Jointing 13 ft long 8/4 lumber

[Dennis Peacock]

If you were building a dining or kitchen table out of 8/4 lumber, how would you joint the edges so they mate well with the other boards? Let's also add in that each board weighs in at around 100 pounds each. NOW, how would you joint the boards? :)

Inquiring minds need to find out! :D

[Brian Nguyen]

Track saw--maybe? But more likely answer is to pay someone else to do it as I'm not about wrestling 100lbs boards around.

[Tom M King]

I use my smallest jointer-a 6". A strong helper, and I man handle it on the infeed end, with me handling the press to the table, and Big Mike doing most of the support.

The part that is probably different is where the weight starts going off the other end. The reason I use the small jointer is because it's light enough to be tipped by a heavy board. It's not possible to get a roller stand to Exactly the right height, so the roller stand is set about an inch low. As the balance point passes the tipping point, the feed is slowed up, and allowed to Ease over until the roller stand catches it. From there, the pass is finished after it passes the cutterhead.

I'm sure most would be surprised how well this works out. It's really not that hard, since that HTC mobile base moves the pivot point back under the machine, as you can see by the two wheels. The single wheel on the infeed side is off the floor in this picture. It works easier with that mobile base under it, than just sitting on the machine base.

Not saying to try this at home, but it works for me.

edited to add: I chuckle when I see people talking about the length of jointer beds limiting the length of boards that can be jointed. I started with a little 3' long 6" Delta four and a half decades ago.

[Jim Becker]

Whenever I need to process a board over my jointer that is respectively longer than can normally be done, I setup auxiliary supports on both infeed and outfeed side that are very carefully setup to be exactly at table height. I can then concentrate on keeping the board on the table before and after the cutter head as best as possible. In your case with 13' stock, I'd have human helpers, too, to make sure things don't go amiss. Unfortunately, 13' exceeds even the largest sliders that would typically be found in big shops, but if it didn't, I'd flatten on the jointer, thickness close to final and then have them straight-lined on the slider to avoid edge jointing those long boards. You may very well want to try and subcontract this long stock, but that will also eat into your cost. If you're working this job on time and materials, go for it. If you quoted a fixed price...decision time.

[Brian Holcombe]

I’ve faced and edge jointed 16/4 x 10” x 10’ ash boards. Support tables and a friend to help lift.

[Jamie Buxton]

I wouldn't try to horse that big a plank over a saw or a jointer. I'd bring the tools to the plank. I'd first straight-line the plank with a track saw. If you don't have a track saw with 13' by 8/4 capacity, a long straightedge and a circular saw will do. The saw may well leave a surface which is good enough to glue up. If not, I'd clamp the plank on edge, and clean up the saw marks with a hand plane. That sounds like big work, but it isn't. You're not trying to straight-line the plank, you're only needing to remove the saw marks.

[peter gagliardi]

Like this.
420454
12' of infeed that is set dead level at 1/8" pass, with just over 8' outfeed. 16' stock is a non issue, with 1 person

[ChrisA Edwards]

By no means an expert in this procedure, but just a thought, trying to edge joint such a large board, might not a shaper be an alternate method. Much easier to pass the board through flat on the shaper table, possibly using a power feeder. With the shaper's fences offset, similar to the jointer table, hopefully you could receive similar results.

[johnny means]

Butt the mating boards together and run a skilsaw or router up the seam.

[Lisa Starr]

I don't own a jointer. Smallish stuff goes on my router table. Big stuff like you're talking about I'd do with my track saw now that I own one. Prior I would have used a straight edge and circular saw.

[glenn bradley]

I do as Jim and Brian mentioned; infeed and outfeed supports and a friend to help lift it on and off. A scissor-lift table might do in place of a friend but, would be a bit awkward.

[Paul F Franklin]

See this thread: https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?277992-Quick-Review-Bora-PM-2700-expandable-roller-stand

for a way to get infeed/outfeed support. I show the stands in use with a bandsaw, but I also used them with the jointer and planer and they were a tremendous help. Granted, I was only dealing with 12' 5/4 cherry, but the stands allowed me to focus only guiding the stock, not supporting the weight.

[Allan Speers]

I'd do it with my track saw.

But then, my track is Eurekazone, which is very thick and stiff, so will maintain it's level-ness on such rough stock.

And my saw is a 10 1/4" Makita 5104, with a high quality rip blade.

