All Replies on Milling wide boards with 6" jointer

If I understand, there will be 3” of the width unsupported?
It didn’t tip when you ran it through the planer?

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

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.

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

Thanks Tim.
I’m gonna try it.

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

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.

-- Mike Minneapolis, MN

Mike,

Do you have a link to the video, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this.

Adam

yes I second that Adam, a video would be nice!

+1 vote here. that’s a good streamlined technique to use on wider boards.

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

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.

-- Mike Minneapolis, MN

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!

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

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

Mike,

Thanks for trying. I think I need some pictures or video. For some reason I just can’t grasp it from a verbal description. I’m sure I will stumble across this method at some point.

Thanks,
Adam

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.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://gagnerwebsite.com/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

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.

-- mike & judy western md. www. pvwoodcrafts.com pvwccf1@verizon.net

I posted a blog, with pictures on how to http://lumberjocks.com/tenontim/blog/26637

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

Thanks Guys! Now I get it. Filed away for future use.

Adam

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.

-- David in Damascus, MD