A Solution For 6in. Jointers

[Larry Norton]

After reading Rick's post about 6in. jointers, I thought I would post a solution I heard of a few years back about jointing a board that's wider than your jointer.


First, remove the guard. I know, I cringed when I read that, too, but you need to do that when you rabbet a board on the jointer.


Depending on the size of your jointer, you can use the following process to joint a board up to half as wide as your jointer, 6in board with a 4in. jointer, 9in with a 6in. etc.


Joint the board as you normally would with one edge against the fence. I'll use a 6in. jointer as an example with a 9in. board.


After you have done that, you will have a 6in. wide smooth area (obviously, you may have to do this a few times depending on how flat the board is.) and a 3in. wide untouched part. When you get the 6in. part smooth with all fresh wood and no rough part, depending on how much you had to remove to get there, turn off the jointer. Turn the board over.


Now, use a piece of plywood that is 6in. wide and a tad more thicker than the unplaned part of the board. use either a 1/4, 3/8, or 1/2 in piece of plywood. Get some double sided carpet tape and carpet tape the piece of plywood to the smooth new wood.


Now, place the plywood side down and run the 9in. wide board through your planer. Take VERY LIGHT PASSES until you get the unjointed side flat. Then pull the carpet taped plywood of the other side and plane to the desired thickness.


I've done it quite a few times and it works great. Just be VERY CAREFUL with the guard removed on the jointer. Use your push blocks and proceed slowly. Hope this helps.

Larry

[Jim Becker]

This will work for a board that is no wider than twice your normal capacity and it needs to be a board that only needs "a little attention" to bring it flat. Don't bother with something that looks like an airplane propeller. And the words "BE CAREFUL" can't be over emphasized in this case. There is no guard to protect you at the beginning and end of the cut. For that reason, it's best to limit it to stock that is relatively short and balanced so you can maintain 100% control.

A sled and a planer is a safer alternative and works very well for this particular need.

[JayStPeter]

For less than 2in over the width of my jointer, I use a block plane to remove the lip. As Jim said, care and relatively decent lumber are part of the equation.

Jay

[Ken Salisbury]

Use my 100% guaranteed solution -- if a board needs that much attention before it can be deemed "usable" -- it goes on the burn pile. :D I guess I just have too much decent lumber on hand. :)

[Larry Norton]

I wasn't referring to anything that is severely cupped or twisted, if that's all you have, you would be better off ripping it, jointing and planing each piece, and then glueing them up.


I rarely ever find a perfectly flat rough cut board. 95% of them need to be flattened on one side before they're planed. I usually do glue ups for anything over 6in. wide. But occasionally I get that one board that I don't want to rip.


I have used sleds but you are limited to the length of the sled for the board you're surfacing.


I'm not trying to be a know it all new member here, I just thought it might help someone who might not have heard about it. I know the first time I heard it, I smacked my head and said, "Why didn't I think of that?" This is a great forum with a lot of great people and I was just trying to help.


Larry

[frank shic]

don't take it too personally, larry. i'm FASCINATED with the idea and willing to try it out someday in the future. thanks for the tip! :D