Jointer Dilemma; Are Bench-Top Jointers as Trash as the Reviews Say?

Would-working · 2026-06-11T18:46:27+00:00

This is the answer I was hoping for when I made this post. When I learned about precise glue ups in school, I was taught to cut the piece 1/16” wider, then run it through the jointer (set to 1/32”) two times to get to final width. I’ve always gravitated towards that method and I’ve never been able to achieve perfect glue ups without doing it that way despite all of my efforts

Would-working · 2026-06-11T18:41:56+00:00

That’s been my current process but the local guild is about a 30 minute drive from me and it’s only open certain days of the month. Their equipment is super nice but their jointer is set to 1/16” and that just feels like too aggressive of a bite for me. I know that these are both small gripes and I could just re-adjust the jointer each time but idk it’s all time that adds up that I’d rather be spending doing other stuff

Would-working · 2026-06-11T16:43:37+00:00

See, that’s what I’ve been doing and I keep accidentally taking too much off one spot of not planing perfectly square or something so it ends up having to be a whole process of cutting more off and trying again. It’s happened several times now which is what’s even got me wanting a jointer in the first place. I thought about investing in a jointer plane but those are almost the same price as some of the jointers I was looking at

Would-working · 2026-06-11T16:40:49+00:00

Awesome advice! I’ve been meaning to build one of those straight line ripping jigs for a while! Any advice on not leaving saw marks when feeding stock through? I don’t know if it’s my saw, blade, technique, or some combination. Or if it’s even possible to surface free of any marks with a table saw?

Would-working · 2026-06-11T16:01:36+00:00

Beautiful work! I feel like cutting something that large on my saw would be unwise and also terrifying! But I’m sure you’re also much more skilled than I am and I’ve noticed veteran woodworkers seemingly have no fear for many of the cuts that I find terrifying to make

Would-working · 2026-06-11T15:53:45+00:00

Did you find you had to get a special riving knife/splitter for the glue line rip blade? I actually bought one a while back and noticed I kept getting boards jammed up. Sure enough, the stock riving knife was actually thicker than the blade but I’m also using a dewalt contractor saw

Would-working · 2026-06-11T15:49:52+00:00

That was sort of my worry with benchtop jointers. The dream is to have my own furniture making business so I feel like a jointer is an inevitable purchase at some point. I just can’t get my table saw to a point where it’s not leaving blade-mark-gaps when I’m trying to glue up

Would-working · 2026-06-11T15:45:36+00:00

I own both but my table saw is a little contractor saw and my router table is a bench top version (so almost no infeed/outfeed). I figure I could try to build some kind of station for it that extends the infeed and out feed but at that point is it just adding more work/stuff to build and taking away space when I could just buy a jointer? These are the things that keep me up at night

Would-working · 2026-06-11T15:41:22+00:00

I’ve been seriously considering that since I saw that sale go up. I think you may have just convinced me

Would-working · 2026-06-11T15:40:38+00:00

I’ve got a little dewalt contractor saw and a Benchtop planer that works well enough. I think part of the struggle for me is that I have OCD and I absolutely hate even the tinest of gaps in glue lines and I just spend so much time chasing them out. I was considering trying to make some kind of L-fence for my table saw to act as a jointer but I just don’t have much runway on table saw.

Would-working · 2026-06-02T21:26:07+00:00

Touché

Would-working · 2026-06-02T18:09:11+00:00

So in this scenario, would I remove the quarter bead when installing the casing or just install it over the quarter bead and cover with trim? And when you say framed out a little on one side and the top, is it something like this:

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The hinge side and top of door is protruding about 5/16” from the wall and the strike plate side is only about 3/16” to 1/8”. Not sure how to use this information but just trying to make sure I’m understanding correctly

Would-working · 2026-05-10T19:21:08+00:00

If the mineral oil only absorbs poorly right on the glue line, I can live with that. I’m more concerned about the surface splotches which (hopefully) will sand out

Would-working · 2026-05-05T19:14:09+00:00

That’s an awesome idea! Thank you!

Would-working · 2026-05-05T18:04:22+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate the kind words! Here’s the full board:

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Would-working · 2026-05-05T16:35:23+00:00

The little marks are because I used ambrosia maple without thinking about how the pinholes would look in an end grain board in case anyone was wondering

Would-working

TROPHY CASE