Delta Power Tools 37-071 6 Inch MIDI-Bench Jointer Review

A jointer is one of the most essential tools in any woodshop. Their importance will become apparent when you purchase pre-pampered lumber from a retailer and find their edges to be cupped and twisted. You should also know that a jointer is a vital tool in the milling process, and with one of these in your shop, you can ditch lumber retailers and opt to reclaim old, misshapen boards.

When shopping for a jointer, perhaps the first thing you’ll want is a brand-name product. Delta Power Tools has been in the woodworking tools industry for quite some time, and their line of jointers is worthy of praise. In today’s article, we’re going to take a look at the 37-071 MIDI-Bench Jointer from Delta to see whether it belongs in your workshop. Spoiler alert: it does.

12-Amp Motor

The first thing to consider when looking at potential jointers is the strength of the motor. The 37-071 comes with a 12-amp motor which is on the more powerful side of the motor spectrum. Of course, it’s not nearly as powerful as a floor-standing model, but as a benchtop unit, it’s more than enough to bring life back to old, worn-out boards.

6-inch Cutting Width

The 37-071 is designed to flatten the faces of boards up to 6 inches wide. By benchtop jointer standards, this is the largest you’ll get. For the most part, boards will already be dimensioned to less than 6 inches in width, so this is more than wide enough to handle a majority of whatever boards enter your shop. If you regularly work with wider workpieces, you may want to consider investing in a floor-standing jointer instead.

20,000 Cuts per Minute

Flattening the surfaces of a board and squaring its edges requires a high-speed cutter head for maximum material removal and precision. The 37-071 comes with an aluminum cutter head that’s fitted with two high-speed steel blades. The cutter head spins at a rate of 10,000 RPM, delivering up to 20,000 cuts per minute.

Easy-to-Control Fence

Something that many first-time buyers disregard when searching for the right jointer is the fence. The fence supports the board as you guide the board over the cutter head. The fence needs to be as stable as possible to ensure perfect jointing every time. The 37-071 comes with an aluminum fence that locks into place at 45°, 90°, and 135°.

1/8-inch Max Cutting Depth

Jointers should have a limited maximum cutting depth to ensure perfect flatness across the entire surface of the board. The 37-071 is designed to cut up to 1/8 of an inch deep per pass. However, some customers have complained about the uneven heights of the cutter head and infeed-side of the table, which could end up creating a tapered board. Many of them found a simple fix to the problem, but it’s still a problem nonetheless.

Awesome Chip Chute

Jointers are known for producing a heck of a lot of wood shavings and chips. For this reason, the tool should have an onboard dust ejection port to remove as much residue as possible to prevent clogging and extend the life of the tool. One of the best features of this benchtop jointer is its chip chute which suctions most debris away from the work surface and blasts it through the chute. Connecting a shop vac or dust extractor to the chute makes for easy cleanup.

Durable Cast Iron Construction

A portable jointer needs to be durable to withstand bumps and bruises while transporting it to and from job sites. The 37-071 is made almost entirely of durable cast iron which, if dropped, shatters concrete floors before denting. There’s no point in questioning this benchtop jointer’s durability as the casing will protect the sensitive motor and cutter head from damage.

Lightweight

As a benchtop jointer, the weight of the tool needs to be easy to carry and transport while simultaneously being heavy enough to prevent rocking and toppling off your workbench when activated. The 37-071 weighs a moderate 76 pounds which require some upper body strength to lift, but it’s still quite easy to move around. Also, there are four screw holes in the base of the unit where you can drive screws to increase the tool’s stability while in use.

Final Thoughts

So after checking out Delta’s 37-071, we have concluded that it is indeed a great benchtop jointer for both hobbyists and professional woodworkers. In all honesty, there’s nothing truly unique about this jointer compared to other benchtop models from Delta and even other manufacturers. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, seeing as how most benchtop jointers on the market are reliable and of high quality.

The only thing you need to be fully aware of is the difference in height between the cutter head and the infeed-side of the table. If the disparity leads to severe tapering, simply remove a few screws before adjusting the infeed table’s height.

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Delta Power Tools 37-071 6 Inch MIDI-Bench Jointer Review
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