It's a fantastic setup for exactly this type of scenario, which I also had to deal with a few years ago.


You might also want to first take down any "local" high spots on the face, with a hand jointer, as per Tom King's post.
If the stock is REALLY rough, you might even find use for a scrub plane, set very shallow.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I wouldn't try to horse that big a plank over a saw or a jointer. I'd bring the tools to the plank. I'd first straight-line the plank with a track saw. If you don't have a track saw with 13' by 8/4 capacity, a long straightedge and a circular saw will do. The saw may well leave a surface which is good enough to glue up. If not, I'd clamp the plank on edge, and clean up the saw marks with a hand plane. That sounds like big work, but it isn't. You're not trying to straight-line the plank, you're only needing to remove the saw marks.

Exactly how I have done it for years. Circular saw with guide or track saw, followed by a hand jointer: LN no 7 or 8, or Veritas low angle jointer with a 90 degree fence.

[Bill Carey]

I use my smallest jointer-a 6". A strong helper, and I man handle it on the infeed end, with me handling the press to the table, and Big Mike doing most of the support. ...............

Dam! I knew I should have opted for the Big Mike accessory when I bought my little Cutech jointer. (which, btw, I love. For me it's great)

[Darcy Warner]

Straight line rip saw.

[Patrick Walsh]

Support tables..

420469

420470

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have two 55" tracks and one 42" track for my Festool and two 55" tracks for my Makita.
I'd use the track saw - either one - probably the Festool since it's just a tiny bit more accurate.

13' would require "leap frogging" one track.......which would turn it into a project of sorts, rather than a straight up no brainer.

[George Makra]

If it were me I would use a number 7 or 8 jointer plane.
And here is my thinking on this that lumber is heavy and so then it becomes a two man operation and unless your really synchronized you end up creating a mess!
Solo with a jointer plane would not take very long at all in fact it is possible it might even be faster than running it through a power jointer.
You have absolute control so you can make a beautiful spring joint.

[Rod Sheridan]

If you were building a dining or kitchen table out of 8/4 lumber, how would you joint the edges so they mate well with the other boards? Let's also add in that each board weighs in at around 100 pounds each. NOW, how would you joint the boards? :)

Inquiring minds need to find out! :D

Hi Dennis, I would put the 1 metre table extensions on my jointer and start jointing.

Regards, Rod.

[Jeff Duncan]

As others have said... support tables. If your going to do a lot of long stock in the future it may be worth your time to look into a set of Aigner tables. They're aluminum tables that you can quickly attach/detach and level to any machine you like. You just buy a simple connector for every surface you want to mount to. I use them in my shop as they are almost indispensable. I had to joint a flat onto some 17' hand rails last month and they made it a fairly easy task. I use one on my bandsaw almost any time I use it, and anything over 4' or so long on the shaper gets them as well. They also have a handful of accessories you can use on them though I haven't tried any yet. They are pretty expensive, but for me they've been well worth the investment.

good luck,
JeffD

[Doug Dawson]

If it were me I would use a number 7 or 8 jointer plane.
And here is my thinking on this that lumber is heavy and so then it becomes a two man operation and unless your really synchronized you end up creating a mess!
Solo with a jointer plane would not take very long at all in fact it is possible it might even be faster than running it through a power jointer.
You have absolute control so you can make a beautiful spring joint.

I totally agree. Sometimes the machines get confused, and working and fitting by hand is the best option.

[Edwin Santos]

Butt the mating boards together and run a skilsaw or router up the seam.

This is a tried and true method. Trim carpenters use a variation of the same method with a hand saw for achieving perfect miters and countertop joints in non-perfect conditions.

[Scott Bernstein]

Unless you have a jointer substantial enough to handle this size stock, track saw and hand planes.... For facing the stock you could a large enough jig to smooth the face using a router sled. I recently built a dining room table with 12/4 Ash. About 10 feet long and each piece started off around 8-10 inches wide. This was the first big project for which I could use my new 16" jointer-planer combo machine. I had the 18" Al extensions on either side plus roller stands beyond the jointer table extensions. Worked amazing.

[johnny means]

There are very few ways to get a perfectly straight cut 13 feet long. Judging by your weight estimation, these are rather wide boards, which will not be clamped into compliance. The only option is have matching errors on mating boards, hence my "cut up the middle" approach.

[Carl Beckett]

I have a decent bearing guided router bit with a long cutting length. For this would would rip close with a circ saw, then cleanup using the router guided by a straightedge (which can be jointed for straightness)

[Jared Sankovich]

Support tables..

