# edges for joining



## harum (Nov 25, 2013)

Hello, I am trying to prepare several 1" thick and 2' long boards for a glue-up into a larger panel using a hand plane. Namely, I have run a #7 jointer over the edges of two boards in an attempt to get smooth, true and square surfaces for gluing. I have only managed to get the surfaces smooth; no matter how I plane I never get square edges and always get a twist. In addition, a slight hump shows up in the middle of the boards after a few runs. And I was trying to get a slight dip at the center as compared to the ends.

The iron is sharp enough to shave hair off my arm. The plane has a true sole and gives a nice full length shaving. 
The twist is probably introduced because of the narrow edges of the boards compared to the iron width-it is hard to keep a heavy plane balanced. I can somehow deal with the twists by running the plane on a diagonal, from one side of the edge to the other while planing.

But what do I do to avoid making a hump in the middle. Are the boards too short for a jointer? Or do I push too hard when plane gets closer to the end of the edge? Should I try to adjust the plane for really thin shavings? Even though I don't apply any pressure towards the end, the plane keeps engaged and cut the same thickness shaving.

Any comments would be appreciated! Best wishes, h.


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## wtnhighlander (Dec 12, 2013)

The best way I know to get a good fit when manually jointing boards like this is to do both edges at once. Lay the boards on your bench in the arrangement they will have in the panel. Take the first two, and fold down the outer edges, bringing the bottom faces together, and leaving the two adjoining edges turned up. Clamp them in your vice, and plane along the entire width of both edges. Any 'off-squareness' from poor balance will be mirrored on the opposing edges, effectively canceling out and resulting in a tight fit. 
As for the hump in the middle, I can only assume you are somehow applying less pressure in the middle than at each end. Using the two board technique gives you more surface to balance on, so maybe you will be able to put more focus on keeping the pressure even.


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## Sigung (Nov 20, 2013)

I"ve got one of these babies on my Christmas list this year. It might be a solution…

















http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=41716&cat=1,41182,41716


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## harum (Nov 25, 2013)

Thank you for the response. Yes, planing two adjacent boards together gives me more stability, but hasn't helped with the twist and the hump. I guess a reasonable solution for me right now would be planing the edge to be joined with very thin shavings to a pre-drawn pencil line. This, however, requires the skill of thinning out a shaving on the fly until it breaks and that the iron exit the wood. Is this just a matter of weight transfer?


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## harum (Nov 25, 2013)

Thanks, Jerry. I wonder if this fence works with "Records"?
It's too bad that "Plane not included"... Hope the pair of hands are.


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