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PORTER-CABLE PC160JT
- Super-beefy motor for its size
- Extra-fast cutter speed
- Decent table lengths and 3-year warranty
Powermatic PJ-882HH
- Reliable performance every time
- Offers plenty of room to grow
- Easy-to-adjust table heights
CRAFTSMAN CMEW020
- Dual-knife cutter head
- Variable spend up to 22,000 CPM
- Generous manufacturer warranty
Our reviews are unbiased, fact-based, and comprehensively researched to help you make the right buying decisions.
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Shopping for a jointer can be a challenge, not just because there are thousands of models on the market but also because they’re incredibly crucial tools used in the milling process.
If you want to get the best jointing bang for your buck, then we’ve got the perfect list for you.
In this guide, you’ll learn what the best jointer for the money is out of over 40 models we researched in depth.
Best Jointer for the Money – PORTER-CABLE PC160JT
The best jointer for the money that we’d recommend over more than 40 of its peers is the PORTER-CABLE PC160JT.
For a lightweight tool, it offers astounding power and squaring performance akin to costlier models while also giving you plenty of room to work.
Here’s what the PC160JT’s key specifications look like—
- 1.4-HP Motor
- 12-22,000 CPM
- 30-inch Infeed + Outfeed Tables
- Built-in Cutterhead Lock
The PORTER-CABLE PC160JT is one of the best 6-inch jointers that will help any aspiring woodworker learn how to mill their own lumber.
The astounding performance comes from the 1.4-HP motor that spins the dual-knife cutterhead at speeds of between 12,000 and 22,000 cuts per minute.
The variable speed operation lets you work with soft and hard types of wood without chipping the blade of your workpiece.
The set the cutting depth, just loosen the cutterhead’s jackscrews to life or lower the knives as you see fit.
This manual system of adjusting the height can take some time to get used to, but you’ll hardly ever have to do it.
The 3-year warranty instills confidence that this budget-friendly jointer is the right choice for novice woodworkers.
Pros
- Super-beefy motor for its size
- Extra-fast cutter speed
- Decent table lengths
- Generous 3-year warranty
Cons
- Fence could be sturdier
Looking at the PC160JT, it’s clear that you’re getting an awesome jointer at a bargain.
The fence can have some issues, but the performance of this jointer more than makes up for this minor inconvenience.
Top jointer for the money in the Market Compared
| Product Image | Product Name | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Overall -PORTER-CABLE PC160JT |
| Check Today's Price |
| Best Premium -Powermatic PJ-882HH |
| Check Today's Price |
| Best Value on a Budget -CRAFTSMAN CMEW020 |
| Check Today's Price |
 | Delta 37-071 |
| Check Today's Price |
 | Cutech 40160H-CT |
| Check Today's Price |
![](https://www.toolpickr.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/money_6-1.jpg") | JET JJ-6CSDX |
| Check Today's Price |
 | Grizzly Industrial G0725 |
| Check Today's Price |
Reviews of Best jointer for the money
Best Premium - Powermatic PJ-882HH
Key Specifications
- 2-HP Motor
- 7,000 RPM
- 82-inch Infeed + Outfeed Tables
- Parallelogram Jointer
The Powermatic PJ-882HH offers an amazing amount of value for its premium cost.
Although it’s costlier than most of what you’d find out there, with the 7,000-RPM cutterhead, this jointer has no problem delivering over 20,000 cuts along your workpiece every minute.
This will simplify the task of prepping rough lumber and turning it into beautiful furniture panels.
As a parallelogram jointer, you won’t have any trouble setting up the heights of the infeed and outfeed tables.
Simply raise or lower to suit your needs and push the board across the cutterhead with the push blocks.
You can even produce rabbets with this jointer by raising the outfeed table slightly higher than the infeed.
Pros
- Reliable performance every time
- Offers plenty of room to grow
- Easy-to-adjust table heights
- Long worksurface
Cons
- Could be easier to put together
Check that your workshop is equipped with a 230V outlet to start and operate your Powermatic PJ-882HH.
Best Value on a Budget - CRAFTSMAN CMEW020
Key Specifications
- 10A Motor
- 12-22000 CPM
- 30-inch Infeed + Outfeed Tables
- 3-Year Warranty
For those who are shopping on a super-slim budget, the one model we’d recommend over them all is the CRAFTSMAN CMEW020.
