Making some drawers out of poplar for a chest of drawers project, the drawers will be faced with red oak. I have 3/4 poplar that needs to be planed to 1/2 inch. Also the variable width boards have to be edge joined-glued in order to get the 8 inch width boards I need. What should I do first, edge join or plane? Wonder if the glue will hurt the planer blades? Should I use biscuits or just glue?
I was wondering the same, but I think the planning should be part of the milling process - and should be done on each piece individually prior to glueing up - making the next step after glue up as simple as cleaning and some sanding.
Also it's easier to mill smaller pieces then large ones - not to mention that it really depends on how large your glue up are going to be - sometimes they are larger than the planer all together. plus you won't have to plane those glue joints - which is only a good thing…
Definitely plane after glue up. This assumes you have a planer that will handle the width. If you think you can glue them up all in the same plane and get a flat smooth surface, I'd say you were kidding yourself. Planing after is also the time saving, don't have to think about it method. you just get it done.
One thing-if you decide to plane after glue-up, make sure to orient the grain of each strip the same way. Otherwise, you would get tear-out planing in either way, because some strip(s) would always be in the wrong direction.
I would face joint first, the edge joint. That will make the edge square to the face that you jointed. Then rip the other edge to width + 1/32, and finish off the final 32nd on the jointer. Your edges will now be parallel to each other. Then finally plane the other face to thickness, this will make this face parallel to the other face, your board will now be square.
Depending upon how picky you are you may want to face joint your inside face first then plane your outside face to thickness. If you hit some preaty figure on the outside face, as long as you are already parallel to your inside face you can flip the board over and take the inside face down to thickness.
I agree with gizmodyne and sIKE. And I think that biscuits on long grain joints (edge to edge) are a complete waste of time. They're too loose fitting to be of any real value in alignment and they don't add any strength along the joint as the glue joint will be stronger than the wood. They "might" aid in adding shear strength. Use cauls for alignment.
I just noticed grumpycarp's reference to biscuits being loose. Are we talking about the same thing as in UK? Compressed beech ovals 4mm or 5/32" thick. I've never found them loose here. They normally need a tap with a hammer to get them started and/or pulling into place with sash cramps. I always use them in this sort of situation for accurate alignment.
Biscuits will telegraph through the surface when still wet. Make sure you use a good glue, like titebond 3, so the glue becomes more stable when dry. Sanding is always necessary after using biscuits.
I use biscuits, a glue joint shaper cutter, splines, and sometimes just edge gluing methods.
I think you can get by just fine edge gluing when making drawer boxes.
Thanks for all the input. Now I just have to decide if I want 1/2 thick drawer sides as the plan called for or make them 3/4 " . Boy, I hate to plane away good wood, but the drawers would be a bit heavier.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
LumberJocks Woodworking Forum
2.5M posts
96K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to professional woodworkers and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about shop safety, wood, carpentry, lumber, finishing, tools, machinery, woodworking related topics, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!