Reply To: Jointer Plane

My own inexpert thoughts on the jointer plane. I do have one that I’m still learning to use effectively, but can share some thoughts.

Historically, the term “jointer plane” was used for a plane that would flatten the edges of long boards being prepared for edge jointing, aka, joining two boards edge-to-edge to make a wider board. If you have a board that is longer than say, 3 or 4 feet (~1 to 1.3 meters), then the jointer plane works well for edge jointing. The extra length ensures flatness over the longer distance, and the extra width is helpful when dimensioning stock thicker than 4/4. The extra weight takes some getting used to, however. And, to be honest, a jack plane can work just as well (Paul uses the 4 or the 5 to joint very long boards).

The other common use of the jointer plane is to flatten the faces of boards, which historically was the province of the try (or truing) plane. The try plane would be used after the scrub or fore or jack plane was used to do the initial flattening of rough stock, and basically removed the scallops and other marks left by the coarser tool. So the try/jointer plane is useful when flattening long (>4-5 feet) rough stock that has been prepped with a fore plane. However, if you are working with dimensioned wood, you can probably get by with a jack plane. Today, the terms try and jointer plane are used interchangeably.

A lot of it is personal preference. I like using my jointer on the edges, not so much on the faces.