This lightweight jointer sports a 10A motor and a dual-knife cutterhead that delivers up to 22,000 cuts per minute.
You reduce the cutterhead speed by up to 12,000 CPM when working with flimsier pieces of lumber. This 6-inch piece of equipment is a must-have for any first-time jointer user.
The combined length of the infeed and outfeed tables is 30 inches, which is smaller than a full-sized jointer’s but still offers plenty of room for novices.
The tables are made of robust cast iron to prevent warping and damage over time.
Pros
- Dual-knife cutter head
- Variable spend up to 22,000 CPM
- Generous manufacturer warranty
- Easy to adjust and replace knives
Cons
- Could come with a dust/chip collection bag
The CMEW020 is one of the best 6-inch jointers for homeowners, hobbyists, and even semi-professional woodworkers looking for a budget-friendly tool.
Delta 37-071
Key Specifications
- 12A Motor
- 20,000 CPM
- 28.5-inch Infeed + Outfeed Tables
- Built-in Dust/Chip Ejector
The Delta 37-071 is smaller than most 6-inch jointers but only slightly more than an inch.
The infeed-outfeed tables support 28.5-inch stock, though you can prop your boards up with makeshift extensions and tables.
The 37-071 features a dual-knife cutterhead that delivers up to 20,000 cuts per minute while shaving off 1/8 of an inch of material per pass.
This 6-inch benchtop jointer was designed with longevity and durability in the minds of the engineers.
The 37-071 is made almost entirely out of cast iron, so transporting it in your truck shouldn’t cause the tables or support legs to bend out of shape. A 5-year warranty also instills confidence that this is the right tool for newbies.
Pros
- Robust, inside and out
- Adjustable fence, 45° and 90° positive stops
- High-precision squaring
- Easy to clean and maintain
Cons
- Replacement components could be easier to find
The Delta 37-071 is the ideal 6-inch jointer for anyone who doesn’t have a lick of milling experience or is looking for a narrower tool for certain projects.
Cutech 40160H-CT
Key Specifications
- 10A Motor
- 22,000 CPM
- 30-inch Infeed + Outfeed Tables
- 12-Knife Spiral Cutterhead
The Cutech 40160H-CT is yet another 6-inch jointer that comes with a 30-inch infeed and outfeed table support capacity.
The cutterhead spins at a rate of 11,000 RPM while delivering two cuts for every rotation.
This produces perfectly squared corners with every couple of passes and removes warps efficiently.
Setting up the Cutech jointer takes just about 15 minutes from start to finish. It’s a great portable jointer to take with you to various sites.
The robust guard keeps your workpiece sitting flush against the fence to ensure squared corners every time. You can tilt the fence up to 45° away from the guard to square the corners of more complex stock.
Pros
- Easy to transport
- Powerful motor
- User-friendly
- Accurate cuts, thanks to spiral cutterhead
Cons
- Could be easier to adjust the table height
The Cutech jointer is user-friendly, space-efficient, and travels extremely well. Any hobbyist and pro woodworker would benefit from this affordable 6-inch jointer.
JET JJ-6CSDX
Key Specifications
- 1-HP Motor
- 18,000 CPM
- 56-inch Infeed + Outfeed Tables
- Handwheel Table Adjustment
The JET JJ-6CSDX features a large 1-HP motor and a dual-knife cutter head that spins at a rate of 9,000 RPM.
By delivering 18,000 cuts per minute, you’ll have very little difficulty shaving off 1/8 of an inch off of your 56-inch-long workpiece with this Jet-made jointer in your shop.
The longer beds will support larger boards for making dining tables and the sort.
One of this jointer’s most notable features is the handwheel height adjustment system.
Instead of loosening jackscrews and raising/lowering the inserts, all you need to do is turn the handwheel until the infeed table sits at the right eight.
This jointer can cut at a max depth of 1/8 of an inch with every pass of your board.
Pros
- Great for milling rough lumber
- Easy-to-use table height adjustment system
- Compact stand
- Durable cast-iron construction
Cons
- Instruction manual could be more concise
Admittedly, the JET JJ-6CSDX would work best in the hands of an experienced lumber miller, but even first-time users will enjoy the simple-to-use jointer and height adjustment system.
