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Milling wide boards with 6" jointer

4K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  dbray45 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey All,
I just wanted to pass along a tip I learned awhile back from one of the Wood Whisperer videos that worked really well for me when trying to mill some 9" wide bloodwood that was cupped on one side. It worked really well for me.

Here's what I did:

1) Remove the jointer guard.
2) Run 9" wide stock through jointer as normal with the cup side down.
3) After about 4-5 light passes, with 6" of the stock jointed, use double sided tape and attach the board to 1/2" ply to the jointed part of the board.
4) Run the board through the planer with as many passes needed to flatten.
5) After the board is flattened remove from plywood and plane as normal.

This method worked really great for me. My apologies if this is a well known technique and I'm being redundant. I've only seen the planer sled technique mentioned for flattening wider boards than your jointer.
 
#3 ·
I use this method with a 1/4" piece of ply, with a stop block on the end to keep the board from slipping off of the ply, instead of tape. The board won't tip, Gene. I don't think I've done any wider than 9- 9.5", so it may tip if you get close to equal sizes on and off the plywood.
 
#5 ·
Gene,
You are correct. About 3" were unsupported. It was more than stable when I ran it through the planer. I think a good rule of thumb seems to be about 2/3's your jointer width from what I recall from the video and my own experience. Give it a try. I was surprised that it worked so easily.
 
#9 ·
Adam,
I'm sorry I can't provide a link to the video. I actually emailed Marc to see if he knew which video that was in, but he wasn't sure either. If you tell me what part is unclear, perhaps I can try to better explain it to you in more graphic detail.
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
Thanks for the tip. I have heard that one before, but it was overcomplicated in the version I read. Your description is much better.
Another technique I use on the planer to flatten wide stock: Hit and miss plane one side, then flip workpiece and plane smooth. Finally, using the smooth side as the reference edge, finish planing the first side. While this is not truly jointing, I have been amazed how straight a well-sawn board comes out. When I inspect a stack of boards milled this way, I often can't tell the difference.
Thanks again, Great Tip!
 
#11 ·
One thing should be mentioned:

If your 6" jointer has a rabbeting ledge, as most do, you must make a shim plate to be placed on the infeed table after the first pass. Otherwise the un-jointed width of the board will ride the rabbeting ledge. I use a 6" wide piece of 1/8" masonite with a cleat attached to keep it from being fed into the cutterhead.

Regards
Bob
 
#13 ·
Adam, what he's doing is jointing part of the board to get 6" flat. Then applying plywood to the jointed part to raise the whole board up. From there he can plane the top side with the ply making the bottom flat. After the top is flat in the planer the original side with the raised edge can be flipped over and planed. It's a way to trick the planer to think the bottom is flat. Nice technique.

Hmm.. does that help? I used to be a teacher of 30 yrs. Everything is a teachable moment. Damn attribute I can't shake. I turned my kids into physicists at the dinner table by the time they were 15. I had very patient and understanding kids.
 
#14 ·
I use this method all the time only I don't bother taping it to a piece of plywood before running it through the planer. just try to get the outside edges and the center of the board close to straight across as possible so that it rides through the planer supported so that it only cuts off the hump .I run the humped side through the planer then the jointed side.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
Another idea - if board is cupped enough so that you will loose 30% or more to plane flat, the odds are that after you flatten it, it will cup again. Has a lot to do with the grain and dryng process. Rip the board in half - yes you get 2 - 4 1/2" boards but the thickness is maintained and the chances for additional warping is greatly reduced if not eliminated.

Funny thing about wood, they make more.
 
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