Average cost for jointing of boards?

[Leonard Ellis]

Well friends I finally got my jointer and have already had a request to joint some lumber. I have never paid someone and never charged for jointing lumber. It is large ceder timber 8 ft. x 12 inches and 3 inches thick. Its fresh cut. Any help would be great. I am faily new to woodworking, only 4 or 5 years but I am now retired and working more than ever.

[Brian Kent]

How about a buck per linear foot?

[pat warner]

Nothing for this run!
A board that big will be nothing but trouble except for the likes of Charles Atlas.
I'd say I'll do my best but few have the strength to joint boards that big.
That is, joint them so they're flat and square.
Mediocrity? No problem.

[Larry Frank]

I agree with Pat. That is a large and heavy board and the chance to have a problem is huge. If you have a very large jointer but given it is fresh cut, I would not guarantee anything.

[Leonard Ellis]

Well this guy just wants the 3 inch sides jointed, he is going to take them to another shop to run them through a large drum sander to smooth and flatten the table top after it is glued up. It is for rustic furniture so he is not paticular about the rest.

[Keith Bohn]

I would suggest finding a shop with a straight line rip saw.

Just trying to handle boards that long and heavy over a jointer will be near(ish) impossible.

[Leonard Ellis]

He only want the 3 inch edges jointed as he is going to glue them up for a table top, then take them to another shop to go through a large drum sander to flatten the top.

[Leonard Ellis]

thanks I'll try one an see what it comes out like. Just doing one edge might not be so bad but I agree a straigh line rip would be best. I am getting ready to do my own 2 inch mesquite stock but it it 5 ft. or less in legnth and less than 7 inch widths.

[Keith Bohn]

he is going to glue them up for a table top

As an aside, you mentioned they're fresh cut.

Have they been dried?

If no, there's a lot that needs to happen before he has them machined, much less glued.

[Jim Neeley]

How stout is your jointer? That's a lot of weight.

[johnny means]

$60 an hour in 15 minute increments.Start counting at his truck, finish at his truck.

[Chris Fournier]

It really isn't that large a piece of lumber. I've not got the world on my shoulders but I wouldn't give a moments thought to machining that lumber. Johnny's scheme is fair.

[Roy Harding]

I work with cedar every day - the "fresh cut" part raised my eyebrows. This lumber needs to reach EMC before it is machined in any way. If he's going to use it for a table top, then he should have it straight line ripped overly thick, and then let it dry.

I purchase my cedar in 10 foot lengths, usually 8/4 and about 10 inches wide - and I wouldn't want to try jointing any of them. I usually cut to rough length and thickness, and then start machining (after it's reached EMC, of course).

All that said - if you're going to go ahead with this, I'm with Johnny Means - a buck a minute, in fifteen minute increments. That's EXACTLY how I figure my shop time (to the penny, actually).

[Richard McComas]

I agree, if its green lumber that's to be use for furniture it needs to be seasoned first. If you're going to charge for jointing I'd charge what ever you get for shop time.
Doing this successfully depends a lot on what size jointer you have.

That being said I think it's doable if you really want to. I once ripped a 3'' x 43'' x 7' hard maple bench top into 3 pieces, milled them and put them back together. Each piece weighed 70 lbs and I did it by myself. It was heavy work but it came out perfectly flat. My jointer is 16" wide with enough length to support the 7' length.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o159/rmccomas0043/FaceJointingonAD741-1.jpg


http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o159/rmccomas0043/Edgejointinglargestock-1.jpg


http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o159/rmccomas0043/ThicknessinglargestockAD741-1.jpg


http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o159/rmccomas0043/felderflat.jpg

[Rick Fisher]

I would charge $20

To me its a job that takes a few minutes but without a jointer, its a really big job ..

Its going to put dust in my dust collector and dull my knives .. If the wood is actually wet, I would pass ..

I have done quite a few timbers on my jointer.. once they are on the jointer they are no big deal .. just push really hard..

[Matt Day]

$20... an edge maybe? How many boards are we talking?

I'm only 33 (so half your age?) and wrestling around a board that big would be tough, wet or dry.

After you tell us if it has been KD or not, could somebody give an accurate weight to one of these boards, because that sounds pretty massive to me.

[Mike Cutler]

$20... an edge maybe? How many boards are we talking?

I'm only 33 (so half your age?) and wrestling around a board that big would be tough, wet or dry.

After you tell us if it has been KD or not, could somebody give an accurate weight to one of these boards, because that sounds pretty massive to me.

Matt
Go pick up two 8', 2x12's, at the 'borg and that will give you a pretty good estimate of the weight. Maybe a little less, because of the oily nature of cedar.

