Edge Jointing advice

[Jim Foster]

First try at Edge Jointing;

I need to edge joint a 9' 1"x12" board to rip it in half. I was a little weary of using my power jointer for such a long board, (don't have a band-saw yet) so I decided to clamp it to my bench and hand plane the edge. I started with my #8, and due to the slight hump in the middle of the board, worked the middle to about 6 feet in total so far. Seems like it's easier than I though to get a straight line, but I'm having a hard time getting the edge 90deg to the side. Any advice?


Also, this was a lot more relaxing than doing precarious activities on power tools, and it's almost as fast, even as a first timer. Can't imagine giving up my power planer, jointer and tablesaw, but I can imagine doing a LOT more by hand.

[Don Dorn]

I'm primarily a hand tool person, but I'm not such a purist that I won't use the right tool for the job. In this case, the tablesaw can be a savior. I would simply put the best edge to the fence (as long as it's length can be kept against it) and take enough off the other side that you would get the least amount over the length. When you turn it around and now use that edge against the fence, and set it to your width, you will get parallel sides.

That said - there is no doubt when it's done, I would run a fine set plane over to make that edge glass smooth, but do it too much and you can take it back out of parallel or cant it, considering it's 9' long. Anyway - one persons opinion.

[Andrae Covington]

First try at Edge Jointing;

I need to edge joint a 9' 1"x12" board to rip it in half. I was a little weary of using my power jointer for such a long board, (don't have a band-saw yet) so I decided to clamp it to my bench and hand plane the edge. I started with my #8, and due to the slight hump in the middle of the board, worked the middle to about 6 feet in total so far. Seems like it's easier than I though to get a straight line, but I'm having a hard time getting the edge 90deg to the side. Any advice?


Also, this was a lot more relaxing than doing precarious activities on power tools, and it's almost as fast, even as a first timer. Can't imagine giving up my power planer, jointer and tablesaw, but I can imagine doing a LOT more by hand.

One of the things I sometimes do when I'm having trouble getting an edge to be 90° to the face is to go along with a square and a pencil, making lines across the edge only where the blade of the square touches. It is a fastidious approach I use as a last resort, but it helps me visualize which parts are high so I can take the right path with the plane... which might be from one corner to the opposite corner, or shifted to one side, or even a gentle zig-zag.

If you are using a cambered iron, you can shift the plane so that the middle of the camber is in position to remove wood where the most needs to be removed. If you are using a straight iron, you can basically do the same thing by shifting the plane over to the high edge and perhaps tilting it slightly, but what you end up creating is sort of a segmented surface, which later you'll probably want to flatten out with full-width, centered passes.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Jim

Getting a square edge takes practice. After a while one just orientates the plane naturally for square.

Thin and/or long boards are more difficult - maintaining attention and balance seems to be the culprits.

Still, there are some days when my compass is out and I need a little help. For short, thin boards a shooting board is helpful. Even long boards - one just makes a long shooting board.

For boards that are clamped in a vise, you can turn to a added fence on the jointer. Below is a wooden version I made for a large jointer, but you can purchase a metal version from Lee Valley (that attaches with rare earth magnets) ....

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Big%20jointer/Finished9.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Big%20jointer/Finished10.jpg

The other plane that I find useful in this situation is a edge plane, either by LN or Veritas (LV) ...

05p0301s11a.jpg (http://www.leevalley.com/US/images/item/woodworking/planes/05p0301s11a.jpg)

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=54862&cat=1,41182,48945,54862


(http://www.leevalley.com/US/images/item/woodworking/planes/05p0301s11a.jpg)Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

On an edge where perfectly 90 is required, if it's long enough or causing enough hassle, I wouldn't disregard using one of those fences that mounts to your jointer plane.

Check to that your blade is square - if you're cutting a little heavier one side than the other, a few passes later, and you've made the edge un-square. Of course, an un-even cut might be just what you need to square things up.

Be aware of what's happening, too - if you realize you're consistently making boards out of square the same way, stop and analyze how you're using or holding the tool - perhaps you need to change how you clamp the work, or approach the board, your stance or your grip.

With edge jointing, a lot of folks prefer to use an alternate grip, rather than holding the front knob over the top of the plane, grip the edge of the plane with your thumb and let your fingers trail along the workpiece below to help guide. This can help you keep the plane square, and if you're using a blade with a little camber or a little more projection on one side, or just shifting the plane to ride more on side than the other, to help square an edge up, it can help you ensure you keep the plane riding in the same place you want.

