*
I have a seemingly simple question concerning a 6″ jointer. Currently I’m taking a woodworking class at a local college and we have been using their large (12″ at least) machine to joint the edge and face of rough lumber, and then planing, ripping, etc. My question is that since many lumber yards carry wood wider than 6″, how do you face plane the entire width? For example, if I buy 10″ wide twisted wood, how do I clean up the face using only a 6″ blade??? It seems that most jointers within my price range are 6″, but I’ve always wondered how they tackle larger wood.
Thanks a lot.
Jon
P.S. I’m a relatively new woodworker extremely interested in getting more involved. I have a 10″ unisaw, and other small tools. I don’t have any immediate plans to buy a jointer, though I think I would like to get one down the road, and I sometimes do months of research before I make a decision, so I want to make the correct one.
Replies
*
> since many lumber yards carry wood wider than 6", > how do you face plane the entire width?
You don't. Usually, you will edge joint that piece, and referencing that jointed edge against the rip fence on your Unisaw, rip to a smaller width which you can face-joint. This may sound like a big disadvantage at first, but once you learn that most board that wide won't stay dimensionally stable with the change of seasons, you won't worry about it so much. For flatsawn lumber, (the most common and affordable type) widths over 3 or 4 inches are more likely to warp overtime than those widths under 4". Many of us will make flat panels out of narrower boards of our own choice for the sake of stability.
With quartersawn or riftsawn lumber, it is much more stable in that dimension, but will expand and contract more in the sideways direction. This is why quartersawn lumber is often recommnended for chairs and such.
To own a jointer over 8" wide is VERY expensive. I think the majority of us have either 6 or 8" jointers and are happy with them. (I have a 6" Jet which only cost $400 and it serves me well)
By way of example, Grizzly 8" jointers start at about $700 and go up to $1,900. The next size up in their catalog is 12" and the prices range from $2,000 to $3,400. Your money would be better spent elsewhere, in my opinion. Grizzly is usually value priced, so I hesitate to imagine what a Delta or Powermatic would go for...
For the price of a bottom-end Grizzly 8" jointer, you could have their 6" model AND a 12-1/2" planer. Food for thought. If you can afford the larger machines and have the room for them, by all means, get the best of everything.
In the meantime, I would take advantage of your class' equipment. Build and learn as much as you can while you're there. See if there's a way you can fanagle yourself in there to work on your own stuff. Then, you will have some experience and when shopping, you will know what to look for and what to compare against. Schools usually have good quality and rugged equipment, so you could probably use their equipment as a benchmark.
*Smaug said it well. many good points with the possible exception regarding wide boards. In my humble opinion a flat wide board is no more likely to twist than a narrow one. While yes, the same level of twist will appear more noticeable on a wide board than a narrow one, I see too many wideboards on antique furniture to accept the fact that by nature wide boards must warp.
*I regularly work with boards that are far to wide to fit on most commonly available jointers. The only real way to over come the very limited capacity of a jointer is to learn how to surface stock by hand. It is an easy to learn skill, which can be adapted to many phases of woodworking. I also agree with Frenchy, wide boards are just as stable as narrow ones, as long as you detail your work correctly and finish it properly.
*if you can, buy used and your money will go further. a jointer is a high precision tool, and i think you would be wise to spend a little extra to get a quality machine. I have to disagree with some of what smaug has said. i don't look at big, high priced tools as "very expensive" but rather as an investment. I have very high expectations from my tools though, and if you're only going to build small stuff then you'll be happy with a smaller machine. if your hobby turns into more of an obsession like it has for me, then you'll want to think bigger. the other option takes a little more effort, but a handplane will flatten any width board you can find. it's time consuming and it takes some skill. smaug made a good point at the end, take advantage of your classes machines, and then decide what you want. take your time with your purchases, and talk to some of the class instructors about machines also. ask yourself what you want to build and then buy your machines accordingly and most importantly have fun. hope this helps
*A handplane takes some skill and more effort. I've never mastered it. I've gotten acceptable levels of flatness with a planer and a surface board, but what the heck, I'm a hack and far from as accomplished as most. I don't like to rebuild a piece of equipment prior to using it. especially if the piece isn't a current model and getting parts is a challenge. Woodworking to me is about making wooden things, not fixin' some ol' dinosaur. That's assuming that you have the room for the big old cast iron beastie. I might point out that my opinion is very much a minority but then they are much better wood workers than I am and maybe by the time I get that good I'll hold their opinion.