Leonard
It's entirely doable. I've done boards heavier and longer than that on a 6" Jet, but it takes some setup, as in infeed and outfeed support if you're working alone. It's going to be a little work. As everyone else has stated, it seems wrong to joint a green board. It's going to move after it's jointed, and need to be jointed again. Maybe I just can't visualize the final assembly.
As for what to charge;
Johnny's answer seems fair to me unless this is a really good friend and has the skillset to help.

[J.R. Rutter]

I charge $60/hr for my shop time as well - S2S, S4S, widebelt sanding, etc.

[scott vroom]

I find it interesting that we're into the second page of the thread and still no idea what size jointer the OP has.

[Roy Harding]

... could somebody give an accurate weight to one of these boards, because that sounds pretty massive to me.

Well - dried Western Red Cedar is listed in The Wood Database (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/softwoods/western-red-cedar/) as 23lbs/cubic foot - (say around 2 lbs per board foot) - so the piece the OP mentioned (8' X 12" X 3") is 24 bdft - so around 48 lbs. But that's DRY. Red Cedar is MUCH heavier when "freshly cut".

[Keith Bohn]

still no idea what size jointer the OP has.

Or how wet the wood is.

[John McClanahan]

I say pass on it. If your jointer is new to you and you haven't clocked much time on it yet, equipment damage or some type of injury would be a big disappointment. Maybe next time.

John

[CPeter James]

So How big is the jointer? And jointing fresh cut boards is a waste of time as as been said by others. Do not overestimate the capability of your machine or your self. I have done 12' long 10 wide x 1" think oak boards that were dry on an 8" DJ20 and that was more of an undertaking than I want to repeat. This is a lose, lose project. Pass on it.

my .02 worth.

CPeter

[Rick Fisher]

Funny.. Asking what size jointer will start a " what can you do with a X" jointer " debate..

I have a 12" Griggio with a 54" infeed table.. That timber would be no big deal to face and edge joint.. The technique I would use is to remove the guard completely.. Slide the timber forward, turn the jointer off, raise the infeed, slide the timber back.. Repeat.. It would take 2 - 3 passes to face joint and 2 - 3 passes to edge joint. Not a terrible work out.. just sliding a timber back and forth on a slippery surface..

If the OP has a 6" jointer, I too would pass..

The assumption is that since its a " first jointer " its not a monster .. maybe it is ? Might be a Martin T-54.. In which case he wouldn't have started this thread, he would have jointed the timber for free, just to watch it happen.. :)

[Erik Christensen]

also keep in mind "fresh cut" implies to me a local smaller sawmill operator - even a portable mill - depending on where the tree came from there may be a significant risk of interior metal which will trash your new jointer blades - besides charging x$$ for the service I'd add the requirement that they pay 100% of the cost of repairing damage to tooling caused by embedded metal

[pat warner]

My question (after the heroics) would be: How to prove you now have a flat, square edged billet of that size?
Sure, easy enough to waste every vestige of the rough mill, but now do you have a useful glue-able stick, or does the glue up have to be remilled all over again?

[Chris Fournier]

My question (after the heroics) would be: How to prove you now have a flat, square edged billet of that size?
Sure, easy enough to waste every vestige of the rough mill, but now do you have a useful glue-able stick, or does the glue up have to be remilled all over again?

The customer is bringing a piece of wood to be milled. Green or dry doesn't matter, meet the specs and take your money or navel gaze and don't do a thing. Customer directed work is just that and they are repsonsible for the outcome. Mill the piece, which invloves no heroics and take your due or refuse the work - your call.

[Peter Quinn]

I flatten lumber larger than that all the time at work, on a big jointer. Sometimes I'll grab a second guy if it gets long, I can usually handle 8' in most species at 12/4. We charge $65/ hour in one minute increments, starting from the point the customer starts telling what they want, ending at the truck. But " fresh cut "? That parts not happening where I work nor at my home shop. If worked with green cedar using a BS on pergola projects, it's heavier given the water it's holding, but still not as heavy as most hard woods the same size. But the water....it keeps shooting out at you, the sawdust makes gum, the wet acidic wood starts rusting iron on contact. I wouldn't want wet rusty splatter all over my jointer for the money it would earn me. So I'd say pass, sorry Charlie, find another method. Gluing green lumber is not specifically a joy either, but that's another issue.

[Leonard Ellis]

Sorry to not reply on the posting given but I am new to using this site even though I have watched it for a long time. This was my first post and somehow I was not able to see the responses to the thread. Now with that all said I have a grizzly go490x 8" jointer (my first). I did caution the guy getting the lumber done and he said it was for rustic furniture and would not matter. Well two days after jointing the board I stopped by to see how he was doing and guess what. Yeap the boards had already moved alot at least to me. I had cautioned him before doing the work but he seemed indifferent to the movement of the lumber, so I guess he had what he wanted. Thanks for the replies they are coming in handy.