Edge gluing without access to a jointer?

[jeff begin]

I have a few pieces of 1 3/4" S4S hard maple that I want to edge glue together. I know that I really ought to square up the edges with a jointer first, but I don't have access to one (yet). How crucial is this step, really?

The pieces line up well, but you can definitely tell they're not one, solid piece of wood. Should I just glue it up and then sand the heck out of it with my ROS? This wood wasn't cheap and I'd hate to regret the results.

[travis howe]

Table saw / jig w/ good blade?

[Jim Kountz]

Got a router table or a nice straight edge??

[Greg Cuetara]

Jeff,
What other tools do you have access to? If you have a really good TS blade you might be able to clean it up on there and then glue together....another option would be to use a trim router bit or set it up on a router table with a fence and a straight bit. Do you have a planer? How wide are the boards?

If you just edge glue it up you could have problems in the future or you could have a really ugly glue line. Do you know of any WW shops in your area? You might be able to pay someone a few bucks to straighten up the boards for you.

I am not the best at gluing up boards and I have a small jointer. I do the best i can but then I throw my glueups through the planer to flatten them out and make the glue line go away....it usually works for me.

Greg

[jeff begin]

I have a Ryobi benchtop saw that was given to me by my father. I think it cost $100 new, but I wouldn't buy it for $20. I absolutely hate it the thing, but don't yet have the electrical capacity or the budget to to get a real saw.

Tools that I have that might be helpful: Circular saw, hand scrapers, random orbit sander, and low-angle block plane (middle-of-the-road quality-wise, but needs to be sharpened), and a Hitachi KM12VC fixed/plunge router kit. About the only tool that I am well-equipped with are pipe clamps. So I'm good to go on the glue-ups! :D Not so much with the other steps.

The four pieces measure 1 3/4" x 18" x 4 3/4"

[Rich Souchek]

Jeff,
I cut 3/4" thick boards on the table saw witha Freud Glue line rip blade, adjust the boards a bit, and then glue them right up. The joint is good.
Rich S.

[jeff begin]

Jeff,
What other tools do you have access to? If you have a really good TS blade you might be able to clean it up on there and then glue together....another option would be to use a trim router bit or set it up on a router table with a fence and a straight bit. Do you have a planer? How wide are the boards?

If you just edge glue it up you could have problems in the future or you could have a really ugly glue line. Do you know of any WW shops in your area? You might be able to pay someone a few bucks to straighten up the boards for you.

I am not the best at gluing up boards and I have a small jointer. I do the best i can but then I throw my glueups through the planer to flatten them out and make the glue line go away....it usually works for me.

Greg

I don't know why I didn't think of this before. I do have a router and a flush trim bit with a 2" cutter. The only problem is that the guide bearing is on the top; I'll have to give some thought to how to setup a straight edge.

Thanks for the help!

[James Baker SD]

Jeff:

Before I had a joiner, I used a router and a 6' aluminum I-beam I picked up cheap at a scrap metal yard. Clamped the I-beam to my workpiece and held the router tightly against the I-beam and I got really good results. Still use that I-beam as a 6' straight edge and it does all right.

James

[Chip Lindley]

Jeff, you never said how long the pieces are you wish to edge glue. This can be done with a router and the *right* jig

The following is from FFW #91, Methods of Work :

[Don Bullock]

I used a table saw for many years with good success. It was a 1979 Craftsman. If I could get good glue joints with that saw and archaic fence just think how good they can be with a more modern one.;):D

[Larry Rasmussen]

Of course it'a a lot newer and I put it on a stand. But still I've gotten some nice glue ups over time out of it. I had used a Freud glue joint rip saw in the past but Freud has some newer blades and the price is right. I have a thin kerf rip in 10" they sell for about $40 and I've been cutting and gluing some 7' X 6-8" walnut about 2" thick to make a desk top. You can get really nice cuts on a lot of saws. If you could get some kind of zero clearance insert (make it perhaps) and a splitter that would help 100% keeping those cuts straight and clean. If you have full support on the output side that will help another 100% and you've got it. Maybe your boards are fine. Put em on your flat surface and push them together. If they are the same height all the way along the line and there are no gaps maybe you got lucky.

Regards,
Larry R,
Seattle

[Jules Dominguez]

It's possible to make good glue-ups with boards ripped on a tablesaw, and doing some straightening of the edges of the boards with handplanes when and as necessary.
It's not a piece of cake, but it's doable with good (and sharp) tools and patience.

[Steven J Corpstein]

I'd use a hand plane if you have one or have access to one. Stand both boards up together, back side to back side, then take a light cut. Any unintentional angle due to technique will be offset by the opposite edge.

[jeff begin]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I decided to bite the bullet. I've been thinking about picking up a router table for almost two months now, but have put it off because they just seemed so expensive for what they are (I was advised to build the cabinet, but buy the fence and tabletop). But this is the second project in a row in which I've knowingly half-assed something because I didn't own one. Shoddy results achieved after much frustration doesn't make for a very rewarding hobby.

Buy once, cry once... so I whipped out the plastic and wept considerably tonight. I decided to get one with a split fence so I can handle edge jointing.

[Jules Dominguez]

I've read many times of the technique of handplaninng the edges of two boards together so that if they're not perfectly square to the faces, the angles will add up to 180 degrees so that they can be joined together to form a flat surface.
There seems to me to be a problem with that idea. If two boards are edge-planed together, and the combined edges aren't perfectly straight, the error is doubled when you put the edges together for gluing. If that happens, you can re-plane until you get both edges straight, if you have the skill to do so. But is it easier to plane two combined edges perfectly straight than to plane each edge singly perfectly square?
By the way, Lee Valley has an edge plane that works very nicely for squaring edges.

