Another Jointer Question

[Sean Troy]

I was wondering as a woodworker that does it mainly as a hobby or even as a serious hobby, is a planer even needed? In my case, I use rough saw wood I've collected and dried over the years from local mills. All hard woods. 95% is 4/4 and a little 6/4 and 8/4 mixed in. Wouldn't a good 8" jointer with long bed handle anything I might need. What would I be missing? I'm just thinking out loud before I make any purchases. Thanks, Sean

[David Eisenhauer]

Typical practice for power tool woodworking is to first run one face and one edge of the rough wood (4/4, 6/4, 8/4 etc) over the jointer to remove any cups, bows, twist, etc and then run the wood through the planer to get it to a consistent thickness. Flipping it over after the first run on the jointer won't get it to consistent thickness.

[Tom Willoughby]

Hi Sean,

In most cases, the goal is to take rough lumber and make a perfect rectangle board with opposite sides parallel to each other and all corners at 90 degrees.

The jointer will make one face and one side 90 degrees to each other. In order to complete the perfect rectangle, a planer is used to flatten the rough face so that it is parallel to the jointed face. The other rough side is ripped on the table saw so that it is parellel to the jointed side. And the end result is a perfectly square rectangle (board).

One would think that a jointer could do all of the sides but the sides would not likely be parallel to each other and you end up with a non square rectangle.

Tom

[Matt Day]

Yes, it's necessary to milling wood. The jointer makes it flat, the planer makes the opposing side parallel to the jointed side. If you just used the jointer, you'd have four flat sides but likely nothing would be parallel.
There have been many discussions about this type of question. Search around a bit if you need more information.

[Sean Troy]

That's what I needed to know. I always appreciate the great info I get here on SMC. New tools are a big purchase for me so I like to get as much info as I can. I've always been on the turning side and am now starting to do a lot more flat work. My back just can't take the big turning anymore. I'll still do small stuff on my smaller lathe but flat work just seems to be a better fit now. Lot's to keep learning. thanks, Sean

[Tony Leonard]

While I agree wholeheartedly that a planer is needed for me, I know some woodoworkers that buy their lumber S2S and use a tiny jointer to get decent edges. It all depends on what you want to do. My uncle was a woodworker for 50 years or so and never owned a planer. He built a lot of stuff out of hardware store pine boards. So, consider what you want to make and what materials you will use before you take the plunge. For me, I would not be without one. Guess if I had too, I could always revert back to the old ways and get the planes oiled up and ready!

Tony

[Sean Troy]

While I agree wholeheartedly that a planer is needed for me, I know some woodoworkers that buy their lumber S2S and use a tiny jointer to get decent edges. It all depends on what you want to do. My uncle was a woodworker for 50 years or so and never owned a planer. He built a lot of stuff out of hardware store pine boards. So, consider what you want to make and what materials you will use before you take the plunge. For me, I would not be without one. Guess if I had too, I could always revert back to the old ways and get the planes oiled up and ready!

Tony

I'm not quite ready to rely on planes just yet

[Jim Becker]

Jointers are primary for flattening the lumber, but they will not provide the means to get it to a constant thickness...that's what the planer (thicknesser) is used for.

[Myk Rian]

You can use a planer for most of the work. Search for planer sled . It does the work of the jointer.
An 8" jointer will allow you to mill most of any rough stock you may get.