Well, I would think that fewer people can accommodate larger jointers. I can't accommodate an 8" one, but 6" fits in my shop just right. So it follows that there are more 8" ones around than larger. That's just my thinking on it.

 

can anyone tell me why most jointers are 6 1/8" wide? why not wider?

- dbw

If you have the room and the $$$$ it's not hard to find jointers up to 24'' pretty easy especially on the used and old iron market. Felder and some other European tool makers produce jointers in wide sizes.

 

Also the fact that going bigger means the need for more power, 8" and up will almost always require 220v?

 

Also weight. A 12" or larger jointer needs a forklift to move it. My 8" jointer is heavy enough as it is.

 

Never felt the need for a larger one. In fact, I'll soon be down sizing from a 6-1/2 to a 4" one.
With a planer, the only use the jointer gets is jointing edges.

 

Never felt the need for a larger one. In fact, I ll soon be down sizing from a 6-1/2 to a 4" one.
With a planer, the only use the jointer gets is jointing edges.

- Gene Howe

You saying your planer will flatten the face of a board? I'm not talking make time consuming jigs and sleds etc.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/squrstock.html

 

All of the above. 6" were typically 48" beds and more affordable. Step up to the 8" and you go to a 72" bed and naturally the price goes up. A lot of people didn't have the room or the money. And as somebody noted the power draw increases.

 

Also weight. A 12" or larger jointer needs a forklift to move it. My 8" jointer is heavy enough as it is.

- Dabcan

Even a 6" machine is pretty heavy and difficult to move…

 

Planer sleds made long ago. A lot cheaper and far more space saving than an 8" or larger jointer. But, I'm not a commercial operation. If time was precious and space and money were abundant, I'd probably have a larger jointer. As well as many other larger machines.

Never felt the need for a larger one. In fact, I ll soon be down sizing from a 6-1/2 to a 4" one.
With a planer, the only use the jointer gets is jointing edges.

- Gene Howe
You saying your planer will flatten the face of a board? I m not talking make time consuming jigs and sleds etc.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/squrstock.html

- AlaskaGuy

 

if you think about it, if you make furniture, how many components are ever wider than 6 inches?? now, if you do a lot of table glue-ups, then a wide jointer makes a ton of sense. but you can mill down most of your stock on your bandsaw, then joint the face and edge of 95% of your projects on a 6 inch jointer.

id argue the 8 inch jointer is the sweet spot- we work a lot in Rift and QS stock as makers, and those board are rarely over 8 inches in width. I have a 6 inch jointer, just have a sled for your planer if you need wide face jointing.

now, if I were to bestowed upon thee a industrial width jointer and planer, I wouldn't complain…

 

I would be curious to know more about the OP's question.

Seems like most folks read it and thought he meant "why don't people buy bigger jointers?"

To me it read more like "For a given size/weight/cost of jointer, why not make the width bigger?"

For instance, when I was but a wee lad, bench top jointers were "always" 4 inches. Now many of them are 6 inches, but weigh even less than they did back then. Not bigger/heavier/longer/way-more-expensive….but just with 2 inches more width.

If that's the actual question, then I think @Andre nailed it above…you can make it wider, but can you actually still turn the knives through a chunk of oak with a dinky little motor?

 

I was wanting to know why 6" is the "standard issue" width for planers. I believe my question has been answered. Thanks!

 

My jointer is 16'' wide. At time I have wished for wider…...But….. I've never wished it was narrower.

You can face joint two of more boards that are glued together, run it though your planer and have a perfect flat panel very quickly.

Face jointing is the first step in proper stock prep.

 

Machinery used to be quite expensive and only professionals
had it, so it ran large. In the 1930s and 40s washing machine
motors were in circulation and 4" jointers, small table saws
and the like became available to hobbiests via mail order
ads in magazines like Popular Mechanics.

A 4" jointer is of limited use but you can dimension table
legs with it and a lot of other tasks. If you know how to
dress wood by hand, it's a time saver, not a necessity.

With the advent of Taiwan imports in the 1980s and relaxed
tariffs the US market was flooded with affordable larger
machinery and since then hobby woodworkers have become
accustomed to higher capacity machinery that doesn't cost
an arm and a leg. In relation to average income, woodworking
machines were in the past quite substantial investments.

 

Machinery used to be quite expensive and only professionals
had it, so it ran large. In the 1930s and 40s washing machine
motors were in circulation and 4" jointers, small table saws
and the like became available to hobbiests via mail order
ads in magazines like Popular Mechanics.

A 4" jointer is of limited use but you can dimension table
legs with it and a lot of other tasks. If you know how to
dress wood by hand, it s a time saver, not a necessity.

With the advent of Taiwan imports in the 1980s and relaxed
tariffs the US market was flooded with affordable larger
machinery and since then hobby woodworkers have become
accustomed to higher capacity machinery that doesn t cost
an arm and a leg. In relation to average income, woodworking
machines were in the past quite substantial investments.

- Loren

I think a lot of the small machinery was built in the USA until about the mid/late 1990's. Remember that China was an enemy. I'm old…the idea of a home woodworking shop was rare until Norm came on TV and introduced us to the tools that he got for free. For most of my stuff my 6" works just fine but there are times where I shed a tear in having to separate a nice slab of wood solely to be able to machine it and put it back together.