I'm in the process of building some pieces out of wormy maple. I have the lumber but in order to edge join the boards into panels I first need to joint them and then glue them up.
I've found a mill that can joint the boards for a fee but someone told me that jointed boards will warp or bend slightly and I'd need to do all of my glue up fairly soon after getting everything back from the mill.
Is this true? I've tried several suggested techniques for doing the jointing myself both with a small table saw or a small router table and I can't get a straight enough edge for the length of wood I'm using.
There is no way I can afford to have enough clamps to do all of the glue up at once and most days it is too cold in my garage shop for glue to set correctly. I might get one glue up a week accomplished
It is common enough to be well aware of the possibility, but it could also be a non-problem. The fee for edge jointing can't be that much, so. it you've tried all else I would not hesitate to suggest that you have it done and then see what happens. Once done, try to keep the freshly jointed stock 'stacked and stickered' in a consistent environment until you're ready to use it.
The other choice, if you don't have the proper power tools, is to use/learn to use a hand plane ... it was done that way for literally hundreds of years.
Occasionally a board warps, but I don't think it is serious. Odds are your clamps can force them into place if the wood is not too big. Might consider biscuits to hold them in place.
Real problem comes when ripping, because the wood seeks a new equilibrium to match its new shape. More and greater differences than variations in moisture content and the movement that goes with.
Unless you're really doing long pieces, you should be able to tune edges with your router table and an uneven fence. Not going to work well with twisted or cupped stock, but should be enough there for touchups. For really long stuff, only jointerless solution is a sled, clamps, and tablesaw fiddling if the differences are great. If they're minor, you could skin alternate sides until you get a best average. Got to have a plane surface to start with there, as well.
Got an IA program at the local High School or JC? Most sawdust types are more than happy to oblige another one after hours.
A factory edge of plywood will make straight fence to run a router along freehand. Don't know what size you're working with, so it may not work with small pieces.
If you do not have the proper equipment I would suggest that you team up with a friend that has the tools or outsource the your work to first get started.
I have been there and back. At first I used a radial arm saw to rip the rough maple board to about 3 to
4 inches in width. In order to do this I had to make a sleight on to which I would secure with toggle clamps the crooked maple board. Using a planning ripping saw on the radial arm I would push the straight edge of the sleigh against the saw guide of the table. Failing to mount to crooked board or any rough maple board could end up a disaster. To rip a board using a table saw or radial arm saw the board has to be square with the ripping blade at all time when feeding. By using a planning blade and a ripping sleight I was able to glue the board without using a jointer. BTW. 75% of the furniture in my house have been build using the later method. As this method was dangerous for kick backs I graduated to a cast iron table saw and heavy duty jointer. Maple and ash have to be well seasoned before ripping, jointing, gluing and surface planning. I make an effort to rip boards to 3 to 4 inches wide using biscuits and waterproof glue. As for gluing I use a bar clamps every
12 inches, one under and one over. I also alternate the grain of the board one left then one right and so on. Over the years I have accumulate 3/4 dia. bar clamps and when I see some on sale I still buy an extra one now and then. After learning over the years I now use only high quality carbide ripping saw like Freud or better.
william kossack wrote in news:LYmdnRwIUImU7vXYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:
They either one work, pretty much the same. And well used, it's a beautiful thing.
I haven't talked myself into one of those yet. There are some very nice, vintage Stanley models in the tool cabinet (6, 7 & 8) that quite suffice for now, and the three of them didn't cost what the LN version goes for new.
If the maple is pretty dry, you'll likely be OK. Just pay attention to the carriage and storage of the wood, post jointing, and you shouldn't have too much trouble.
That's doable on a router table made with a four-foot piece of MDF or ply. Fence is one of the same, one half saw kerf thinner on the leading side of the bit cutout.
I do plywood that way, because I can't afford carbide jointer cutters.
Likely the metal they sell there is light weight. You're right, to flexible. Get a sheet of MDF and rip a strip off one edge. The factory edge is quite strait and a strip 6 or more inches wide should be quite ridged.
IIRC OP said he was having the boards jointed at the lumber yard? If so, while they can bow or move after jointing, most likely he will be able to glue them up into panels without any real trouble.
If not being jointed at the yard, there're several ways to get a straight edge suitable for gluing up panels that don't require a jointer on S2S. Here's a method that works for me:
Use a piece of plywood with a good, straight edge. Usually the factory edge is fine. Exact dimensions don't matter much but it should be a little longer than the boards being edged. Clamp, double side tape, screw, tack, or otherwise affix this plywood guide board to the workpiece such that straight edge can ride against the table saw fence, and the wavy edge of the workpiece can be cut off by the saw blade.
I like to use a guide plank about a foot wide. For straightedging workpieces up to around 8 - 10" wide, I put the guide board on the saw table, straight edge against the fence, with the fence set to the width of the guide board. This lets me use toggle clamps or screws & blocks to clamp the workpiece on top of the guide, with the wavy edge overhanging the edge on the blade side just enough to be cut off to make a straight edge. When doing it this way, the edge of the guide board that runs next to the blade shows you exactly where your cut will be made.
For workpieces that are somewhat wider, I put the workpiece on the saw table with the guide board on top. This works just as well but doesn't allow as many options for clamping the guide to the workpiece.
Instead of a plywood guide board, you could use a piece of angle or channel, flat bar, etc, anything with a straight edge that you can somehow attach to your workpiece.
At any rate, push the whole thing through the table saw, remove the guide board, flip the workpiece, reset the TS fence, & rip the other edge. Takes longer to type it than it does to do it, really.
If you have a good blade, you may be able to stop right there; if the edge is a little rough for glue up, a couple passes with a jointer plane or jack plane will clean it up.
This basic method has a few variations that are more or less appropriate for different size workpieces. The basic idea is the same, though. Any decent table saw book will explain this probably better than I can here.
I don't own a jointer but even if I did, I believe I'd continue to use this method in many cases. Although, come to think of it, I did buy an old 4" Craftsman jointer for $20 at a yard sale a few years ago. Hmm, I wonder where that thing is, anyway...
Huh? A 6" wide piece of plywood or mdf lying flat, perhaps a narrower standing up if your boards are thick, only reinforced with another in a L is mighty damn inflexible. And every router table can use a jointing fence. The 2x4' sheet that becomes your table when you bore a hole for the bit and attach the router can be stiffened by a couple of rails for flat and clamp guides for the workmate. If you want to do the fiddle, stiffen your angle iron with a bit of the same, and hand hold you router, though I much prefer the table mount.
As before, you can take half a kerf off the leading side or stick some formica on the trailing to make an uneven "table" for that spiral bit in the router. Voila, a jointer.
It's great to have a setup like this at the ready, because with a little bit of work it becomes the jointer for plywood hexagons and such.
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