# Jointer jig for a planer



## FrogpondWoodworks (Jun 3, 2013)

I don't have a jointer yet so I've been interested in the jig that turns the planer into a jointer (Fine Woodworking #175, etc.). This would also be used for those wide boards you don't want to cut up and reglue. I was wondering if anyone has done this and how it works.


----------



## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I just use a flat board as a sled. Shim the board to be jointed until it doesn't rock. Put a low cleat behind it and run it thru the planer until the top surface is flat. Then flip it over and plane the other side.

I have used hot glue, brad nails, etc to hold the shims in place and the brad nails work best for me.


----------



## camps764 (Dec 9, 2011)

I built the jig from the article…it works alright. It's basically a more complicated version of what gfadvm described. In my experience, it doesn't get the boards dead flat like a jointer would, but it gets them a heck of a lot closer than I could otherwise.


----------



## JoeRPhilly (Jul 4, 2012)

I just did this as gfadvm describes, but I used hot glue. It's kind of a pain, but it does the job. If you have rough lumber, and no jointer, it's a really simple solution. It will take a while if you have a bunch of boards to do, but you can definitely get the results you need without any expensive or complicated setups.


----------



## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Same here as gfadvm.
Bill


----------



## Goodsh (Feb 21, 2013)

I've made a more simple sled with a cleat as gfadvm described. The sled from Fine Woodworking looked more complicated than necessary and I didn't want to spend much time on it. I made it by gluing two layers of 3/4 MDF so it's flat and very rigid. In retrospect it's heavier than necessary (I needed it to be 4' long) which makes it harder to use so I'm not sure I would do it that way again. I use double sided tape for the shims. I've also heard of people using two rows of screws on the sled that they raise and lower as necessary for the board to sit flat on the screws. Haven't tried that method myself. The system is not very convenient especially if you have a lot of boards to do but it definitely works. I recently bought a low angle jack plane and for most smaller boards I now find it easier to get one side reasonably flat by hand and then go to the planer rather than using the sled. As long as it's reasonably flat the planer does it's job and I'll run the board through to get the opposite side flat and then flip it over and run the hand flattened side through as well.


----------



## Dorty (Sep 7, 2011)

Here is one I built. It is a lot like FWW, but i used bolts and steel shims instead of the wedges. Works great but it does snipe pretty bad on the ends.


----------



## Richforever (Mar 19, 2008)

I made this one from FineWoodWorking, and it works fine. Lifting the ends before it enters the planer and just before it exits prevents snipe.

"http://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop/video/a-planer-sled-for-milling-lumber.aspx"


----------

