# Whadaya think? Cutech 8" Benchtop Jointer w/ Extensions



## AM420 (May 8, 2017)

I'm looking for a good benchtop jointer and came across this curious new offering from Cutech. 
" 
http://www.cutechtool.com/product-p/40180h-ct.htm":http://www.cutechtool.com/product-p/40180h-ct.htm

I'm going to be working out of a one car garage that is occupied by a car most of the time, so almost all tools need the be rolled/packed away in a small closet in the back of the garage, which is why I'm looking at benchtop jointers instead of bigger floor model

What caught my attention most was the wider facing capacity over pretty much all other benchtops that max out at 6" and the table extensions built into the side that could help get over the short infeed/outfeed table limitation of the benchtop models. But since I'm very new to woodworking and have had very little experience with jointers I want to get some feedback from those with more experience.

The extensions are more appealing to me than the wider cut, but my concern is that the extensions seem like a great idea, right up to the point when the end work piece passes the extension and is hanging out once again, or other issues that would come from an extension that isn't a solid surface.

So what do you all think of this design?

Thanks


----------



## BlasterStumps (Mar 13, 2017)

I think it would be a perfect fit for you workspace. I just rebuilt a small 6" jointer and can't believe how handy it is. It takes up about 2' x 2.5' of floor space and easily moved around the shop. My shop space is about the same as yours.


----------



## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

I think the wider cut is more appealing than the extensions. I have a 20" planer that I have sleds for to joint big stuff but my jointer for small bits is a little benchtop 6" delta job that has I believe stainless steel beds. I got it super cheap off Craigslist and can easily do 3' boards comfortably on it. I took about two hours and just set it up and it works perfect surprisingly. I didn't expect much but now I love the little thing.

I know a lot of people will talk smack on these benchtop jobs but I like mine. I like making hand planes, boxes, cutting boards, etc. and this thing is perfect for the small stuff.

Once mine goes out I planned to get a cutech with carbide spiral cutters. So I would say go for it. Spend $50 more and get the carbide tips though. Should last about 10 times longer roughly so it will save you lots in the long run.


----------



## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Well Dang! They have now come out with extensions. Mine has been a good small project jointer, but the extension will make it even better.
Bill


----------



## AM420 (May 8, 2017)

After looking at some planer sleds for jointing I may end up just doing one of those instead. They don't seem to be too hard to build and look like they do a pretty good job.


----------



## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

You will need one for your tablesaw too for edge jointing.

Also the planer sleds and tablesaw edge jointing is actually a pain with smaller items. That's why I have a little benchtop jointer.

Give it a shot but you might find the jointer a good investment in your shop time. You could get a smaller/cheaper one though and use sleds for the rest. That's what I do.


----------



## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

I have no experience with Cutech products, but comparing them with my Powermatic jointer/planer, it appears to be a well built machine. I looked at the on-line owner's manual and the break down illustration shows a very well thought out design; certainly like no other machine around. It looks like it could be easily "tweaked" if needed. A cast iron machine, if out of spec, is not so easy to fix. I rarely use a J/P, but if I wanted one, I would certainly give it a try. I have a "lunchbox" planer that is around 25 years old. The Cutech surface planer looks like a good replacement for my old planer.


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I think if you can accept what may be a
comparably short life cycle for the universal
motor (comparable to the life of a portable
planer, presumably) and the fact that the
unanodized aluminum top will wear with
use faster than cast iron will, then it may
be a good value.

Similar table extensions were available for
the old INCA jointer/planers and I never
used them and never read any complaints
either.


----------



## AM420 (May 8, 2017)

> You will need one for your tablesaw too for edge jointing.
> 
> Also the planer sleds and tablesaw edge jointing is actually a pain with smaller items. That s why I have a little benchtop jointer.
> 
> ...


It's a tough call. I don't expect to need to do a ton of jointing, and it may very well be only smaller stuff for the most part. I'm not too worried about the bed wearing too fast since I'll just be using it as a hobbyist.

I've been spending money on power tools like a drunken sailor lately setting up shop, so I can either continue my spending spree or put on the brakes. Since there' no discount on the jointer right now I guess I can hold off until I am in real need of it and decide then.