[Greg Wease]

With edge jointing, a lot of folks prefer to use an alternate grip, rather than holding the front knob over the top of the plane, grip the edge of the plane with your thumb and let your fingers trail along the workpiece below to help guide.

To add to Joshua's suggestion, if I am jointing on an angle I place my thumb on the side of the bed needing a deeper cut. For example, if the edge is sloping toward me I place my thumb on the far side to add a little more pressure there. My first woodworking instructor suggested setting a mirror at the end of the board you are jointing so you can see if you are planing on an angle. Experiment with some of the above suggestions and see what works for you.

[Russell Sansom]

I think it's an excellent practice to use a shooting board. Two cutoffs of 1/2 or 3/4 plywood will make an excellent temporary one. Mdf In a pinch. Just clamp the three boards together. Target on top held up by middle board. Shelf made by the bottom. The #8 is an ideal tool If you're rejoining the two boards, flip the 2nd one so the narrow jointed face is the complement of the first. Even though 2 sheets of ply should give you an angle that is VERY close to 90 deg. The edge joint will be invisible. Joint each face ever so slightly hollow and clamp in the middle. standard operating practice in my shop. This gives far better and consistent results than free hand.

[Jim Foster]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Derek, your wooden jointer looks really nice for managing long boards. Once I get finished with the trim work I am doing, I have a few simple furniture projects that will allow me to focus on hand work and hand joinery.

[David Keller NC]

First try at Edge Jointing;

I need to edge joint a 9' 1"x12" board to rip it in half.

Just a note here, but if you're going to rip the board in half lengthwise on a table saw, there's no need in getting the edge perfectly 90 degrees to the face - you just need it to be straight along the length of the board.

It's a bit of a head-check, but many of the things that we learned to do on power tools don't have a purpose or are a waste of time when approaching things by the hand-tool method. For example, there's absolutely no point in 4-squaring stock that's going to be used as the backboards for a case piece. It took some getting used to, but I don't even bother face-planing one face, let alone 2 - all that is necessary is edge-jointing pairs of boards that will butt up against each other.

[Jim Koepke]

Jim,

Take it from another Jim that this is a common occurrence. As Derek said, it still happens to us who have been doing this for years.

Here is a post I made awhile ago about using hand planes:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148076

My last part of my last post to the thread shows one way to correct an out of square edge. My problem is usually tilting the plane a little away from me. This causes an almost perfectly beveled edge. That is easy to correct. Before that, I had a tendency to rock the plane on long boards when taking a step. That was solved by paying attention to my plane and not thinking about taking the step. Just make sure the walkway/work area is clear. :( DAMHIKT

If your problem is an almost perfect bevel that is off 90º about the same for the full length of the board it is fairly simple to correct.

Let us tackle for the future first. If you find this to be your results on your next few edge joining ventures then you need to adjust your "sense of square" when you are planing. In other words, your plane is in what you feel is square, but the result is off square. Adjust your "feel of square" to plane just a touch off of square. Eventually, you will be in the second nature zone of making an edge square and have a great feeling when you look at the end and run a square down the edge of a piece. For me, the feeling is there just about every time a square is "trying the edge" and it is good.

For the immediate situation if it is a out of square the same way all the way down the piece, then the advice of using the fingers on your front hand like a planing gauge will be helpful. Make sure there are no splinters that will catch you. Also check that you have clearance for fingers under the plane from hitting vise chops or other hardware on the bench.

This is were being able to judge how out of square your work is and also determine the thickness of your shavings. If you are making shavings of about 0.002" and you are out of square by about 0.006" you want to hold your plane so the sole is resting on the high side and is tilted to be off of the low side by about 0.004 - 0.006" and make your first thin shaving for the whole length. Watch the shaving to maintain the same width for the full length of the work piece. For the next pass, register the planes toe on the narrow flat from the first pass. The next shaving will be a bit wider. Repeat this until you have a full width shaving. This should put the edge in square.

Even though there are numbers included above, it is not necessary to have the tools to measure those small amounts. Observe the shaving and then how out of square the piece happens to be. Then let your mind decide how to hold the plane to get to square.

Look at the link I provided as it has a few pictures that may make this a bit easier to understand.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

Forgive my ignorance, why rip something this long?

I break my stock down into the smallest length component before any other dimension is reached.

What is this for?

[Jim Foster]

Forgive my ignorance, why rip something this long?

I break my stock down into the smallest length component before any other dimension is reached.

What is this for?

I bought some rough Q-Sawn White Oak a while back and I'm trimming out my foyer. I need some boards 9' long.