# Making Rough Lumber straight without a Jointer



## SkiTique (Jan 11, 2016)

I am making another countertop out of hickory planks. I am using rough sawn lumber, I have a surface planer and have already ran the boards through it. My current issue is that I do not own a jointer or edge planer. I have heard of people making a guide or sled for a table saw, have any of you tried this? What about a straight edge clamp and a circular saw? Can I stand the boards on edge and run they through my surface planer?

I would be interested to hear how others have trued the edges without a jointer.

FYI: Using 8/4 hickory, width varies from 6.5-8", 9-11ft in length, finished product will be 8'x4'.

Thanks


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

1. Straight edge guide + #7 or 8 jointer plane.

2. Router with pattern bit with straight edge.


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## ChrisK (Dec 18, 2009)

The sled and table saw work. You need to make sure that everything is square and plumb. The router and straight edge work as well. Do one side with router then rip to size to square the opposite side. Use a good rip blade and you should be good to go.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

It's hard to ensure an edge that's 90° to the board face by standing the boards on edge and running them through a planer unless one edge is already squared for the palner to reference to.

Without a jointer, one effective workaround is to use a planer sled to imitate a reference face, so the planer will actually flatten the opposite fence (as opposed to just smoothing and transferring any deviations along the face) ....then you can use that flat face as a reference point to give a true 90° edge that's uniform along the entire length of the board….whether by a circ saw and straight edge, TS sled, or router. Without a true flat reference face, the supposed 90° will have random deviations from 90° that could effect how tight the joint is.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

I use a hand plane. Others have other solutions, but not having used them, I can't comment on effectiveness.

Once you have one edge straight and square, there's no issue running 8/4 through your planer on edge.


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## Waldo88 (Nov 7, 2014)

For thinner stock, a straight bit in a router table can be used as a jointer. Set the infeed fence to take a very shallow cut and outfeed fence exactly at the blade.

Probably wouldn't work for 8/4 stock though unless you have a very long straight bit.


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## bonesbr549 (Jan 1, 2010)

> 1. Straight edge guide + #7 or 8 jointer plane.
> 
> 2. Router with pattern bit with straight edge.
> 
> - rwe2156


I spent many a year with a scrub plane, and then #7 jointer plane. I also use a set of winding sticks.

I can highly reccomend Rob Cosmons rough to ready DVD he gives you great tips and It served me well. At least till i got my 12" jointer and now use power tools.


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## distrbd (Sep 14, 2011)

Make your router think it's a jointer


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Hire a cabinet shop to mill them S2S. Then you can plane them perfectly to dimension. There's no shame in getting a little help. Next week I'm taking a bunch of panels to a shop that has a ridiculous 50" combination planer / drum sander. An hour of their time usually runs about $50.

I don't like the planer sled idea myself. Too many chances for the board to shift slightly and be milled unevenly.

The straight line rip jig on the TS works great, but again I only use it with lumber that has been face jointed.

In general, yes you can edge mill lumber with a planer. However if the reference surface isn't jointed, it really won't make it perfectly straight.

Honestly, hire this one out. If you find yourself needing a jointer from time to time, maybe you can buy one down the road.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I use a sled for my TS routinely to do this. But, as Willie pointed out, you do have to have a flat face to do it safely. You said you ran the boards through your surface planer. Did you flatten one face first? I use a sled for my planer to face joint boards. Running a twisted board through the planer just gives you a twisted board with uniform thickness.


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## SkiTique (Jan 11, 2016)

Thanks for the input guys, I do have a shop near by that would be able to do this for me. Looks like I will just need to pick up jointer in the near future.


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## BobAnderton (Oct 5, 2010)

This countertop project is an excellent excuse to pick up your first 6" jointer off craigslist for $200-$250. Once you have one you'll never be willing to not have one again.


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