> I have no experience with Cutech products, but comparing them with my Powermatic jointer/planer, it appears to be a well built machine. I looked at the on-line owner s manual and the break down illustration shows a very well thought out design; certainly like no other machine around. It looks like it could be easily "tweaked" if needed. A cast iron machine, if out of spec, is not so easy to fix. I rarely use a J/P, but if I wanted one, I would certainly give it a try. I have a "lunchbox" planer that is around 25 years old. The Cutech surface planer looks like a good replacement for my old planer.
> 
> - MrRon


Thanks for the feedback. I have found absolutely no reviews or feedback on this machine, though the reviews of their older machines have been pretty positive. The main gripe I've seen is that the fence could be better, but that seems to be par for course with these benchtop units. From the outside they appear to be a dead ringer for the pricier Rikon jointer.


----------



## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I like the cutting capacity and the fact that it has a dust chute. One problem you may have… when edge jointing bowed boards, they may hang up on the outfeed extension bar for the first couple passes. That seems like a reasonable compromise, seeing how you don't have room for a 76" long full-sized 8" jointer.

Adjustable outfeed supports are rarely even in height with the jointer bed. Likewise, if they are even when extended 6", they probably won't be even when fully extended. Still, that may be a compromise you're willing to make.


----------



## Mike_D_S (May 3, 2012)

I hadn't seen this before, but as a guy with space limits who'll never get a standard 8" jointer to fit in my garage, I'm interested to see how it pans out. A lot of the rough lumber I can get seems to always be 7-8" wide, so I always feel like I end up trimming off an inch or so to fit it on the jointer.

I would think that you could fairly easily build a removable plywood tray that rides on top of the extensions to give you a "continuous" surface. I also saw they offer carbide inserts for it as well. The cutters are "two sided", but from talking to a few people and just reading different posts, it seems like the most likely place for the carbide cutters to chip out is on the corners, so maybe you really don't end up with 4 usable sides at the end of the day anyway?

The only thing that catches my eye in a general sense is the spec listing 16 inserts. There aren't any pictures of the cutterhead, but in my head I'm seeing a single spiral with a small overlap between each cutter? It may not matter, but I'd like to maybe see an actual picture of the cutterhead (or see one in person) just to see what the config is.

But if it's even only fair to good as a jointer, having that 8" width is a big advantage.

Mike


----------



## dbw (Dec 2, 2013)

I wasn't aware of this machine until this past week. I was searching the web for bench top jointers wider than 6". When I saw Cutech now offers an 8" bench top model with a spiral cutter head I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. The only reason I have not yet purchased a jointer is because I really want a jointer which is wider than 6". It has to be a bench top model due to space limitations. The only other machine on the market which fits this bill is made by Jet and it, based on reviews I read, is a piece of junk.

Here is the scoop on the availability of the 8" machine according to the guy at Cutech with whom I spoke: this model (HSS and carbide) is out of stock until mid September. It MAY be available sooner. If it is available by Labor Day Cutech MAY offer free shipping for Labor Day. MAY.

BTW isn't Cutech the new version of Steel City Tools?


----------



## MinnesotaSteve (Dec 17, 2015)

> I wasn t aware of this machine until this past week. I was searching the web for bench top jointers wider than 6". When I saw Cutech now offers an 8" bench top model with a spiral cutter head I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. The only reason I have not yet purchased a jointer is because I really want a jointer which is wider than 6". It has to be a bench top model due to space limitations. The only other machine on the market which fits this bill is made by Jet and it, based on reviews I read, is a piece of junk.


Hey now, I have that Jet 8"... I stopped using it as a planer after buying a Dewalt DW735, but I have been able to get it to work as a jointer reasonably well. I wouldn't call it a piece of junk, but it is finicky. I would not recommend buying it, unless like myself you get it off craigslist cheap. 

So the first problem is the table isn't terribly long at only 30"... It makes it hard to joint 4' boards, mainly because they start to hang off the ends. I have mine bolted to a table, and use a ridgid work support off the end to keep things from tipping. So I like this cutech has these extensions.

My main complaints with my Jet benchtop is the aluminum bed and fence. The beds scratch easily, and aren't really very smooth to run against. The fence isn't very sturdy, and on the Jet is hard to adjust. On the other hand, they don't rust.  Now the Cutech appears to have a much better fence and I like that it can be brought inward to vary wear on the knives. Perhaps the beds are better as well. One problem with the aluminum beds is you can't use these magnet jigs to set the knives, but seeing as how the cutech is a spiral that's alleviated.

The other problem with the Jet is the knives themselves… they're very thin metal, there's only 2 of them, and they're hard to find replacements. I had to order direct from Jet. But the upside, Jet sells parts.  So the availability of cutech parts and such is my main concern.

I will say it's intriguing and I'd almost order one just out of curiosity.


