I am torn between a small benchtop jointer or one like a Yorkcraft. One consideration is that my shop is in the basement and I prefer take my tools out on the patio to keep the dust down.
Do jointers make a lot of fine dust, or is it mostly chips? If it is dust, I think a benchtop would be better, sincethe shop is in the same room as a gas furnace. I could haul a benchtop outside.
My is the Dewalt. It makes chips rather than dust.
--Steve
Chips.
SFWIW, A jointer gets to be a heavy beast in a hurry, you don't want to move it very often.
Lew
Considering the comments about benchtop jointers and their limited practicality, it is not a consideration for me. I'd certainly go with a Yorkcraft. Not much dust, mostly chips. Can you get it out on a mobile base?
Don't waste your money on a benchtop jointer. Buy the biggest heaviest beast you can afford. I made the mistake of buying cheap and I now own my third jointer. The first one was such a POS I had to give it away. The second one is such a POS I can't find a buyer for it either. My third one is what I should have bought in the first place.
Buy the Yorkcraft. Buy once, cry once. If you buy a benchtop jointer you'll cry every time you try to use it.
I have both, am selling the benchtop. the yorkcraft has a Mobil base built in and if your going to joint anything longer than a couple feet you will so much happier with a larger machine.Neither makes dust but lots of chips(the yorkcraft has a built in chip port the benchtop doesn't. one other thing is that the bench top jointers have a reputation for having warped beds and fences made of aluminum and the yorkcraft has IRON (but you need to check for flatness)
len
I would NOT consider a Yorkcraft. I sold mine after using it for about two years. The motor gave up just before I moved, so I sold it for $250 minus the motor. While the machine looks exactly like a Delta, it's NOT a Delta. Finishing is very crude and once if it goes out of alignment, you will need to remover the two beds and slowly adjust (shims) the bed and fence alignments.
.I would NOT consider a Yorkcraft. I sold mine after using it for
You sold a $400ish machine for $250 without a motor? You did well.
IME, Delta (currently) is no guarantee of quality. Jointers are pretty mature technology. Delta may have a little bit more buying power, the Wilke's and the Grizzlys manage to meet or beat that price point and still manage to service the customer well.
That's true of any dovetailed ways (pretty much most, except parallellogram type) jointers.
I have the 8-inch Yorkcarft and I have been pleased with it. I would buy it again... or maybe a Griz; I think either are an excellent value.
IME jointers are actually one of the cleanest woodworking machines even in the absence of dust collection. Chips (not dust) gets thrown down the chute. It can generate some volume, but it is really a well-contained pile.
-Steve
>
Get a big jointer. DJ-20 or the like. No, you won't be moving it around much. Chips, not dust.
Others have posted on the merits (or lack of) for a bench top model. I own a 6" Delta, and have never owned a bench top model. If you have the physical room, get a decent 6" or larger.
As to the issue of dust or chips, it's mostly chips. If you don't all ready have one, you'll need some type of dust collector for the jointer. A shop vac might work, but you can also get a small dust collector that isn't very expensive or large from Harbor Freight[1], Grizzly[2] or Woodcraft[3]. I've got the one from Harbor Freight and it's been working great. With the DC connected up to the jointer, it will get most of the chips produced for jointing operations. If you use the jointer to make rabbets, you'll wind up with chips all over the place, due to the operation taking place at the very edge of the cutter head, such that chips tend to fly out, instead of getting sucked down.
[1]:
So get a dust collector.
They make chips -- a *lot* of chips -- not dust -- and you don't want a benchtop jointer. Get the Yorkcraft, or something similar, and a dust collector, and leave it in the basement.
There are many reasons for moving your shop to a different part of the basement, or building a wall between the furnace and the shop area. This is one.
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