4in. jointer

[welderskelter]

How big of an electric motor does this thing take?

[doc henderson]

i would think not much.  do you have a alum stamped plate with hp ect.

[doc henderson]

what brand and model number?

[welderskelter]

All I know is its a Craftsman and its 4in. I bid on it on an online auction.

[beenthere]

1/2 hp, 1725 rpm, 115v should be plenty to handle the 4" jointer.

Here is a video of fixing up a Craftsman 4" jointer. Not the one I was thinking of, but may be similar to what you bought. Has a timing belt, not a v-belt. 
Restoration 4" Craftsman Jointer / Planer - YouTube

[welderskelter]

I have never had one of these and didnt know what size I needed. How much will it take off on a pass?

[doc henderson]

depends on the wood species and moisture content.  prob less than an 1/8th inch in one pass.  make sure the knives are sharp ect.

[moodnacreek]

One thing for sure, more h.p. is always better.

[beenthere]

I have never had one of these and didnt know what size I needed. How much will it take off on a pass?

If you have never used a jointer, just remember to never have a finger(s) pushing/pressing on wood and passing over the knives. The knives can catch the wood and zip it out from under the fingers leaving them to feed into the turning blades. Not a good thing.
Use a pusher so that cannot happen.
The 4" will of course limit your jointing face to 4". Long lengths should be supported on the ends with a tool stand or extended tables.

[YellowHammer]

The ability for a jointer to flatten a board or an edge is really based on the length of the infeed tables and it's supportive length.  So a "long" bed jointer of the same hp will do a better job than a "short bed" jointer.

Typically, a board significantly longer than the bed will not be supported properly and will either curl around the indeed table, or will rock or wobble.  So depending on how long of the boards you want to run, it may not be a good choice.  

 

[Wattwood]

Spend some time searching and reading up on them at owwm.org and vintagemachinery.org. There is a wealth of knowledge there and all of your questions have probably been discussed at some point in the past. 

[WDH]

If you plan to do any serious woodworking, that 4" jointer in the pic is woefully insufficient unless you plan to make little craft items.

Are you referring to the little jointer like the one Beenthere posted a picture of or are you referring to a board edger? 

[kantuckid]

A 4" wide piece of really hard wood will call for a very slow feed. Length wise, I'm guessing it's best used for pieces 4' and under. Not logical to joint a long board for a dinner table but maybe in a pinch. I once had a cast iron craftsman 6" and it was a far better choice in small machines than this one! I'd bought it on sale new, and sold it before I used it when my 8" one came along. A jointer takes up little space, especially if you make it mobile or simply manhandle it to a wall when not used. Needs chip removal when larger. 
All modern fractional motors are sure not equal. In recent years they seem wimpish and overrated in my experience, but 1/2 is plenty.

[sealark37]

You will discover that the Craftsman jointer is very difficult to adjust properly.  No matter what you do, it will taper the board.  I gave up, and now I joint on the table saw with good results.