Difference Between Wood Planers And Jointers And What You Should Buy

To this date, beginner woodworkers are confused about the difference between a wood planer and a jointer. They find both similar to each other in terms of their shape as well as the job they do. But that’s not the case!

Planers and jointers are required in almost every carpentry project due to their essential operation. However, they are the most misunderstood power tools in the workshop. Therefore, it’s critical to know the difference between the two.

Both tools perform a completely different wood surfacing operation. While a planer flattens a face or straightens a wood, a planner thicknesses it. They are equally important for every serious woodworker, therefore can be found in their shops.

In order to know more about the difference between wood planers and wood jointers, let’s take a look at how each of these work.

What Is A Jointer And How Does It Work?

A jointer is specifically used to make the face of a warped or bowed board flat. All jointers have a flat bed, split at the cutter head which allows its forward part of the bed to uplift and lowered by changing the amount of cut. All ends of the work board are protected simultaneously by the front, thereby ensuring an even cut and preventing damage to the board.

Moreover, jointers have a fence that assists boards to be easily held vertically on the bed, assisting woodworkers to get a flawless vertical cut. The particular feature of the jointer is extremely useful since it helps in its primary purpose – connecting wider boards together, like a tabletop.

Besides, jointers can be used for rough-cut lumber, squaring up the board. In this method, one side will be chosen as the reference side with which the other side will be positioned. All four sides of the board move through the cutter head from this side with the fence for making sure perpendicular sides.

What Jointers Can’t Do?

Jointers have certain limitations regardless of their versatility. One of the major limitations jointers have is that you cannot set the thickness of the finished wood. This means it’s not possible to get boards cut of the same thickness unless they are all of the same sizes when they put in the machine.

What Is A Planer And How Does It Work?

A planer has flat bed that allows the board to easily ride on, with a cutting head attached above the board. Although, it’s mechanically more complicated than a jointer, however, the function of a planer is simpler than a jointer.

In a planer, the flattened board is placed on its bed and slowly pushed in. The rollers in the machine quickly grab the board and pass it through a rotating board that is attached to the top of the bed, which subsequently removes the wood.

Different planers have different limits, so for woodworkers to achieve their desired thickness, they might need to pass through a planner multiple times.

What Planers Can’t Do?

As planners have pressure rollers that pull through the wood sheet, they cannot be used to eliminate cupping, warping, and twists from the sheet.

Conclusion

With their distinct significant operations and benefits, it is clear that there is a difference between a jointer and a planer.

While a jointer is a very useful tool when it comes to make a sheet’s face and edge straight and true. A planer, on the other hand, assists in making your sheets uniformed in thickness. Hence, these two machines have different operations that are not substitutable.

If you are someone who does fine woodworking regularly, it makes sense that you buy both, particularly when it’s important for you to manage the thickness in your carpentry projects. Having each of these machines in your store can make your job a lot easier on a day to day basis while giving you the finishing touch you require.