[Greg Hines, MD]

Your router bit would do the job, if you have a straight edge clamp. I use a router table to joint with, but have used a clamping straight edge either above or below the workpiece, depending on where the bearing is.

Doc

[Christopher Foote]

I've read many times of the technique of handplaninng the edges of two boards together so that if they're not perfectly square to the faces, the angles will add up to 180 degrees so that they can be joined together to form a flat surface.
There seems to me to be a problem with that idea. If two boards are edge-planed together, and the combined edges aren't perfectly straight, the error is doubled when you put the edges together for gluing. If that happens, you can re-plane until you get both edges straight, if you have the skill to do so. But is it easier to plane two combined edges perfectly straight than to plane each edge singly perfectly square?
By the way, Lee Valley has an edge plane that works very nicely for squaring edges.

The error is double when the boards are in one orientation, however in the other orientation (flip one board vertically) the error cancels itself out. It is not that hard to get it very close to true 90 with a square, pencil, and sharp bench plane. It is though a bit fiddly. Also, it is easier to plane just one board as opposed to two. One has less control with the plane in thicker stock as you're taking wider shavings. By doing both boards together, you only have to be fiddly once. If I have a lot of time, I plane them one at a time.

[Larry Edgerton]

I've read many times of the technique of handplaninng the edges of two boards together so that if they're not perfectly square to the faces, the angles will add up to 180 degrees so that they can be joined together to form a flat surface.
There seems to me to be a problem with that idea. If two boards are edge-planed together, and the combined edges aren't perfectly straight, the error is doubled when you put the edges together for gluing. If that happens, you can re-plane until you get both edges straight, if you have the skill to do so. But is it easier to plane two combined edges perfectly straight than to plane each edge singly perfectly square?
By the way, Lee Valley has an edge plane that works very nicely for squaring edges.

This is exactly the technic I was going to suggest, and can be accomplished with a $20 yard sale plane and a little time sharpening. Make a shooting board if you wish. A slight curve will be pulled out with the clamps and not be a problem. With a sharp plane and a little practice you will get a glue joint better than the best jointer can give you. I still do it this way sometimes just to feel what my ancestors felt as they worked.

[Howard Miller]

Chip,
Nice technique. Due to the possible waviness you mention, do you think this would work for door panels?

[Brian Backner]

I'll second and third the use of a router with a piloted spiral bit. I managed to find a 3" x 1.25" diameter one years ago. Anyway, I had some really long boards to joint - 20' 6/4 white oak - so using even the largest jointer ever made was not an option. I went out and bought a 24' piece of 1/2" x 6" 6061T aluminum bar stock. Yes it is heavy (about 120#) but it is true and stable. Clamped it to those big boards and was able to get beautiful glue lines. One thing I found, though, is that even at 6" wide, aluminum will flex enough to give a concave shape to the final cut, so the use of intermediate clamps every 3-4' is advisable.

Brian

[John Schreiber]

I have a good hand plane and using the technique above planing both sides at the same time has worked well for me.

Another approach which works well and is very low budget is to put the two boards together the way you want to connect them and mark and remove any bumps until there are no gaps greater than the width of your circular saw blade. Then run your circular saw right down the middle of the two pieces using a good blade. It may not be perfectly straight like a jointer, but the errors on each side will match perfectly and you can glue them together with no gap.

If there is a gap after the first run, you can just repeat the process.

[Randy Klein]

I'd use a hand plane if you have one or have access to one. Stand both boards up together, back side to back side, then take a light cut. Any unintentional angle due to technique will be offset by the opposite edge.


This is the way to do it. Don't get trapped with an overly complicated jigged up power tool method.

[Jules Dominguez]

I agree that the two-board planing technique will take care of the problem of the edges not being planed 90 degrees to the faces. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
The problem I refer to occurs if the edges of the two boards planed together aren't planed straight along their length. Any gap caused by the out-of-straightness would be doubled when the two edges are placed together for gluing. That condition can't be corrected by flipping the boards.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon9.gif

[Josiah Bartlett]

I agree that the two-board planing technique will take care of the problem of the edges not being planed 90 degrees to the faces. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
The problem I refer to occurs if the edges of the two boards planed together aren't planed straight along their length. Any gap caused by the out-of-straightness would be doubled when the two edges are placed together for gluing. That condition can't be corrected by flipping the boards.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon9.gif

The proper technique is to face joint the boards separately with the longest jointer plane you have (to get them straight), then clamp them together and take a single light full pass. You still double the error, but since you are taking a very light pass to eliminate the face squareness issue it shouldn't be that big of a deal if you use enough clamping pressure.

The place where you are most likely to have problems with this technique is at the ends where you may not have gotten the plane started on the board, but I always joint before I final trim to length and any mistake goes away in the offcut.

[Nissim Avrahami]

If you have a long straight edge, you can do it with hand held router...

As a straight edge, try to look around the building materials/tools or the wall-to-wall carpets, they have very long (100~150") straight edges with or without level...I found them very accurate and use one of them as a straight edge for panel glue-up....oh, yes, they are much cheaper that the brand names (100"...$20).

On the pictures below, you will see some kind of locators that are making the straight edge locating and clamping a "piece of cake" and let me to set the straight edge in seconds to the depth that I want (or, the thickness of material that I want to remove)

Regards
niki
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[Chip Lindley]

Howard, if the pieces mate exactly, any waviness would be virtually invisible! With no other means to joint boards for glue-ups, GO FOR IT! I feel the router method, jointing 2 boards at a time would give good results. Everything LINES up, even if you had a bobble or 3!