Check the machine, unplugged
Before the first cut of the day
Disconnect the power
Every manual reviewed has adjustments made with the jointer unplugged.
Check the outfeed table
Powermatic: lay a straightedge on the outfeed table over the cutterhead, turn the head by the belt or pulley until a knife is at the top of its arc, and set the table so the straightedge just touches it. Then run a scrap 6–8 in onto the outfeed table: it should sit on both tables with no gap.
Check the tables and depth scale
A straightedge across both tables shows whether they are level; with the infeed raised flush to the top of the knives' arc, the depth scale should read zero (Powermatic).
Square the fence
JET checks fence to table with a combination square and the 45° stops with a bevel gauge, then slides the fence so only the width being cut is exposed.
Check the guard and knives
The guard must cover the cutterhead and spring back. On insert heads Powermatic re-torques every insert before first use.
Read the board
- Size. Check the board against the manual's minimums. JET's benchtop manual allows jointing down to 8 in long but no surfacing under 12 in long or 3/8 in thick without a special fixture; Grizzly's benchtop jointers stop at 10 in. Follow the stricter figure.
- Soundness. Nails, staples and loose knots come out or the board is set aside (JET, Grizzly).
- Grain. Feed so the grain runs down and toward you on a jointer, seen from the edge, as Grizzly puts it; against the grain tears out and risks kickback. Where the grain changes direction, cut lighter. More on reading it in the wood grain guide.
- Shape. A cupped or bowed board goes concave side down, so it rests on its two edges or ends.
Flatten a face
Surfacing
Set a light cut
About 1/16 in or less a pass (JET, Powermatic); never more than the 1/8 in limit.
Stand offset
JET puts the operator beside the infeed table, out of line with the board.
Use push blocks
Both makers require a push block or hold-down for stock under 12 in long, 3 in wide or 3 in thick, and keep hands at least 3 in from the cutterhead.
Feed and transfer
Push the board steadily over the head; once enough is on the outfeed table, move the leading hand or block onto it and press there, then follow with the other. Never press directly over the cutterhead, never pass a hand over it, and never pull the board back toward the infeed.
Repeat until flat
Light passes until the whole face has been cut. Powermatic warns against forcing a dished board down: it springs back curved after the cut.
Square an edge to it
Edge jointing
Fence at 90°
Check it with a square again; JET asks for that before every edge.
Flat face on the fence
Hold the face you just flattened against the fence; a bowed edge goes concave side down. Powermatic asks for the minimum depth that gives a straight edge.
Hand position
On stock wider than 3 in, JET and Powermatic lap the fingers over the top of the board and back over the fence, so the fence stops the hand if the board kicks back. Narrower stock needs push blocks.
Check the edge
If it comes out hollow or rounded, Grizzly points to uneven pressure, a badly uneven start, or a bowed or twisted board; take partial cuts off the high spots first, and expect three to five passes.
Bevels
With the fence tilted, the same cut makes a bevel. JET asks for stock over 12 in long, more than 1/4 in thick and 1 in wide, and several passes; Powermatic's 60C manual keeps each bevel pass to 1/16 in and recommends tilting the fence in toward the operator, so the board is cradled. Use beveled push blocks for stock under 3 in wide. Rabbeting is left out: on the machines that allow it, the manuals require the guard off, and many jointers cannot rabbet at all — see the jointer guide.
Long boards and finishing up
Powermatic wants a helper or a support table once a board is more than twice the length of the tables; JET suggests roller stands or a helper, set level with the tables — a roller stand is one option. With one face and one edge true, the board goes to the planer for its second face, covered in how to use a thickness planer, and then to the saw. Clear shavings only with the power off and disconnected (Grizzly), using a brush rather than bare hands (JET). Doing the same work by hand with a long plane is covered in how to use a hand plane.
Safety— The rules that do not change
Guard in place. Hands at least 3 in from the cutterhead and never over it. No pressure directly over the head. Push blocks for short, thin or narrow stock. Never back the board toward the infeed. No cut deeper than the machine's limit.
Jointing checklist
- Outfeed table level with the knives; fence square
- Guard covering the head and springing back
- Board above the manual's minimums, sound, grain read
- Concave side down; about 1/16 in per pass
- Push blocks at hand; supports for long boards
- Face first, then edge with that face on the fence
What each machine is for is set out in jointer vs planer and a jointer-planer vs a planer; the machines are explained in the planer guide and the electric hand planer guide.
Sources
Steps follow JET's and Powermatic's manuals; another jointer's figures and procedures differ, and its manual governs. JET's manual sets two different minimums for the same machine, and the stricter is used here. Using a router or a planer in place of a jointer is not covered. Nothing was tested.
- 1.
Operating Instructions and Parts Manual, 6-inch Bench Top Jointer, Model JJ-6HHBT (M-718600, edition 3). JET, 2025.
Used for: Surfacing to make one flat face and planing the other; edge jointing as the step before ripping; the fence squared with a combination square and set to expose only the width being cut; the operator offset to the infeed table; the left hand holding the work down and against the fence and moving to the outfeed side, the right pushing; push block and push stick, mandatory for small stock; cuts of about 1/16 in; concave side down; the grain direction; fingers lapped over the fence on stock over 3 in wide; bevels on stock over 12 in long, 1/4 in thick and 1 in wide, in several passes; never pressing over the cutterhead or backing the work toward the infeed; the minimums for jointing and surfacing; snipe from dull inserts, unsupported boards or uneven feed.
- 2.
Operating Instructions and Parts Manual, 8-inch Jointer, Models 60C and 60HH (M-1610084, edition 8). Powermatic, 2025.
Used for: Setting the outfeed table with a straightedge to the knife at the top of its arc and the 6–8 in test; too high tapers the cut, too low gouges the end; levelling the tables with a straightedge; checking the depth scale at zero; the 1/8 in depth stop; scrap first for beginners; stock more than twice the table length supported; dished stock not forced down, as it springs back; cuts no deeper than 1/8 in; the best face on the fence; bevels no deeper than 1/16 in with the fence tilted toward the operator; the 3-inch rule; the guard always in use except for rabbeting.
- 3.
Operating Instructions and Parts Manual, 6-inch Woodworking Jointer, Models 54A and 54HH (M-1791279DX, edition 07). Powermatic, 2025.
Used for: An outfeed table too high curving the cut; the fence set for minimum cutterhead exposure; the guard in place and working; inserts re-torqued before first use on the insert head; rules 30–33 on push blocks, minimums, the 3 in hand distance and pressure over the cutterhead.
- 4.
Model G0633/G0634 Jointer/Planer Combination Machine owner's manual (revised February 2018). Grizzly Industrial, 2018.
Used for: Grain running down and toward the operator on a jointer, seen from the edge; lighter cuts where the grain changes direction; no stock with loose knots; a concave or convex edge from uneven pressure, an uneven start or a bowed or twisted board, cured by partial cuts, surfacing one face first and three to five passes.
- 5.
Model G0945/G0946/G0947 6" & 8" Benchtop Jointers owner's manual (for models manufactured since 12/23). Grizzly Industrial, 2023.
Used for: An outfeed table too high or too low raising the risk of kickback; warped stock jointed cupped side down; jointing with the grain; push blocks under 3 in high or wide; never a hand directly over the cutterhead; shavings cleared only with the power off and disconnected.
About this tutorial
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