----------



## Carisbrooke (Aug 28, 2017)

AM420,
What did you decide on?
I'm thinking of going with the Cutech 8 inch bench top, myself. I'm limited on space as well, and have been kicking around the idea of adding a jointer to the mix. I have the Cutech 40300H-CT planer, and it's been a good machine for me, so I'm not really hesitant to buy another Cutech tool, I'm just trying to gather info on their 8" model, and there doesn't seem to be much out there.


----------



## Zod (Nov 28, 2017)

I bought this jointer and it was delivered yesterday. I haven't even had time to open the box, let alone set it up. I am just getting things setup in my garage, so space is an issue for me. Since I am new to all of this, I can't see myself outgrowing it. I am in the hobbyist category so if this does what it is supposed to do, I will be happy. I will post once I have had the chance to unbox, setup, and see how it does.


----------



## AM420 (May 8, 2017)

I still haven't gotten one, but considering it. I still haven't found any substantive reviews.

Missed out on their free shipping deal. I'm guessing they won't have many deals for them.



> I bought this jointer and it was delivered yesterday. I haven t even had time to open the box, let alone set it up. I am just getting things setup in my garage, so space is an issue for me. Since I am new to all of this, I can t see myself outgrowing it. I am in the hobbyist category so if this does what it is supposed to do, I will be happy. I will post once I have had the chance to unbox, setup, and see how it does.
> 
> - Zod


----------



## FlatSix914 (Dec 22, 2017)

How do you like it so far? They have a free shipping deal till the 27th…


----------



## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

I'd say, if it fills the need for now, do it, i've a 6'' bench top a fella left at me shop as he was frustrated with the blade re set, lol, he does crap like this.

anyway, i've been using it for some small boards and misc. in the shop, before i haul out the big boy on wheels, i can say it cuts nicely with fresh blades, and biggest board has been about 4 ft. have discerned no reason to not use, has done nicely. fella can always built out fall table, flat and level for extending it. 
goodluck, nothing like a new toy, erhhhh tool i meant. 
Rj in Az


----------



## garymkrieg (Dec 6, 2017)

The Cutech 40180HC-CT 8" Bench Top Spiral Cutterhead Jointer with Carbide Tips has 6 reviews out on Amazon right now.

Gary


----------



## mamell (Dec 24, 2015)

Really thinking about the cuttech 8" model with carbide tips, etc.. The place I've been buying lumber never has a cut line on one end so it's always a bit of a struggle to square things up even with the TS as the sled can only handle things not much longer than the TS is wide (deep?)
Digging up the extra 4 bills ain't the easiest part for me and will kind of limit my lumber buying capacity until it's paid off.. I'm still looking through the CL listings as well..
I'd like to see some reliable reviews for this cuttech machine other than the usual amazon reviews from folks who just opened the box and wrote the review based on how nice the weather was the day it got delivered.. lol


----------



## bndawgs (Oct 21, 2016)

> Really thinking about the cuttech 8" model with carbide tips, etc.. The place I ve been buying lumber never has a cut line on one end so it s always a bit of a struggle to square things up even with the TS as the sled can only handle things not much longer than the TS is wide (deep?)
> Digging up the extra 4 bills ain t the easiest part for me and will kind of limit my lumber buying capacity until it s paid off.. I m still looking through the CL listings as well..
> I d like to see some reliable reviews for this cuttech machine other than the usual amazon reviews from folks who just opened the box and wrote the review based on how nice the weather was the day it got delivered.. lol
> 
> - mamell


i think the biggest knock on these benchtop models is the length of boards they're able to effectively handle. Although, I don't see why if you really needed to, you couldn't just build extension tables to extend out as far as you wanted.

I've been eyeing the 8" version as well due to space constraints.


----------



## mamell (Dec 24, 2015)

Therein lies the key.. Space constraints..


----------



## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

I used a benchtop for several years. Never had a problem getting the face of a long board flat. It was only getting a straight edge. I couldn't get one over 48" for sure. With carefully aligned extensions you could probably do more, but then you have to have the length of a floor model anyway. Could be a lot of work to realign them each time if you take it down every time. But besides that they work fine. Only real knock I had on it while I had it was it was loud.

Brian


----------



## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

To add some color, the issue was that a concave edges board longer than about 40 to 48" couldn't have both high spots on the table at the same time. So it would do a wonderful job of squaring that edge to the flat face, but could never fully straighten it. Sprung joints aren't the worst thing I the world though, and I got a nice coffee table that was 50" long just fine with that machine.

