Jointer Technique

[Christopher Reyes]

Hello Everyone,

I am brand new to SMC, and pretty new to wood working in general. I love this site and all the helpful advice on here, hopefully you guys can set a newbie straight on something.

I am currently trying to mill some rough lumber for a new work bench, but I never seem to get a perfectly flat board...it is always just slightly bent end for end. I am following the guidance that I have read on FWW's site... FEE (i.e. joint and then plane the faces, joint the edge, and then cut the end). I am thinking that perhaps their is something wrong with my jointer technique: Once i feed the board past the cutter-head where should I be placing my weight, on the infeed or outfeed side? Also, I keep hearing people talking about "internal stresses" in the wood...not sure how to correct for that, but maybe that is a factor. I also suspect that perhaps my jointer is not long enough, I am using the Delta X5 series 6" jointer on boards about 60" long.

Unfortunately there seem to be a lot of factors at play in milling up a perfectly squared board, so I don't know where to start.

Thanks.

~Chris

[frank shic]

you should be putting pressure on the outfeed once it's far enough beyond the jointer but i agree it's tricky unless you have a powerfeeder. i try to avoid jointing long boards as much as possible. you brought up a good point though: milling a square piece of wood is not as easy as it seems!

[Roy Harding]

Pressure (LIGHT pressure) on the outfeed table. You're not trying to mash the wood into the table, just keep it from "chattering".

Try taking smaller slices at first, until you get the hang of it.

Shorter boards are easier to joint, not to mention that you'll loose less thickness when jointing shorter boards. Remember that if you're using a thickness planer after jointing, you don't need to completely remove all defects from the face of the board you are jointing. You just need a flat surface all around the outside of the board - this will allow the board to feed through the planer flat.

I spent time getting it down right - and I still have minor screw ups when using someone else's jointer.

Practice with cheap wood is all I can suggest.

[glenn bradley]

Agree with others; pressure on the infeed is for stock control. Pressure on the outfeed just past the cutterhead as soon as you have enough out there to safely press on.. The freshly jointed surface pressed to the outfeed becomes your reference surface. I visualize it as if I am sort of 'dragging" the un-jointed material across the cutterhead. Do not move on to other steps until you have a well jointed face; that is a waste of time and material.

[Jim Stewart]

Hi Chris, Maybe someone nearby will volunteer to joint your stock for you. Not sure how long the tables are on your jointer but likely they are short. Not good for long stock if that is the case.That given it may not be practical for you to work that long of stock. You have to realize that 60" stock is hard to work even on a longer bed jointer. There was a Fine Woodworking article on making a flat bed to joint wood in a thickness planer. You don't mention a thickness planer so I am just assuming that you have one. This method may be your best shot but you would need in-feed and out-feed rollers. The method basically glues together pieces of plywood and MDF for assuring a straight surface. You then apply wooden wedges where needed to get the board so it cannot rock or wobble at all!

Here are some other possibilities. 1.How straight is your stock to begin with? Your can use a string or chalk line to assess this. I would try to get it close by trimming with a bandsaw. Do you have a outfeed roller to assist you? If you do use it at the same height as the jointer out table. It sounds like your technique is OK. 2. Do you have a straight-edge that long? You could fine tune with a hand plane if you have a straight edge or just by fitting the boards and adjusting with the plane. If you do this caution: things should be close to plum to begin with because a hand-plane can get things out of square quickly. Use an accurate square to check for square as you plane for straightness. Dry fitting the boards often. Take your time.
You did not mention what the dimension of your boards is. I assume for a workbench that this is large stuff making jointing on a short-bed more difficult. Good luck with this and be careful. Large stock can increase danger because it often has such a mechanical advantage. I still like getting someone nearby to help.
Jim

[Damon Stathatos]

If your board is bowed, with the concave side down, AND longer than the infeed table, that presents problems because the board is raising as you move the overhanging end along and onto the table. Try taking a few passes and then switch orientation, feeding the heretofore trailing end in first. The first few passes you take, your leading end is more level to the cutting head than the trailing end is going to be, Then the trailing end travels onto the table, raises the board slightly, and then travels across the cutter head at a more acute approach than your leading end did. If you keep switching orientations every few passes, you begin to 'creep' up into the middle. Eventually, you'll hear the knives engaged into the wood for a complete pass, and then you're home-free.

