Whether you’re shopping for your very first jointer for your home workshop or your third for your professional shop, we think Delta’s X5 is an excellent choice.

Its price tag comes in under many of its competitors, but the quality is still top-notch, and Delta didn’t skimp on the features, our favorite of which is the fence’s ability to tilt both left and right. If you’re cutting just a slight bevel, it doesn’t really matter which way the fence is angled. But for bigger angles, it’s tricky to keep your workpiece against the fence. Delta’s solution: Tilt the fence toward the cutterhead and flip your workpiece so it fits snugly into the lesser angle. Beauty!

We weren’t sure we’d like a lever as opposed to a good old handwheel for infeed table height adjustments, but it’s easy to operate and gave us precise adjustments. Rabbeting, tapering, edge and face jointing are all a pleasure to perform on the X5. Results were smooth and snipe-free, thanks to the three-knife cutterhead that was set perfectly right from the carton. With a 4800 rpm, you’re making 14,400 cuts a minute.

The X5’s capacities exceeded our expectations with a max width of 6-1/8 inches and a max depth pass of 1/8 inch. The table’s length is just shy of four feet, and we felt comfortable with workpieces as long as eight feet. The fence has positive stops at 45 and 90 degrees, and adjustment is quick and easy should you find them out of alignment.

Assembly took about 90 minutes, and that included swabbing off the generous grease Delta applied for shipping. This machine’s no lightweight at 225 pounds, so enlist a buddy’s help when you’re ready to set it up.

As jointers go, this one’s pleasantly quiet, plenty powerful and solid as a rock.--Kris Jensen-Van Heste