Jointer height

barb there is no rule, it's what is comfortable to you. mine is at 37" my RAS is at 43" which many would say is way too high. not for me !

I figured there was a range.  Was watching some videos with folks using stationary units and wondered if I should shoot for that height.  I may just try some temporary height options to see what feels comfortable.  I have no prior experience with a jointer so guessing whatever I pick will just feel right over time!

Not sure about a jointer, but for my DeWalt 735 planer, which sits on a rolling cart from DeWalt, I ended up putting shims between it and the cart so I could get it at the same height as my bench top so that when I’m running through long boards, I can use the bench as an outfeed table to catch them. Only took me a few months to figure out that was a good idea.

That's a great idea with the planer.  I may need to reconsider that height as well.  

My 2 cents and some things to consider: bench tops as outfeed are (really) great….but…a tool like a joiner needs to be at a height that lets you comfortably stand and move wood across the cutter. Too low and your back will hate you, too high and your arms will be unhappy and you may have issue controlling the stock as you feed it. You certainly don’t want to (and shouldn’t be) forcing the stock into the joiner bed with a ton of force, but you need to be able to comfortably apply downward pressure without your arms suffering. One or two passes is no big deal, but doing a bunch of passes, or a bunch of stock, will wear on you and could end up yielding bad results, or worse, it could be dangerous.

When planing smaller stock, having it a little higher is not a big deal but for long and heavy pieces, you typically want it a little lower to make it easier to manage and control as you slide it -- you want to be able to comfortably hold stock down on the table.  I think that you would want the bed to be at about the same height that you find is comfortable working at a workbench with hand planes.  You would typically bend over a little so that you can use your upper body to hold stock down but not so low that your back would start to hurt if you were doing it for a while. I think that on most full sized jointers the bed would probably be about  31-34" above the ground, which  my workbench happens to fall.  I don't have a full sized jointer to measure but that is about what I remember.  

RyanGi and Lazyman- thanks for the added insights.  I was contemplating the body position required (the pushing down aspect) and am guessing I will do some trials with various heights to find a good comfort level.  

I would make the table height about 3" lower than your table saw.

I have a 27 inch cart that, with the jointer will make the table about 35-36 inches.  I may put some plywood under the jointer as it has no place to get fingers under to lift it (there are holes on the feet to allow that).

It's best for safety to have it right at the point where is is neither too high, or low, but in a spot where you have perfect control of the piece you are jointing. Easier said than done, and I'd suggest starting low, and adding layers of 1/4" or 1/2" ply under the tool, and build it up till you hit that sweet spot, because until you actually get it there, it's all subjective.

That said, there is also something where if every tool in the shop was exactly the same height it gives you a bunch of similar height objects to use as support stations for longer work. Problem with that is a BS, and a drill press, versus a TS or jointer will be different heights to function well. So maybe 2 heights?