Planer & Jointer Info

[John Michaels]

I'm new to woodworking and have a question about using a planer and/or jointer. I recently purchased a 12-1/2 inch portable planer, but don't have a jointer yet. I have two 10" wide maple boards that have a bow to them.

Here's what I'm having trouble with:

1) I understand that running the board through the planer won't fix the bow, only make the board thinner.

2) If I buy a 6" jointer can I pass the board through one way, flip it around and joint the other 4", then run the opposite side through the planer. Why can't you joint both edges, then both faces of the board to square everything up with the jointer and forget about the planer.

3) My neighbor suggested placing a very straight board under the bowed one and run them both through the planer at the same time. Will this work?

Any advice would help

[Charlie Plesums]

Welcome to the creek...

The jointer makes the board flat and straight... there are some tricks with a carrier to move the board through the planer to make it straight, but remember if you push the board down (as the planer will), then you aren't making it straight. The carrier through the planer has to hold the board in it's "natural" position.

I have a chip on my shoulder about the 6 inch jointers that most people, including myself, start with. Most good boards are over 6 inches wide, so I found that 6 inch jointer almost useless. I now have a 16 inch jointer (huge jump), but I was considering 8 inches for a while.. a reasonable starting point.

Once the first side of your board is flat, a jointer can make the second side of the board flat, also, but it probably won't be parallel to the first side. The planer makes the second side of a board parallel to the first... the same thickness throughout the board. If the first side isn't flat, the second side won't be, if the firs side IS flat,.. bingo.

hope this helps

[Don Baer]

If you run a crooked board through a jointer you'll have aslitly narrower crooked board. You can however use you table saw to streighten it out. Simply take a streight board or other streight and fasten it to the crooked board on the inside of the crooked board with some screws or whatever. (Bow towards the outside.) Then Rip the outside of the crooked board with the streight edge against the fence. Remove the streight edge rip the other side and walla. you now have a streight edge.

This can also be done just taking you circular saw and clapping a streight edge along the crooked edge and then ripping against the streight edge. Repeat for other side.

[Charlie Plesums]

If you run a crooked board through a jointer you'll have aslitly narrower crooked board. You can however use you table saw to streighten it out. Simply take a streight board or other streight and fasten it to the crooked board on the inside of the crooked board with some screws or whatever. (Bow towards the outside.) Then Rip the outside of the crooked board with the streight edge against the fence. Remove the streight edge rip the other side and walla. you now have a streight edge.

This can also be done just taking you circular saw and clapping a streight edge along the crooked edge and then ripping against the streight edge. Repeat for other side.

I agree with your suggestion for edge jointing... in fact, rarely use my jointer for edge work, since the saw does so well as you described. When we talk about making the face of the board flat, that is where I get cranky about 6 inch jointers.

[Don Baer]

I argee with you on the face planning a sled will do the job. I felt from the question that since he didn't have a jointer his problem was with the edges. He said the board was 10" wide. I normaly buy my stock as S2S so I get a lot of board that need edge jointing. BTW I wish I had a big slider like your. it would make this process a lot easier.

[Jim Becker]

You need the planer, too, as a jointer cannot make two surfaces parallel. It's for flattening and straightening only...

[Al Willits]

Hopefully not hijacking this thread but...

If he has a 12.5" plainer, why should he get a larger Jointer?

If he stays away from boards that are less than 12.5" wide, wouldn't a 6" jointer work just fine?

Also those of you that have large Jointers like Charlie at 16", do you have a plainer also?
Considering a 12" jointer seems to go for about 3 grand and a 16" Powermatic goes for about 6k, might it be better to buy a decent 15" plainer and a 6" jointer for probably 2k or so?

I was all set to buy a 13 or 15" plainer and a 8" jointer, but the more I read, the more confused I get....

This is for those of us who have to ask how much btw...

Al

[John Gregory]

Al,
You need both, in a way the two pieces of equipment are unrelated in their use. A jointer will flatten a surface but NOT make it parallel with the other side. A jointer will make the edge 90* to the flat surface.

A planer is used to make opposing sides parallel to each other by using a flat side as the reference. A planer also enables you to size the board to a particular thickness, hence the name "thickness planer". You can use a thickness planer to flatten a board if you construct a jig to do so. FWW magazine had an article about it a while back.

