Craftsman 7.5 amp 4-1/8" Bench Top Planer/Jointer (21789)

Great Jointer for the Price

I've been shopping around for a bench-top jointer for my garage shop. What I saw at the local big name stores was either way too expensive or very cheaply made. I didn't even think about Sears at first so I was surprised when I found a bench-top model with a granite table and fence. I checked it out at our local store and was really impressed with the build and the weight of it. I read all the reviews and decided to take a chance on it and am I glad I did. I was lucky I guess that mine had no alignment problems and no shimming was required. I put it together, made sure the fence was 90 degrees to the table and it hasn't looked back. It joints edges perfectly and the small amount of planing that I've done came out great. Pros would be the granite and to me the heavy weight. Cons would be as mentioned that the depth of cut scale could be more accurate and better made. This is perfect for garage shop size projects.

Sweet!!!

I bought this puppy to replace a floor standing jointer that I had. I needed the room in my shop so I needed to downsize. This little tool is great. When edging longer boards be sure to use supports on the outfeed side and your risk of snipe will be minimal. Another nice tool from Craftsman. I think Craftsman is making a comeback guys!!

If you understand what benchtop jointers do and don't do, it's awesome

A word of caution. If you really need a floor standing 6" or 8" jointer and think this will get you by and save you some cash, it won't. It will cleanly joint about a 24" long board - maybe 30" if you are really careful. If you need to joint boards longer, don't even bother. This tool was not designed for that. Since I bought this specifically for making cutting boards and smaller items, it works fantastic.This is one of the best benchtop jointers on the market. The granite is flat, and unlike all of the others - the fence is STURDY. It isn't a flimsy aluminium extrusion. It does need to be shimmed as noted in other reviews. Save some grief. Before you even tighten the bolts, slip a washer between the back of the fence and the brackets, otherwise the edge closest to the fence will not cut clean as the fence is too far back.Other than that, it's a great product! Tables are co-planer, With a little adjustments (no hacking/tweaking), the fence is dead square and stays that way.

Worth the money

I encountered the same problem that others have commented on with the fence not aligning close enough to the blade, but it is easily fixed by placing the lock washer between the fence and the bracket that goes behind it...it works perfectly. I've made a bunch of hardwood flooring out of some pretty warped boards, and I've been able to edge them flawlessly. I've only had this jointer for a couple of weeks, but it's getting a workout. Really no complaints yet!

Every crafter needs this!

My dream machine (one of them at least)

Great for entry level

Just purchased this jointer, first one I've owned. I really like the granite feed tables and fence because they won't rust, warp or anything steel or wood will do. However, be VERY GENTLE with this tool. When I opened the box, the infeed table was broken but I called the manufacturer directly that day and a new one was shipped right out. Once I finally got my issues taken care of with the granite, getting it adjusted is not very difficult. Some shimming was necessary against the fence, but was not very difficult. Also, the assembly of the fence was a breeze. There are two brackets, one for each side, two bolts that mount the fence to each bracket and two bolts that mount each bracket to the tool. Very simple to put together, adjust, and use.

You won't be disappointed if you understand what this is and what it isn't

First off, understand what you're getting with this. You WILL have to tune it before using it but once you do, it'll work like a champ. Here's the list of things I had to do to mine:- Insert shims between the fence and the bracket b/c the fence was 1/32" off from the blades- Remove the out-feed table and grind down the 3 anchor points b/c the table was too high- Grind the front lip of the out-feed table b/c boards were catchingThis is an entry level tool. If you want to use it all the time and want it to be easily adjustable for lots of situations, buy a professional jointer. If you're like me and aren't willing to spend $500+ and don't mind taking 20 minutes to make adjustments though, you'll be happy with this one. Give Craftsman credit for being the only major company to even release an entry level jointer. My only real knock is that it doesn't come with a dust collector bag. Not the end of the world, but kinda annoying since my Kobalt shop-vac doesn't fit this

Great item for handleing small to medium sized work

A tad heavy but that is a good thing, not going to walk away while being used. Extreamly well packed with each item in it's own little foam cubby. Small enough to fit almost any size work shop.

missing parts

just got it everything is great besides missing hardware bag

Does the Job! Saves your Time!

