Quick question

[Ken Hill]

I have some scraps that I would like to glue up for some game calls. Do I need to plane the edges before glue up or is a clean bandsaw cut good enough?

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Quick answer, I'd plane or sand them. IMO, there is no glue ready bandsaw cut, you'll see the glue line. 5 minutes of work will save you a lot of frustration.

[Richard Madison]

+1 what Kyle said. Surfaces must be smooth and flat (or perfectly matching).

[Ken Hill]

Good enough....nice excuse to go buy a planer LOL

[Richard Madison]

Or a jointer.

[Larry Marley]

depending of the size of the "scraps" for a game call, a disk sander may be the ticket. clamping the scraps to a sled and kissing them through the table saw is valid as well.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Good enough....nice excuse to go buy a planer LOL

Oops, sorry I sucked you further into the vortex! :D I didn't intend for you to go buy a planer.

[Bill Bolen]

Don't forget the good old hand plane. We turners ALWAYS think "more power" but just not needed with this small stuff...Bill..

[Prashun Patel]

A power planer won't help as much as a power jointer.

A hand plane is good too. Gang them in a vise face-to-face and plane all the edges at once.

[Ken Hill]

Jointer is what I meant. I was looking at the combo units, not sure on what to get yet

[Cathy Schaewe]

If you reach any conclusions on the jointer, please post them. I've been looking too -

[Prashun Patel]

I think a great 'first' jointer is the RIDGID 6". It routinely goes on sale for like $200-$300.

Just a great deal for a decent product.

[Aaron Wingert]

I make A LOT of duck and turkey calls, and I can tell you that a jointed edge is very, very important on your glue-ups. Remember, your calls will be used in harsh environments and will not be babied like a delicate turned vessel on a shelf would be. They'll be bumped, bashed, dunked, left on the dashboard, sat on, etc... Those glue lines have got to be perfect. Furthermore, you're talking about glue-ups that are often turned to rather thin dimensions (on a duck call barrel for instance). You don't want your glue joint to be the weak spot.

How big are these scraps? If they're too short, a jointer might not be the ticket. In my opinion a planer certainly isn't the best option compared to a jointer. Sometimes a benchtop sander will do pretty well.

[Bill Bulloch]

I'd buy the jointer/planner. About 35 years ago I built a butcher block kitchen table (40" x 65)" with a hand planner. It took about 100 hours of labor to get all the joints to an acceptable level. Ten years ago I built another one using a jointer and planner -- less than two hours on the top and much, much better joints.

But for such a small job the disc sander will be a better approach.

Have fun.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I think a great 'first' jointer is the RIDGID 6". It routinely goes on sale for like $200-$300.

Just a great deal for a decent product.


+1 on that jointer...... I think it's a really great deal.

[Ken Hill]

I cut a few with my radial arm saw and glued them up...finish on cut ends was sufficient I believe. These , for now, will be butt joints, end grain to end grain. I will eventually do more stuff but one step at a time.


Aaron Wingert-no worries, i've broken $100 calls and $10 cheapo's. Cant fix stupid LOL

[Reed Gray]

If you have your bandsaw tuned up perfectly, and have a sharp carbide tipped blade, you can get cuts that are pretty close to glue up ready. A disc sander for fine tuning the angles, and a drum sander for even thickness will give the best glue surfaces. Jointers and planers can leave micro scallops in the surface, which are okay, but not good.

robo hippy

[Ken Hill]

Ended up buying a Porter Cable 6 inch joiner. I have a broken rib so the wife had to carry it in and set it up:eek: She did fine and it cuts like a champ.

First glue up is in the clamps, should have an end product by the end of the week