Jointer and end grain question

To further add to what the thing is... going down on the jointer is the the top* of the trestle leg set for my bench. Greatly and mysteriously "a-la Bob keys" in design. The point is to get these tops perfectly flat the easiest way possible. Would it work?

Set the knife for an extremely fine cut. Clamp/nail some sacrificial blocks to the sides at the end grain to minimize tearout. Build a mockup of the piece you want to run through and try that before you mess up the good piece.

This may be a good excuse to buy a stationary beltsander.

Pete

Think I'd try a straight bit in a router with a guide bushing or bearing and placing the piece between two sacrificial backer boards. Would also recommend climb cutting the far end grain piece. Jointer might work with a backer board, but that is purely speculation. You might try a test piece first.

OK those are some good suggestions, thank you. Can't buy the machine though, as I live in an apartment and go to the local adult ed. woodshop. I have mini drill press and band saw, which I currently never use.

I want to understand, but I don't think you used a non-proportional font for the diagram.

Is it anything that a well-fettled block plane couldn't take care of? (I know I know, I've been smoothing the ends of some doug fir 4x4's myself and it aint easy (especially straddling the workpiece on the top of a 8x10x16 that is my "bench" until I finish this project (also an interim bench))... but it's neander!)

More parentheticals as they are warranted.

er

You can joint end-grain on a jointer, but there's a bit of a trick involved. You don't want to simply run it across the jointer because it will tear out. So, what I do, is I run it across the jointer just far enough to cover the first section of end-grain. Remove the piece and rotate so that you're jointing from the other end. Then, you can complete the job. This will prevent the end grain from tearing out because when you're finishing up the cut, the trailing section of end-grain was already jointed and will ride just above the cutters as you're finishing up the cut. Does this make sense? It's easy to do, but harder to explain.

I learned this from a class at NWS that Christian Becksvoort taught and this is the technique he used to square up and fit the rail-stile doors on his shaker clock.

Mike

So, what I do, is I run it across the jointer just

rotate so that you're jointing from the other end.

out because when you're finishing up the cut, the

cutters as you're finishing up the cut. Does this

is the technique he used to square up and fit the

That's excellent, that makes perfect sense. I could do 95% of the distance and then turn it around, and the end edge would not chip off drastically. This way I will not need to mess with clamping blocks on the end corners. That's great, thanks for the perfect suggestion. Just steadying that last 5% heading to the blade will be hard on my [very bad] back, these things are heavy.

Just to see what happens

Courier:

| | | | | | | | | | this assembly down on the | | | | jointer | | | | | | | |

The trick here is to feed part way in one direction about 1-2" then flip ends and go all the way through.

Do not go 95% of the way on the first pass. Go a couple of inches then turn around and run through again. If you go 95% to begin with you have to balance the 5% nub.

How's this? Done in Courier:

feet feet / all doug fir / ______ ______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |__________________________| | | | | | | | grain for this piece | | | | | | |____|__________________________|____| \ TOP downward \ end grain end grain

\/ \/ \/

____________________ __________________

OK I get it. THAT I will do. Thank you very much, ya saved me.

I will pay tythes next week.

The trick here is to feed part way in one direction about 1-2" then flip ends and go all the way through.

Understood!

This one does the trick!

er

And then, I went too far with it!:

foot foot \/ \/ ____ ____ | | | | | | | | | _|__________________________|_ | | | | bench bolts 8" | | |

You can't chip out what isn't there, and you don't need to get that complicated. Take a block plane and chamfer what will end up as the trailing corner and run the piece. As long as your chamfer is at or below the depth of cut on the trailing edge, you're good.

Heh, that was good! Makes me wonder if there're any ASCIICAD programs out in the world. :)

er