feed speed, while applying light and downward pressure. While operating the machine, the operator has to take care not to injure themselves due to the open design of the blades. The blades in a jointer are set to match the elevation of the outfeed table. This machine also has a fence (most are moveable) to ensure your angles are near perfect when lightly floating the board above the cutting head. A recessed cutter head separates the two sections referred to as the infeed table and outfeed table. How is a Jointer Designed?Ī jointer essentially has two tabletops, coplanar to each other. With a good jointer, you can make your board flat on all surfaces, making it easier to join two boards together either by gluing, slotting, or screwing to create a frame or structure. Or, as some woodworking circles call it, S4S, which stands for “surfaced on all sides.” While a planer is great for smoothing a board and reducing its thickness, it’s preferable to start with a board that’s flat and square. The various types of defects on boards are offset by changes in the environment when storing timber. Hardly will you get every board you bought from the timber yard perfectly flat and straight. While both sets of tools are different, together they make the entire building process so much easier since you’ll have flat and uniform boards to work with. You shouldn’t confuse a jointer with a planer, which makes the boards have a uniform thickness. It derives its name from its function of providing flat surfaces on boards that you join together to produce even wider boards. Do I Need a Jointer if I Have a Planer?Ī jointer is a woodworking tool that essentially makes a board of wood flat, to not have a twist, bow, or cup defect.What Are The Differences Between a Planer and a Jointer?.
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