*If y'all are just going to rip the board down to little strips anyway, please buy the little ones at the lumberyard and leave the wide ones for Rob. It breaks my heart to hear of a such a limited resource as wide stock just being wasted to suit a machine.Dave
*I agree with most of what's been said. Hand flattening a large board seems like torture to me though. It became an art out of necessity, not desire. I bet those old colonial craftsmen would have traded their hand planes in for a lunchbox planer or jointer in a heartbeat. I have a 6" Jet jointer that serves me well for weekend woodworking. From my own experience, building average sized furniture, I rarely work with lumber over 6" in width. When I do, I have the millwork shop where I buy my lumber surface plane one face and joint one edge. It costs a few bucks, but it's worth it for occasional projects. From there I can rip and face plane anything up to 12-1/2" wide on my portable planer. Take advantage of the large tools while you can, then buy a 6" or 8" jointer. Good luck.
*DaveThanks, I will take all the wide lumber that is left over, it's great stuff.
*There's a technique whereby one can face plane a board that's nearly twice as wide as the jointer.
*I was being very unselfish, Rob. Perhaps I too would want a little.View ImageAnyone think I going to rip that into little tiny strips? ;-)Dave
*Joseph,Well, don't leave me hanging. What is your technique for face planing boards twice as wide as a jointer?For everyone else, thanks a lot for the comments so far. I may have to look into hand tools more if that is a good way to finish a board. I agree with Rob and Dave. Sometimes a nice curly wide piece is just too hard to rip apart. JonP.S. I think an easier way altogether would be for me just to buy my instructor a case of beer in exchange for use of the school's heavy duty equipment which I'd probably only occasionally use.
*You will be surprised at how often you need that big equipment.You can joint a 12" board on a 6" jointer by turning it around. Just joint one half of the width at a time. I think that's what Joseph's referring to. I don't think it would work all the time though. On a twisted board where one half of the width has different curves to it than the other, I don't think it would work.I stand by my statement that narrower boards (especially flatsawn) are more stable. It may never be an issue if the piece in question doesn't see any real changes in humidity. If you still think I'm wrong, I'll tell you where I got that info. I have three top quality woodworking books by Nick Engler, Tage Frid, and Bob Moran, and they all say the same thing. They suggest that flatsawn boards are most stable when kept under 3" wide. With quartersawn, it doesn't usually matter as much because they expand and contract in the sideways direction instead of warping.If you still don't believe me, buy a 12" wide flatsawn pine board and a 3" wide one. Subject them to changes in humidity and see what happens. Have a great day!
*Since I never do glue-ups using boards wider than 6" or longer than 5', my Jet 6" jointer does me fine.
*Sorry, I was looking for a previous thread where I described it, but couldn't find it.Briefly, one removes the blade guard and attaches a shim (1/16" to 1/8") to the rabbeting arm. I use a brass plate, but others use a piece of plastic countertop laminate. Set the in-feed table so that the stock is even with the out-feed table. Remove the shim, and plane one side of the board. Replace the shim, turn the board around, and plane the remainder. The shim supports the previously planed portion of the board.
*smaug, i have a big 12" flat sawn pine board that has stayed very flat through lots of climate changes in my shop. i also have a lot basswood drawer sides that were made from 2" strips and glued up in hopes of having flat stable drawer sides. some have stayed flat, and some have warped to a point where they are completely unusable. wood by nature is very unpredictable. the best thing to do is find a sawmill that is very good at drying their wood, as it will have less stress or at least balanced stress which will minimize warping. on really large pieces i turn to veneer, but other than that, i just look for the flat pieces of lumber at the sawmill. if they're flat when they're rough sawn and dried then chances are that they will stay that way. as an added bonus i can just run them through the planer.
*Smaug, look up at the picture I posted. Look to the right of the eye candy Mahogany. That flatsawn Eastern White Pine board is fifteen and a half inches wide, and every bit as flat as the day I put it there, a year and a half ago.I guess I'd be pretty stupid to disagree with Mr. Engler, Professor Frid, and Mr. Moran. Nonetheless, the durned thing is flat. And sure enough, we have the occasionaly change in humidity in Dallas. Sometimes twice a day. ;-)Dave(show of hands, how many never saw that Pine? :-D)
*I run wide boards I don't want to rip both ways, grain permitting. I have also used my 12" planer with a carrier board and wedges to get a flat face (especially on long twisted boards). I have also taken boards to my local $25/hr wide belt sanding guy. For me the limit is more often the length of the jointer than the width, which is why I'd like to upgrade from my 6" delta to a long bed 8" jointer, unless of course I stumble across just the right dinosaur.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled