I've been reading about benchtop jointers and how their shorter beds can be a problem when jointing longer pieces of lumber. If I set up proper infeed and outfeed support, wouldn't managing the wood during the process be enough to get a good joint? I usually use push blocks on my table saw, so couldn't I apply similar pressure at the cutter? I'm new to woodworking and might be misunderstanding this, so I'd love some guidance on how jointers really work and why bed length matters.
3 Answers
Jonathon Katz-Moses has a great YouTube video that dives deep into jointers and some common mistakes. He might touch on your question, so it could be worth a watch!
As long as you get your infeed and outfeed supports lined up properly with the jointer tables, you should be able to joint longer pieces without much hassle. But if they're misaligned, you'll run into some trouble. I faced the same issue and got fed up with it, so now I use a Stanley #7 hand plane for edges that are too long for my jointer.
I own a benchtop jointer too, and I've noticed the fence isn't strong enough for heavy or tall pieces when edge jointing. However, I can still handle face jointing decently well using infeed and outfeed support.
Sounds like even if you have a wider benchtop jointer, it still comes with limitations when it comes to longer boards, right?