RE: Squaring Rough Lumber

[-MIKE-]

I asked if he used a sled, he said nope.

[-MIKE-]

I asked about a sled and he said no. You'd think a reasonable person would say, "You can do it with shims or sled... that's how I do it."

[-MIKE-]

Bullshit. If you're not willing to explain it, you shouldn't be here.

If all you're going to say is, "Well, *I* can do it, and if you can't can't, you're just a poopyhead," then everyone in here is going to call you on your bullshit. Either the bullshit of lying about it or the bullshit of being a douche-bag by not explaining how you do it.

[CW]

I would if I did but I don't so I won't.

[J. Clarke]

What, you don't know a kid with a cell phone?

[Stuart]

Now I'm even more confused.

I have here a planer/thicknesser. The top is an Aluminium bed with a slot running across it at right angles, through which blades protrude which rotate at high speed. I pass timber along the bed and the blades remove wood, flatening the timber - hopefully! That's a planer.

Beneath the bed there is an aperture running through the body of the machine, having a platform which can be raised up towards the underside of the bed and hence the rotating blades. The platforn height controls the amount of wood removed from the top side of any timber passed through it and hence its resulting thickness. That's a thicknesser.

However, mostly I just reach for my Stanley No7.

[Doug Miller]

In the USA, we call that a jointer.

And the wood that we use for cabinetmaking, we call "lumber". "Timber", here, means standing trees which will eventually become lumber. "Timber" is also used, less frequently, to refer to very large wooden beams.

In the USA, we call that a planer.

We call that a plane -- as I imagine you do too.

[Josepi]

Don`t let the trolls get you down, here. Most of them are the same person supporting the group`s destruction.

It will become obvious after a few experiences with the same techniques using multiple personalities.

[Lew Hodgett]

------------------------------- "Puckdr> Thanks Lew. I've got to agree about those plastic paddles with > foam.

------------------------------------ I found that a dedicated push paddle helped my results a bunch.

I'll try to describe it.

Start with a 3" W x 15"-18" L x 5/8" (11 ply) piece of die board.

This is the "base".

Cut a 5/8' W x 1/8" DP x 15"-18"dado centered.

Add 4"-5" W x 15"-18" L x 5/8" (11 ply) piece of die board.

This is the "web".

Glue the two boards together forming the letter "T".

Glue a 1/2" x 3/4" x 3" hardwood block, (aft end), across the underside of the "base" to form a hook which catches the end of the rough lumber when in use.

This is a workable jointer push block; however, you can show off your wood working skills by adding an oval cutout for your fingers in the "web"and tapering the excess "web" material aft of the finger oval.

Round some corners and add a spit coat of 1 lb shellac and you are good to go.

Have fun.

Lew

BTW, locate the finger oval about 1/3 back from the front of the ass'y.

[Hoosierpopi]

I, too, thought this approach would suffice. I mean, if you have a planer, why use a joiner? And, if the board is wide enough, wouldn't a joiner be insufficient for the task? Mine is about 4"

Frankly, I don't understand how to flatten a six-inch wide board using a joiner - but I'm no expert (at anything).

[-MIKE-]

We're not talking about just cupping. We're talking about bow and twist, as well.

[Doug Miller]

No.

*jointer

Because a planer makes the opposite faces of a board parallel. By itself, it can't make either one of them straight. If one face of the board is already straight and flat before going into the planer, the board will come out like this || but if it looks like this (< going in, it will look like this (( coming out.

A jointer *alone* is insufficient for the task of squaring rough lumber, regardless of the sizes of either the jointer or the board: a jointer makes one face of a board straight and flat, but it can't make opposite faces parallel -- the reference surface and the cutting surface are on the same side of the board. You can joint one face of a board straight and flat, but if you flip it over and joint the other face, you have *no* guarantee that the two faces are parallel.

If the board is wider than the jointer, there are several approaches, including (but not necessarily limited to):

- rip the board into section(s) narrow enough for the jointer, surface them separately, and edge-glue them back into a single plank

- take it to someone who has a jointer wide enough

- joint by hand with a jointer plane

- build a sled for your thickness planer, shim the board on the sled appropriately, and flatten it in the planer.

There are lots of tutorials available on the web; Google is your friend here. Of course, the simplest method of flattening a six-inch board using a jointer begins with getting a six-inch jointer...

[Doug Miller]

Yes, you are:

Steps 1 and 2: if the board is twisted, bowed, or warped going into the thickness planer, it will be twisted, bowed, or warped coming out, too.

Steps 3 and 4: if the board is still twisted, bowed, or warped at this stage, ripping it on the table saw is simply *begging* for a kickback.

Step 5: if the board is still twisted, bowed, or warped at this stage, you won't get square cuts on the chop saw.

Long story short -- planers won't correct twist, bow, or warp. That's what a jointer (or a jointer plane) is for.

[Doug Miller]

It'll be pretty close to even thickness along the entire length -- but it'll still be bowed. :-)

[Doug Miller]

I'm not sure my planer even goes that thin...

[Doug Miller]

I guess it depends on your definition of "work".

Ten or fifteen years ago, I formulated these rules of thumb based on actual measurements and observations:

1. If something is out of square/plumb/level/parallel by one part in 100, it's immediately obvious to a casual, untrained observer. IOW, 99% accuracy is

*not* good enough.

1. If it's out by one part in 200, it will be readily visible to anyone who's looking for flaws.

2. If it's out by one part in 400, it's visible to a particularly discerning eye.

1. If it's out by one part in 800, it's not visible, but can be found by measuring.

2. If it's out by one part in 1600, see rule 4, but use precision instruments.

If you don't use a jointer -- or some equivalent method such as a good jointer plane, a planer sled, a jointing jig for a router, etc. -- you're *not* going to get any better than Rule 2.

[Swingman]

Well said ...

[Lew Hodgett]

------------------------------- I had a 4" bench top jointer which is probably very close to what you have.

Without building auxiliary infeed and outfeed tables, you are limited to stock that is less than 4" wide and 36" long.

You can still do a lot of work with that little fellow, but it does have the above limitations.

If you want to face joint boards wider than 4", either rip into widths less than 4", or get a wider jointer.

Of course there is always hand work.

Lew

[CW]

Bull shit. BTW, how did yoiu get out of my bozo bin? Don't answer. You're heading back in right know.

[Stuart]

Reading this group for quite a while now, I had always assumed the term referred to some some sort of machine for cutting various joints in wood. That's what the name suggests.

"(n) wood suitable for building or carpentry whether growing or cut, a beam or large piece of wood in a framework, as of a house, ship &c" Lumber: "(n) Furniture stored away out of use: anything cumbersome or useless"

Yes, I have become accustomed to the (mis-)use of these words round here.

You really are a strange lot.

Actually, with its length of 22" it's known as

a jointer!

Yes it's a plane.