The rule of thumb for tool purchases is buying the largest size your budget and shop will accommodate. I have a 6" jointer for two reasons, 1. When I bought it I didn't know better. And 2. I don't have room for an 8" jointer. I hope this helps.

John

[Al Willits]

Thanks John, I kept thinking they did the same thing, so none of this made sense..

Makes spending lots of money easier now...

Al

[Narayan Nayar]

John,

The advice above is very good--you do need both a jointer and a planer, and can't get satisfactory results with just one of them. I have a very nice 6" jointer and for the moment it is doing the job. I considered buying larger, but for reasons having to do with cost and space, did not. For people with the space, an 8" is probably a reasonable starting point.

You mention that you have 2 10" wide maple boards which you need to face joint. I'd question anyone who advises you to base your jointer purchase decision on these two boards. If these two boards are representative of the kinds of boards you'll be using on a regular basis, a 10 or 12" jointer isn't unreasonable, but if you're like most of us, that's an investment which needs some serious consideration.

I have an 8' piece of 8/4 maple which I need to face joint. Luckily, I know someone who, for some pizza, will allow me to use her 12" jointer. Otherwise, it'd be handplanes for me (which, by the way, should be an option to consider as well--a 6 or 8" jointer will probably get you through most of your jointing needs; a good #7 or #8 handplane can get you through the rest of them).

If I move, I'll be looking at a bigger jointer, but for now, the 6" works for my purposes. I'm hoping to do most of the face jointing work with handplanes once I'm done with my bench.

[Brett Baldwin]

Another option for boards wider than your current equipment is to take it to a lumber supplier or cabinet shop that will generally charge a per board foot price to face joint and straightline your lumber. From there, you can work it with your planer and whatever else it needs. Until you take the plunge with a jointer, this can take care of the boards needing jointing.

[Mike Cutler]

John.

First . Welcome to Sawmill Creek, and pleased to meet ya'.

Second. You have the machine that you need already.

It is possible to face joint boards on your portable(lunchbox Planer). In fact your lunchbox planer is better suited to it than my stationary 15" planer. You need to build a planer sled.

A planer sled can be built in any number of ways, imagination is all that is required.
Essentially what you need to do is to get a piece of MDF about 11" wide, and longer than the material that you need to mill. Lay the bowed boards on top of the mdf. Affix wedges under the bowed section, between the MDF and the material, to keep the material from deflecting under the pressure of the planer rollers and cutter head. It will probably take wedges evry 6" to accomplish this. You will also need to affix a stop block at the end of the material to stop the material from sliding backward. most sleds have side rails to stop the material from skewing off of the wedges, but you will probably need to affix blocks to the MDF, at the material edges to stop the material from moving. What is happening is that the MDF is now acting as your reference face.

This technique is generally used when the material to be planed is thinner than the minimum planer thickness, but it works well for material that is too wide for a jointer, or if a jointer is unavailable. Unfortunately,the one I made last summer has been recycled into other jigs, or I could have taken a picture.

An internet search of "planer sled" should point you in the right direction. There also used to be a pretty good video free on the Fine wood working website, but now you have register, and pay to get access to it. It's harder to describe, than it is too build.

The reason that I said that your lunchbox planer was better suited, was because the cutter head moves on your planer. This allows you to make a longer infeed, and outfeed table, which you will need to make, and center your planer between them. On my 15" planer the table moves up and down so the infeed and outfeed tables would have to move with it. I had too solve this another way.

There are many out of the box solutions to woodworking problems. Everyone ends up with a collection of their "favorite jigs" and you will too.

Once again. Welcome to Sawmill Creek.

[John Michaels]

Thanks to everyone for all the info.

I think a planer sled will work well in my current situation. I have access to a jointer, but need to pay him for his time. I'll probably get a jointer before too long anyway.

[ED BYRD]

How to change the drive belt on my Hitachi planer/jointer F-1000A Any help??? t_byrd@comcast.net

[glenn bradley]

The cure for not waiting to save for a larger jointer is to search for posts on jointer upgrades. You'll find mine. The Creekers told me but noooooo, I knew better. Well, now I do know better and it hurt in the pocket book to take the loss on a 1yr old 6" machine that I knew was inadequate for my needs 30 days after I bought it ;-(

P.s. search on "Planer Sled 2.0"