Jointer Sled for Table Saw Ideas?

[Patrick Irish]

I scored some 8/4 grade A "select and better' walnut this weekend. All 6ft long and about 6" wide. Quartersawn. My first time buying wood like this. It all needs to be planed and squared.

I already made a sled to plane them flat as I dont have a jointer and man they came out nice.

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Anyone have sled ideas to joint/cut a straight edge? I saw a few ideas on google images have another 6ft long x 12" piece of pine. Trying to decide if I surface mount some toggle clamps, make a t-slot about 8" in from the left side of board and use hold downs, or just drill 6 evenly spaced holes for hold downs.

I have about 18 boards. Should I plane and joint them now or only when I go to use them?

[Will Boulware]

Nice score on what looks like a good pile of walnut! What are you planning to make out of it? I'd wait and finish milling it when you decide what you're making. Crosscut your pieces first, then square them up and cut them to dimension when you're actually ready to build your project. If you square all of them now, they won't be square in a month or a year when you need them to be, and you'll end up wasting additional material getting them there.

Keep us in the loop with whatever you make!

[John Lankers]

Process the lumber right before you use it - or else all bets are off.
To edge joint on a regular table saw I would just grab a piece of mdf, osb ... about 10" - 12" wide and at least as long as the boards you will be jointing, use toggle clamps to secure them to be the carriage and run it against the rip fence. Make sure you have enough support on the outfeed side. If you had to process significantly more the runner in the miter slot setup would make it easier, but for 18 boards?

[Patrick Irish]

Only plans now are some 1.75" thick cutting boards. 1 stick can make 1 cutting board with about a 4"x18" piece left over if I make them 13"x18". Have ideas on some floor length lamps too. I work in education and have summer off, plan to make a bunch different things. After planing the walnut, it looks so nice I'm not sure I want to sacrifice for cutting boards but I have about 3-4 friends who want them @$50-$65 each.

[Brian Tymchak]

I'd stack and sticker that wood for a couple weeks before doing any milling. Let it come to ambient humidity before milling, otherwise it will definitely not be square when it does.