Jointer question

Discussion/Question ⁉️

How long of a bed do I need to reliably joint 85”+ boards?

I know the rule of thumb that twice the total bed length is possible, but I guess my question is if it becomes very difficult and unreliable when you start hitting that limit.

For context, I’d like to face joint 85” boards for bed frames. I have half of a two car garage for shop space. I can fit a floor jointer, but would prefer not to. I wouldn’t consider other benchtop jointers, but the new 8” Oliver bench top jointer has a 40” cast iron bed with steel extension wings to 56”. This will fit all of my jointing needs except maybe the occasional bed frame side rail as I assume the steel wings will flex. If I got this jointer, would I hate my decision every time I wanted to joint a board over 80”?

Posted Aug 13, 2026, 4:05 PM UTC

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