# Hot-Glue Jointer



## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

So I was reading PWW this morning and came across this user tip and wanted to throw it out to the LJ community and see what people thought. And who knows maybe Randy Wolfe from Owensboro, KY is on here and can shed some light.

"I found a way to surface a bowed board on a thickness planer and get it flat without first havign to work one side on a jointer. Simply put hot-melt glue in the center of the concave side a little thicker than the depth of the bow. While it is still hot, cover it with waxed paper and press it flat across the width of the board and let it cool.

Leave the waxed paper in place and repeat this every 4" to 5" down the length of the board.

Plane the board with the concave side down to flatten the convex side. The hot-melt glue is rigid enough to keep the planer from pressing the concave side of the board flat as the machine does its job, while the top of the board is flat as it exits the rollers.

With the convex side sufficiently flat, I pop the hot-melt glue out and plane the concave side, leaving flat parallel sides of the desired thickness."

Isn't hot melt glue like a glue gun? My glue guns never seem to squeeze that much glue out at once and I feel like if a board is bad enough to need this its going to need a boat load of glue that will cool and harden before you can get enough on there to be able to stick the wax paper down. Has anyone ever done this or do you think it'd work?


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## vikingcape (Jan 3, 2013)

Interesting Ben, I could maybe see that working. If you take a bunch of hot glue sticks and melt them in a double boiler and then dumping that in the void. I guess it would depend on the size of void. I am really not sure of any other way. I wonder if it would keep the rigidity going through the planer however.

Let me know how it works…...


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## Picklehead (Feb 12, 2013)

Seems like you might be able to make individual "support pillars" of glue, which you could do one at a time, using a flat taped/waxed caul to level. You might only need one or two at each section, kind of like bridge pillars. (I love how each of my sentences has the word "might" in it, right up there with my favorite red flag word: "somehow"!)


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## Carbide (Sep 14, 2011)

Well, I feel that if you are going to spend that much money on glue sticks, then take that much money and buy a better board. I have run into the same problem in the past and it would take a butt load of glue to fix the warped boards I have just cut up and thrown in the burn pile.


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## joeyinsouthaustin (Sep 22, 2012)

Sounds kinda like walking ten miles not to hafta get your feet wet crossing the stream? But I suppose it would work. On my planer if you take real light passes, you can get the board flat w/o all that glue, just running it in the same order. (light cupping, not like a big mess sorta thing.)


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## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

I'd have to have a need and the time to take unbox my brand new year old planer to test this out, but I still think I'd put more faith in a planer sled such as this one.


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## Thalweg (Jan 27, 2009)

Well, I just gave this a shot tonight. I had a cherry board that was twisted and warped. I hot glued thin pieces of wood to the worst areas and used some glue globs in areas that weren't too bad. All in all, it took about 10 minutes to get the board to sit solid on the table. I then ran it through the planer, and finished up on the drum sander to get one flat side. Then I popped the glue off with a chisel and ran the second side. Worked perfectly. My six-inch jointer was too small for this board, plus, I tend to mess things up on the jointer, so I'm going to use this technique again.


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## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

thanks for the feedback thalweg. i guess it makes a lot more sense if you use something solid and substantial to fill really large gaps. You could possibly also glue shims on it similar to the jig in the video/link I posted. How do you think it'd come out if you didn't have the drum sander to finish the one side? My guess would be most people who don't have a jointer large enough to do a wide board and have to use this method (ie myself) would also not have a drum sander


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

I've heard of using plaster of Paris to fill the concaved side, leveling it and when hardened firm placing that side down on the planer bed, then plane the convex side flat, then turning it over, removing the filler and planning the last side This was for using a planner when the jointer was not wide enough.


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## Thalweg (Jan 27, 2009)

I finished with the drum sander because I was getting too much snipe on the ends. I had the drum sander, so I used it. I don't think it was necessary. I've occasionally used the drum sander in place of the planer, but it's awfully slow. The jig in the video is slick. I'd seen that before, but forgot about it. Gluing the shims like I did accomplishes nearly the same thing, but the jig would be much more stable. However, it'd take me a day to build the jig. I've got higher priorities right now. Maybe someday.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

I find it easy to simply glue two runners, , say 1" X 1" , one on each side of the cupped board, a bit thicker than the cupped stock. Be sure when you clamp it up, the two runners are absolutely parallel and on a flat surface. Wait 'til dry, unclamp it, then pass the assembly thru the planer.

Make the runners extend by 4 inches or so at either end, and you cure your snipe problem too, without sacrificing any stock.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

If you want to be a woodworker just get a jointer. Your time will be much better spent than melting glue, making plaster and all that other stuff.


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## Thalweg (Jan 27, 2009)

"If you want to be a woodworker just get a jointer. Your time will be much better spent than melting glue, making plaster and all that other stuff."

Wow! Possession of one tool or another does not define a woodworker. Many folks on here do outstanding work using only hand planes. I guess they aren't woodworkers.


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## marcuscraft (Nov 14, 2012)

I actually do something similar to this pretty often. When I have larger live edge boards that I dont want to cut down to the size of jointer (8"), I'll hot glue shims to the board where I need to get it it to go through the planer without rocking. I've used double sided tape in a similar fashion, but the hot glue is way cleaner/easier.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Thalweg

The OP mentioned both jointer and thickness planer. He said nothing about hand tool. My comment meant you'd be more productive using the the right tool for the job.

Go back the the 3rd grade and take reading comprehension again.


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