Before we get into the details of whether you need one and which one you should consider first, let’s do a brief overview of each tool. You may be an experienced woodworker, but some newbies may be looking to start a new workshop and need just a bit more explanation than you tool gurus out there.
Which needs you first?
It’s a big debate topic. Some say best benchtop jointer review, some say Planer, and both sides appear to have valid arguments. So when choosing which to get first, you should consider:
– What projects do you do?
– What’s the budget?
– How much space in your shop?
– Can you get the same result differently?
Let’s go deeper into these questions.
If you practice building furniture, cabinets, etc., you need one or both of these beautiful tools. Both are necessary, though you can probably get away with just one. Well, okay, maybe that didn’t help determine which first-lets move on.
What’s the budget? A freestanding jointer can be expensive. A benchtop jointer is more or less costly than a benchtop thickness planer. So, when we look at the price, the thickness planer falls between fee standing and benchtop joiners.
What about space? Do you have an expansive shop that you can fill with tools, or are you in a tightly restricted stretch and are already tripping over what you have in your shop? Joiners, whether portable or stand-alone, come in a few different sizes.
That leaves us evaluating tasks. We talked about the job each tool is expected to perform. Here we’ll briefly find out if they can do what the other device does and if there’s another way to do the same job.
The thickness planner can flatten cupped boards like the Jointer. If you face down the board cup (to prevent rocking) and put it through the planner, a fine layer will be shaved off. If you do this a few times, slowly lower each cut per pass, the Planer creates a flat side. Then, do the same thing – voila! You’ve got a flat board.
You can create bevels and chamfers with a jointer, but with a simple jig, you can do the same with a thickness planer.
Please make your own decision here, but I think a thickness planer is away. It takes less space, and it is in the middle of the price range between freestanding and portable joiners (with a few adaptations like jigs and routers). A jointer, though it can do what a thickness planer does—it doesn’t do the exact sizes.