This is a great product, and does the job. Only one thing you want to be careful, the first one I purchased had a broken side board. Sears took care of it for me, and we were back to working. Very easy to adjust, and set up. Like this.

Great jointer for home craftsmen

I used this Jointer quite a bit and am very pleased with the job that it does. I have used it on 2" pine and oak boards. It works great.

poor quality

there is a space between the cutter blades and the fence which causes the inability to plane the edge correctly. I returned it to the store and sent a replacement a week later to my home. this time the gap between blades and fence but still prevented the correct use of the planer. I was going to return it again but said to **** with it. I attached a 1/2" thick piece of wood to the fence which solved the problem. I needed the tool right away so this seemed like a solution but I am very disappointed in the product. I have purchased many craftman tools in the past but will not again in the future.

Every working man needs this

Another must have Craftsman product for the man of the house.

You must have one for the woodshop.

Another great product by Craftsman. I have one of these and when setup correctly, makes great square corners on boards.

Planer/jointer

MAchine seems to be well built. I had to return it, was damaged in shipment. It apperatenly had been dropped and the table was broken. I called customer service and UPS picked it back up a few days later. Will reorder if they dont replace it.  have had good luck with all my craftsman tools.

For the Price it's Excelent

I don't know of anywhere else you can purchase an accurate stone topped joiner.  For the smaller jobs that you want to get done quickly it's the perfect animal.  I have done full 4" stock and while it's a little slow on hard lumber, it still gives excellent results.  I had no troulbe putting it together at all.  The only "Cons" is that it's only 4 inches, but what can you do about that?  That's what it is. 

If you have not purchased a joiner before, and are wondering what all the "hoop-la" is about in owning one, this would be a GREAT place to start since it's so easy to put together and so cheap to own.  After using it for a while you might decide to get a larger one, but then again, you might want to get a large sander instead.  Thats a decision that each person has to come to terms with, and there are plenty of pros and cons on each side of that fence.  But getting back to THIS product, you really just can't go wrong.

Not what I expected for a Craftsman

The first one received had a broken outfeed table, probably broken in shipment. The second one took a while to set up the fence for a true 90 deg, it was over and I had to get a metric allen wrench to adjust it.Running test sheets through it I discovered about a 1/16" of an inch lip that was not shaved. Measuring the back fence was 3/32" behind the cutting blades, I made 1/16" shims to mount behind the fence.

Recommend for the casual woodworker

I bought my jointer about a year ago and so far it has met every one of my expectations. The only real problems I have had with it was that the fence adjustment was a little difficult, but once set at 90 degrees hasn't failed me. Also with the fence was the spacing. When first installed, I was getting a ridge on the wood where the blade wasn't hitting the wood due to the position of the fence. I removed the fence and placed a single washer at every mounting bolt and now the fence hits the entire width of the board for a nice clean cut. I use my jointer probably more than the hobbist would and it works great. I have used it on red oak, ash, and other softer woods and have had no problems. I definitely recommend this jointer to anyone looking for a quality jointer at an affordable price.

Craftsman 4-1/8 in. Top Bench Planer/Jointer Rocks!

It has a granite bed so it 'rocks'...oh, forget it! At $199 this was an average deal as there are so many bench top jointers out there. At $170 the deal got a lot sweeter when you consider this does have a marble bed and fence! What's the deal about marble, you ask? Well, the biggest advantage is that it will not warp or flex with changes in temperature like metal will do! The second greatest advantage is that it is slick and doesn't need waxing! Finally, I have never seen marble rust, not once! The motor on this thing is heavy enough to take care of even the hardest of woods and still quiet enough to not wake the neighbors when I used it! Down side to this unit has to be the bed width. I would really love to see this in a 6" size since that size is common in longer boards used in tables and such. Still, at 4" I can do a lot of work and save the blades on my 6" machine.

Decent for the size and price

So I bought this when I was setting up my woodshop mostly for it's affordability.  What happened was the fence wouldn't square up to the in/out feed tables now matter how much I adjusted.  The wing nut that tightened the fence in place was the culprit, it wouldn't allow the adjustable hing to come up far enough to make it 90 degrees, so I had to take those out to get it square.  It was pretty frustrating.  I took it back and upgraded to the 6 1/8 craftsman professional.