How important in jointer bed length?

[Robert Mayer]

I was looking around at getting a jointer next month. Most of them have beds that are shorter than most wood i might feed through it. Is bed length a concern if the board you want to straighten is longer? Im looking around at the $400 range jointers out there (ridgid,york, delta, sears, etc).

[Jim Becker]

Rule of thumb is that you can safely assume a nice straight edge with good technique on a board that is no longer than twice the combined length of your infeed and outfeed tables. So, yes, bed length is one important factor.

[Ralph Steffey]

Bed length is importand and obviously the longer the bed the longer the board you can straighten. In the orice range you mention you will be able to handle between a 6 foot and 8 foot max board.

[Robert Mayer]

Rule of thumb is that you can safely assume a nice straight edge with good technique on a board that is no longer than twice the combined length of your infeed and outfeed tables. So, yes, bed length is one important factor.

So thats twice the length of the entire bed? Thats better than i thought i could get out of it. Anyone build infeed or outfeed tables for theirs? Or is it not really needed?

[Mark Singer]

Robert,

For edge jointing the length is very important. With my DJ 20 I can handle a 12' board by myself. This jointer has a long infeed table. The correct technoque and weight shifting as the board moves through is critical.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

So thats twice the length of the entire bed? Thats better than i thought i could get out of it. Anyone build infeed or outfeed tables for theirs? Or is it not really needed?

Robert, yes I have seen pictures of this being done. The caveat is that once you build an Auxilary infeed table, it either has to be adjustable, to match the changes you make in the height or you have to always have the jointer set at the same cut.

[Steven Wilson]

The longer and heavier the better. I like to use a jointer to roughly mill rough lumber (expose grain) prior to proper milling. That means I'll often have 10' or longer boards on the jointer. When I had a Jet 6" jointer (nice, just small) I had a couple of occasions where I almost tipped over the jointer - kind of scary. Moving up to a longer jointer (8" PM60) not only made it easier to work longer stock it also made it safer. I found that the 8" jointer didn't take up anymore shop space than the 6" jointer so I would encourage you to consider a larger jointer.

[Norman Hitt]

So thats twice the length of the entire bed? Thats better than i thought i could get out of it. Anyone build infeed or outfeed tables for theirs? Or is it not really needed?

Robert, here's my reply to David Fried's post a few days back. Maybe you will find it helpful.

David, after you use it some, you will probably settle on some particular measurement as to depth of cut (probably thin) that you will use most if not ALL the time. If you do this, (say 1/32" per pass, or whatever #???), you can enhance your short jointer's capabilities in the "lengths of material" you can joint successfully with it by making two bed extensions for it out of melamine or MDF with formica on top and placing one at both the infeed end and outfeed end and clamping or making an attachment fitting to attach them to each end of the jointer.

You make them similar to the extensions you see (both for sale and shopbuilt from plans several of the ww mags have shown in the past couple of years) for the extension tables used for CMS's & SCMS's.

In use, you just take a long straight edge and make sure they are perfectly coplaner and level with the infeed table or the outfeed table that each one is attached to. If made solid with legs to the floor that are adjustable, and attached securely to the jointer, (either clamped or bolted direct), this will give you the same support for the wood being planed as the long bed jointers. You just have to remember that if you change the depth of cut, you also have to readjust the height of the extension table, so you would need adjustable legs.

I used this method for years on my old short Craftsman jointer and it worked well. If you make them to the proper design, you can then use them for a CMS after you upgrade to a longer, wider jointer. You only need to make them long enough to support the longest board that you will Normally be jointing.

Hope this helps.........Norm

[Robert Mayer]

Thanks Norman, that definitely helps. I might be changing my garage around this summer to make room for this type of setup.