Geetech - 6" Bench Jointer (Rating: 4)

I've been needed a jointer but I work out of my garage and don't have anymore room for bigger tools. I read good reviews about other bench top jointers and read that Geetech actually manufactured most of them. I was unable to find any of the others (Craftsman, Sunhill, etc) and found that Woodworkers supply has these Geetech jointers in stock. I think I paid around $150 after shipping. It was delivered quickly and packaged very nicely in thick foam.

It is a little heavy to get out of the box as the tables are cast iron. I've never used a jointer before but found this one very easy to assemble and set up. The instructions were printed clearly with nice pictures and in real English. The machine was built much better than I was expecting. Precise and sturdy. I really didn't have to do much other than bolt on the fence mechanism and fence and square it up. The fence is aluminum but thick and seems sturdy enough. There is a lot of adjustability with the fence mechanism. The blades were set correctly and the tables co-planer right out of the box. I was not expecting this.

So far I've only jointed some mahogany, walnut, and maple for a guitar I'm building and this thing pulled it off very nicely. Leaves a very smooth surface, like when I use my hand planer. I got a flat and perfect 90 deg which I needed to make the mahogany body blank.

The only "issue" I've had is that the blades might not be that strong. I noticed a little ridge formed about halfway through my jointing meaning there is a tiny nick in the blades already. Not a huge deal yet as I can just move the fence over past the nick. Luckily it is only 1/2" or so from the back side of the blade so I still have over 5" of usable blade surface.

Don't know how long it will last but it does seem of a higher quality than I'm used to seeing from Asian made power tools like this at this price.