[Don Jarvie]

All you want to do is get the board flat on one side. You only need
to take enough off to do that. You still may have parts of the
board that are rough and that's fine, the plane will take care of that.

If you try to joint the whole face smooth you take the chance of planing too
much or making one side thinner than the other.

[Matt Schroeder]

Chris,

Might you have an issue with the machine? Marc Spagnuolo at the Wood Whisperer has a couple videos that might help, one from May 2010 titled Jointer Setup, and another from December 2006 called The Jointer's Jumpin' that might give you some hints both on set-up and technique. Maybe something there will trigger an "Ah-ha" moment for you. Google his site if you haven't found it already; I really like it.

Matt

[Christopher Reyes]

Thanks for all the helpful input. It is highly likely that the jointer is just not fit to handle that long of stock, the length of the combined jointer beds is only 48", which makes that 50" board a little unwieldy. Also, I have been trying to joint one side completely smooth before moving on to the planer, which seems a little unnecessary after having read your comments.

any tips on assessing the straightness of the boards? I have pretty much just been eyeballing it, to see how straight the planed faces are. Is it just as simple as taking a large straight edge and flushing it up to the side ?

~Chris

[Sam Murdoch]

If your board is bowed, with the concave side down, AND longer than the infeed table, that presents problems because the board is raising as you move the overhanging end along and onto the table. Try taking a few passes and then switch orientation, feeding the heretofore trailing end in first. The first few passes you take, your leading end is more level to the cutting head than the trailing end is going to be, Then the trailing end travels onto the table, raises the board slightly, and then travels across the cutter head at a more acute approach than your leading end did. If you keep switching orientations every few passes, you begin to 'creep' up into the middle. Eventually, you'll hear the knives engaged into the wood for a complete pass, and then you're home-free.

What Damon describes is important info. Always study your board before sending it into the jointer knives whether jointing the edge or the face. My technique is NO PRESSURE. Let the knives do the work and you just hold the board and keep it moving.

I typically prefer to start my concave edge/face down first following Damon's technique. Sometimes I will go with the banana curved up (exaggerated for the discussion) but then you need to be aware of the potential to rock the board and get even more curve in it.

With many boards you will find that the grain gets torn out as you pass the board through. In that case it is essential to end for end the board for all subsequent passes of that edge or face. If you choose to then joint the opposite edge/face of that particular board you need to end for end it again for those passes. If you study your lumber as you joint a few boards you will learn to read the grain direction and know how to avoid tear out before you joint or plane the board (most of the time :)).

Otherwise, as suggested above by others - the light pressure should be maintained on the outfeed end of the board once you have achieved near straight as described by Damon.

[frank shic]

christopher, please be careful while face jointing as well. i hope you're using push blocks of some sort rather than just feeding it with your bare hands. a lot of people have gotten injured with the jointer!

[Don Jarvie]

To see of its flat you can lay it on your bench and check for wobble or when it runs flat along the outfeed side of the jointer. It will take some practice to get it right.

[Myk Rian]

Will 60" be the final length you will be using? It helps to cut the board down in size.

Are you "Reading" the lumber.
Sight down the length to see where it is cupped and/or twisted. A cup, (or bow) end to end needs to be jointed with the hump/convex in the middle up, as previously mentioned.
Start with one end and remove some to get it started being flat, turn it around and remove some from the other. Then do normal passes with pressure on the outfeed end. Keep it flat to the table.
If you need to support the infeed end, use a roller stand.
Direction of feed is determined by the grain. You don't want to cut into grain facing the knives. It'll tear out on you.

[Van Huskey]

Matt is talking about "thewoodwhisperer" Marc. I suggest you look at his or other videos, jointing is something that can be explained all day BUT seeing it done and explained is so much easier to understand!