Working with rough lumber.

Listen to the three finger guy. :>)

So you use the fence at the full 8” mark and with the guard off you balance the board to make the joint cut but only on the one section of the board.

You then put an MDF piece under it and run it through the planer and get a flat side and then turn the board over.

I think I got it.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

My system is to take the rough cut piece, lie it on MDF, fill up the gaps with small wedges and hot melt glue until it is steady, screw a cleat on the front, and then through the planner, once that side is flat, break it apart, flip it over and do the other side. Works like a charm.

-- Zipsss

Sounds also great Ze’ev

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Lee – That is a good method. I remember posting that in someone’s blog but it didn’t seem to get a warm recption.

That’s the way I do it for shorter, narrow boards since I only have a 6” jointer. It works good.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Thanks Lee,

That means I can do a 12” board with my old 6” Craftsman.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I have also read of people jointing one 1/2 (guard off), flipping it end for end, and jointing the other half and then planing it. I will have try both. Interesting…

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

I did that with a 9” board on my 6” jointer. I flipped it end for end and had awesome tear out! I like Lee’s method, that would have been better for me. I’ll keep that in mind, thanks, Lee.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

If you have mdf or ply under the half of the board you jointed, what supports the un-jointed half of the board as it is sent through the planer? Couldn’t the feed rollers push that half of the board down and not truly flatten it?

I get the shimming-the-whole-board-on-a-flat-surface technique…help me clarify why jointing only half the board to use as a reference just doesn’t seem right.

Here's yet another technique...

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Lee does that mean you lay the half of the board that is now jointed flat on a piece of mdf that is the same width as the half jointed face? running the full rough side through the planer first and then flip over and plane the half jointed side?
Hope I’m not making this more complicated than it is…

Mark

-- Mark, South Jersey

Hi guys;

Here’s one more method that also works very well. I screw “runners” to the edges of the boards, (the same length of the board being surfaced), leaving the board higher than the runners. Then I send this through the planner until one side is flat. Then remove the runners and do the other side. The only down side to this is the screw holes in your wood. I have never found that to be a problem though, as sizing the boards to the finish part sizes tend to cut these holes out.

Lots of questions!

Hi Karson; You got it.

Hi Gary; I understand, I hesitated before posting it, but after reading your post, I decided to go for it.

Hi Zipsss; I’ve done this too, but it takes a bit of time.

Hi Gizmodyne; Bruce use this method also on a regular basis, but I really can’t figure out the purpose for it. I will say he gets great results with method. While it does result in chip out, that is removed once the the flip side is planned and flipped again, to clean up the original side. I hope I explained that okay.

Hi Dorje; The feed roller doesn’t push down as independent rollers, but as one continuous roller, so it does plane the surface flat. (It can’t push harder on any one side. Once the height of the cutter is set, it can’t lower itself to tilt the board). That’s why sometimes the feed roller is feeding the wood, while other times you have to manually feed it.

Hi Mark; You got it.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Oughta work

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

If you all would like one more slant on this subject the method I have used on wide boards is similar to Zipsss except that I use screws to balance the board being planed. I use a 3/4 mdf sled and put 1/2” screws in areas to level the board and keep it from rocking. Then I pin the board in place with two 1/2” cleats at the front and rear of the board. Take shallow (1/64”) passes on the planer and it will true up the board. I have used this with boards up to 5’ in length and 13” wide but with a longer sled any length is possible.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Thanks, Lee, and everyone else who shared their methods of planing rough lumber. Now that I have a planer again, it’s good to get this information, which will help me use it. This is good stuff!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

My pleasure Tom, have at it!

Just be careful of the jointer without the guard in place! It’s kind of scary!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Hi sbryan55;

Looks as though that will work quite nicely!

Nice work.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Thanks for the ideas.

Dalec

I keep learning new tricks everyday on this site.

Some of them soak in.LOL

Keep them coming.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Did you guys see this? (related to jointer safety)

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Hi Dorje;

The idea of using gloves when working with a jointer is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.