Brian


----------



## householderb (Apr 30, 2018)

Any updates from anyone who purchased this? I'm looking at the 8" model myself, or maybe the bundle they have for sale. The reviews are very limited but very good, but I would like to get some info from a source that maybe isn't being compensated for their information! Thanks in advance.


----------



## AM420 (May 8, 2017)

I ended up getting one and haven't used it much, but so far so good. Came with the tables calibrated.

One issue was part of the fence assembly broken when I put it together. When I called their customer service line during normal business hours I got voicemail, which I wasn't too happy about. I left a message describing the problem. But I got a call back the same day saying they would send out a replacement part and I got it a couple days later, so overall I was happy with the service.


----------



## jerkylips (May 13, 2011)

I looked at this exact jointer last year at a local place that sells a lot of higher end stuff (PM, Rikon, Laguna, etc). The salesman said that they got a demo model & had been using it in the back to test out, and everyone was extremely impressed. I don't know if I saw it noted in this thread, but I believe it also has a helical head.

I want to say that the price was something like $389. For that price, it seems like quite a good value. The only negative, as noted above, is the universal motor. I didn't end up getting it, found a used full-size Delta jointer that I picked up instead - but heard nothing but good about the Cutech.

Also, they make a bench top planer which is supposed to be very good value for the money as well.


----------



## weekendwoodguy (Apr 9, 2018)

I know this post is a few months old but I'm curious AM420, how did the jointer work out? I'm limited on space in my garage and I'm considering a lot of different options right now. How does the Cutech handle? What's the longest board you think it could handle?


----------



## AM420 (May 8, 2017)

You'll have to keep in mind that I'm a beginner and don't have a lot of power tool experience, but from my perspective it's been a good jointer.

I had one issue in the beginning when I tried adjusting a set screw for the 90 degree stop and a piece of the bracket it was attached to snapped off. I think the set screw was already hitting the bottom ,so when I applied some pressure is snapped the piece. I was a little concerned when I called their service lot and it went to voice mail. I left a message describing the issue and gave my name. I got a call back the same day letting me know they knew what part I was talking about and would mail a replacement. I had it in a couple of days and was up and running, so customer service gets an A+.

Otherwise the table itself has been great. It was pretty well adjusted out of the box. I bought some shims to check it, but didn't really have to make any adjustment. The cuts are smooth and clean. I have't tried anything too long yet, but I can see the extensions coming in handy, and they can be adjusted as well to keep everything coplanar.


----------



## weekendwoodguy (Apr 9, 2018)

Gotcha. I am a beginner with jointers as well and I appreciate your perspective. It sounds like a nice little machine and it might just be what I need to get started. My only hesitation is buying this jointer and then feeling like I will immediately outgrow it. But the price most people are asking for used 6" jointers around here isn't all that much lower than a Cutech and I've been looking for months. Not to mention I have no way of lugging home a giant jointer nor much space in my garage.

Thanks for the feedback.


----------



## icrazywood (Apr 27, 2018)

I've more than 2 years of experience in the woodworking industry, so I know about most of the jointer. Cutech is one of the excellent brands in a jointer. Cutech 40180h have good reviews by the user and good features. If you are thinking to buy a jointer for woodworking, then this Cutech 40180h is the best one for you.


----------



## TomHolmes (Oct 15, 2015)

I am this close to pulling the trigger on this. If I could get free shipping, I'd have already ordered.


----------



## AM420 (May 8, 2017)

> I am this close to pulling the trigger on this. If I could get free shipping, I d have already ordered.
> 
> - Tom Holmes


Back when I got mine it seemed like they did free shipping off and on, so you may not need to wait long. Actually, you might want to just try calling and seeing if you can negotiate free shipping. Worst that can happen is they say no.


----------



## KyleM (Jan 14, 2019)

I actually own this exact model and I love it. I use roller stands on the infeed and outfeed sides when I joint anything longer than 40" in length so this machine is limitless. Anything up to 40" long the built in extensions handle with ease.

Machine never bogs down and dust collection is near 100% making it great for any shop. Very happy with this tool, I use it on almost every project. I also purchased the cutech planer (base model) which does a great job as well but the dust collection is very poor on the base planer. Outside of that it's a great tool as well and both earn my stamp of approval.


----------



## jasoned (Apr 4, 2019)

So how are you guys making out with the Cutech jointers? How's the fence?

I'm considering the 8" with aluminum tables. I'm looking to upgrade from the Grizzly 6" G0725…the fence can't hold 90 so I haven't been able to edge joint with it.

Thanks
J


----------

