I have some 8/4 stock that has a slight twist to it (less than 1/8") but it's close to 8" wide and I own a 6" jointer. Is there a technique I can use to get 1 side flat so I can put it through my planer? I really don't want to rip it smaller and glue it back together. Thanks Mark
You can attach it to a plywood or mdf sled for your paner, shim it up so it won't rock, and plane out the twist. Then remove it from the sled and plane the other side. The sled needs to be at least as long/wide as your board. You can attach it with double-sided tape.
It can be done without a sled too, for minor irregularities. You'll also need access to a surface planer
Hard to describe but it involves setting the fence slightly inside of 1/2 the width of the board (fence to outside of knives - 1/4" or so) so you get a little overlap. If your board has a better, smoother half-side, do it second. With the front table set for thin cut (1/16" to 1/32) clean up the first side removing as little stock as possible. Then go to the second side and then alternate as necessary. You'll probably need to maintain a little more down force above the jointer bed than usual to keep the board level. But not enough to bend the board.
You should not try to achieve perfection. In fact you might have some unplaned wood left on the surface. The idea is to take both sides down, evenly, to where they are an acceptably flat surface to lay on the bed of a surface planer. Plane the other face, then go back an plane the face you started with the jointer. Again - minimal cut depths on both jointer and planer minimize waste.
Might want to practice on scrap before you put valuable stock on the jointer.
You can do a rabbeting/rebate operation to flatten a 6" wide strip. Then, attach a piece of 1/4" (or thicker if needed) as a sled to run the piece through your planer, flattening the opposite side that you rabbeted. Now, remove the ply sled and plane the sled (now removed) side flat and the work to the desired thickness.
-Doug
I know it's not the answer you ask for, but I was faced with the same problem and bought a #4 Bailey hand plane. It didn't take long to take the twist out of the board and run it through the planer. If all other fails, you might try it. :-)
I feel that one shouldn't be restricted to the use of either power or hand tools. I find the combined use of both simplifies things.
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