A person KNOWS where their fingers are, and where they end, instinctively.

They do not know where the gloves end. As the day goes by, the gloves stretch and move through use.

The fingertips of the gloves are rarely tight to the end of ALL of your fingers. These loose ends can be caught by the spinning jointer head and pull your hand into the blade.

I’ve met Glen Huey, had some interactions with him and based on my experience, he is not likely to have a change of thought.

He is far too advanced to be wrong. So when that fateful day comes along where he trims his fingernails at the jointer, he’ll start looking for the guy who changed the height of the jointer blades.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Thank you Dick;

It’s for certain we all do.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

i agree with lee on the gloves , bad idea . i did buy some gloves that only have 1/2 fingers wore them once and was still not comfortable with it and never had them on since

iMr Trim,

I much prefer splinters if necessary. There only temporary.LOL

But with push sticks, no need for them either.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

I have not been woodworking long enough to give any thought to using gloves or not using gloves. It feels too risky. It puts my hands too close to the cutting surface for my comfort. This in addition to the danger of something getting caught and pulled into the cutter raises the hairs on the back of my neck just thinking about it.

Dalec

Yes, Glen over a PW sure got an earful with that post. I don’t think I would ever use gloves either, but to be honest I don’t see a problem if you are using the machine correctly. My hands never pass over the cutting head, even when I use push blocks. I took a tip from Hendrik Varju over at www.passionforwood.com, and put a mark on my fence that shows where my cutting head starts and stops. My hands don’t cross through that zone.

-- Mike - http://inquisitivewoodworker.blogspot.com/

Hi Dalec;

That’s called instinct. Keep following it, as it will save you much trouble.

Those little hairs on your neck will never lie!

LOL

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Hi Mike;

I’ll check out that site this evening.

That’s a good policy to follow. In fact that same policy saved me some pain this past week, while using a shaper.

I was rabiting a groove for drawer bottoms, and the bit was riding up in the collet. I didn’t notice it until the bit penetrated the material.

Glove here would have been a mess as well.

Gloves are good for moving rough lumber. Then it’s time to take them off.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Lee,

The tip from Hendrik was on his DVD, it’s an excellent DVD on the jointer and planer.

I have say that gloves can be bad in some cases. I remember watching an episode of American Chopper (early episode), and I think it was Rick who got his glove caught in a drill bit and really messed up his hand. I’m trying to remember what happened, but I think the glove made it worse.

-- Mike - http://inquisitivewoodworker.blogspot.com/

Hi Mike;

I’m quite certain the glove not only made it worse, it was the cause of it. Gloves can easily be caught in a spinning bit, and unless they’re some sort of quick release gloves, your hand is captive.

I did check out that site, very nice!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

I worked with sheet metal for over 30 years and never wore gloves because I found it more dangerous to have them on. I have seen a lot of bad hand injuries with guys wearing gloves, it seemed to givea false security. You have a glove on your trapped if anything goes wrong. I have had some skin taken off a few times, had I been wearing gloves I most likely would be missing at least a finger.
Just thinking abut a gloved hand near any machine make the hair on my neck tingle.
When reading that blog I was thinking about all the people in the world born without common sence.

-- Ed Collinge- Edmonds, WA.

All of this sounds like a good way to lose a digit or two to me.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."

Hi Ed;

My sytep brother is also a tin knocker, having owned a custom sheet metal shop for coming up on 40 years.

I’ve worked with him an many projects, from fabrication to installation, and have never seen him with gloves on.

I’ve seen plenty of scrapes on his hands, none of which required stiches. His helper on the other hand received 177 stiches on his hand and forearm, while wearing gloves.

I’m sold.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

You’re right Roz;

On the plus side, if you are wearing gloves, you’ll know where to look for the missing digits. Provided you’re able to find the missing parts of the gloves.

This is quickly becoming a sick subject!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com