Grizzly Industrial G0725
Key Specifications
- 1.5-HP Motor
- 20,000 CPM
- 28.5-inch Infeed + Outfeed Tables
- Infeed Adjustment Knob
Last on our list of the best jointers for the money is the Grizzly Industrial G0725. It’s a unique 6-inch jointer that is driven by a tremendous 1.5-HP motor.
With a speed of 10,000 RPM, the dual-knife cutterhead will deliver twice as many cuts per spin, ensuring that every corner is perfectly squared and all kinds are in the board are straightened out.
You can shave off up to 1/8 of an inch with every pass over the G0725’s cutterhead.
The fence has stops at the 45°, 90°, and 135° marks, letting you square the corners of more complex boards for intricate furniture and fixtures.
The cutterhead uses dual HSS knives that don’t last as long as carbide-tipped but still deliver astounding cutting performance on nearly any kind of wood.
Pros
- Heavy-duty cast-iron construction
- High cutting speed
- Easy to adjust infeed table
- Anti-corrosive powder finish
Cons
- Setting up the fence could be easier
You might need to prop the fence up against a wall, but this is hardly an inconvenience if you take the amazing squaring and flattening performance of this jointer into account.
To get the fence sitting at the right angle, you’ll have to play with the fasteners quite a bit or prop it up against a wall.
However, the performance of the Grizzly Industrial G0725 more than makes up for this inconvenience.
Best Jointer for the Money Buying Guide
In this brief guide, we’ll quickly describe what a jointer is, what it can do, and how to shop for the best jointer to get the most back for your dollar.
What is a jointer?
Jointers are one of the most crucial pieces of equipment in any serious woodworker’s shop.
This tool’s main purpose is to square the corners of rectangular stock by slowly removing twists and bends in the workpiece.
This is essential as it will let your workpieces sit flush against each other while assembling the final product.
Why should you get a jointer?
A jointer is an investment. Instead of purchasing your lumber at a retailer, you can pick it up for cheap at a lumber yard or by felling your own trees.
By passing rough lumber on top of a jointer, you don’t need to spend the premium cost for pre-processed wood at your local hardware store.
However, you’ll also need a planer to cut the board to a uniform thickness. A jointer will only square the corners and remove damage on the board’s structure.
If you’re interested in getting a planer with your jointer, we recommend taking a look at our guide on the best jointer planer combo.
Choosing the Best Jointer
We’ve created comprehensive guides on selecting the ideal jointer for your workshop in other pages.
You can take a look at the instructions in the following guides: best 6-inch jointer, best 8-inch jointer, best benchtop jointer, best jointer planer combo.
FAQ’s
Honestly, that’s entirely up to you. You might need to spend thousands of dollars to get a top-performing model, or you can pick up a jointer at the cost of brewing your own coffee at home for six months. Just know that the price of a jointer can play a role in the tool’s overall durability, performance, and capacities.
Once again, only you can decide. We have guides on the best 6-inch jointer and the best 8-inch jointer if you’re interested in comparing how the two differ. In short, the narrower worktables on a 6-inch jointer can be somewhat limiting, especially if you don’t have a saw to tear rough logs down to size. That said, 6-inch jointers are generally a lot cheaper than they 8-inch counterparts while also offering similar performance.
Both options are great, and we’ve included both of them on this list. However, just note that freestanding jointers can be a lot more expensive than benchtop models and not nearly as portable. Admittedly, they’re a lot more powerful, but first-time buyers might not want to splurge on a tool they know nothing about. If you’re still a newbie to woodworking, a benchtop jointer is an inexpensive tool to help you gain valuable milling experience.
Only if you plan on milling your own lumber. Milling is the process of preparing rough logs into usable boards that go into making furniture and other pieces of wood-based art. By milling your own logs, you can save a fortune and increase your profit margins for every product you build and sell. However, if you don’t plan on plan on working as a professional woodworker, then a jointer will be of no help to you.
Summary
In today’s guide, we’ve shown you what the best jointer for the money is.
To refresh your memory, it’s the PORTER-CABLE PC160JT, but we’ve also included several alternatives at different price points to suit different woodworking needs.
If you’re unsure of which jointer to get, we can lend a helping hand in the comments section.