420469

420470

I want a set of those now..

Before i upgraded jointers track saw kerfing was my method for really long boards
420656
420657

[Curt Putnam]

Some combination of a tracksaw and/or a jointer plane (>=24" long). Depending on board width, matched pairs could be run through theplaner - edges up.

[Josh Belleville]

#7 hand plane. Does the trick every time.

[Jim Dwight]

I have not done this yet but I have a 10 foot table planned within the next year with a cherry top. My plan is to "joint" the edges with my DeWalt track saw using my 106 and 59 inch tracks joined together. I will have to be careful to get the track straight but I've used the track saw with the 106 inch track on shorter boards and been happy with the results. I also plan to put a few dominos into the joint and glue it together a board at a time in my dining room. That is because of the weight. The top will look like it's 1.5 inches thick but will really be 13/16 or whatever the lumber surfaces to. The edges and ends will be doubled using an offcut from the same board, same location, so the grain will be a better match. I will have to sand the top in the dining room but the dust collection on my Bosch DEVS 1250 is pretty good. I will not worry about the minor irregularity at the joints on the bottom.

I'm interested in how you do this so I can learn from your experience.

[lowell holmes]

A straight 1x6 with a skil saw will joint it.

[Frank Pratt]

I've build a couple of 4' in feed & out feed beds for my 6" jointer. It's bed is only 54" so it's nice to have the extra support. There is absolutely no drama when doing large timbers this way & the surface is straight & almost finish ready. An extension is way better than a roller because there is no worry about snagging on the roller. For a 100 lb board, help getting it on & off the jointer is good to have, but the actual jointing process is smooth & low effort.

[Mel Fulks]

Sometimes a shop has one guy who has an unusually good feel for keeping the material absolutely flat on the machine.
I made some hand rail for an acquaintance in his shop, it had no hold down. But he had a guy there who could keep a 16
foot piece absolutely flat on the shaper or jointer. One trial run with machine off and he was "programmed ".

[Jim Becker]

A straight 1x6 with a skil saw will joint it.

Where does one find a "straight" 14' long 1x6??

[Roger Feeley]

This reminds me of an article I saw in Fine Homebuilding once about a guy in S.C. who had to bandsaw 6" x 12" x 29' long laminated beams. His solution was to mount his bandsaw on a round board and build it into a small hovercraft. He then piloted his bandsaw through the suspended beam. The builder wasn't all that complementary of his client and wrote of being white knuckled through the whole process.

The funny part is that my cousin who is: a. very wealthy, and b. not a very nice person had previously told me about his house he had built in S.C. that featured custom 6"x12"x29' beams. I have no doubt that it was my cousin who gave that guy heartburn.

[john bateman]

There is a device called JOINTABILITY. It's not big enough for your project, but if you read up on it, you will see how to use a router and straightedge to joint two boards at once so that they mate together.

[lowell holmes]

Pop a chalk line and cut it. Follow with a hand plane.

[Edwin Santos]

Where does one find a "straight" 14' long 1x6??

Jim,

One answer to your question in keeping with Lowell's suggestion is to use extruded aluminum angle stock as a proxy for the straight 1x6. You can get 8 foot lengths at Home Depot for probably around $15. They can be carefully lined up and joined together with a mending plate or two, maybe with the screws countersunk on the side that the saw will ride against. A local metal supplier may have longer lengths available. In this case I think extruded aluminum angle is about as straight as can be obtained.

[Jim Becker]

I'll agree with that, Edwin, although I'd be leery of joining two pieces for this particular application and would want to try and source a longer length...which would preclude the home center most likely as you note.

[J.R. Rutter]

Straight line rip saw.

Amen brother!

[Mark Hennebury]

I don't see what the fuss is all about.

If you want to play with big sticks maybe its time to put on your long trousers and get yourself a grown-ups jointer.

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[Jared Sankovich]

Straight line rip saw.

Seems like the way to go. I was offered a ekstrom carlson slr with a newer chain today for less than a festool track saw.

[Chris Vickers]

I use infeed and outfeed roller stands for support. I've done 16' material by myself several times, just takes some time. If you can take it to someone with a SLR, that will take most of the work out of it, then finish on the jointer

[Greg Parrish]

I just wish my shop had room to think about building with 14' material. In my little 20x22 space, an 8' board is getting really long. I currently only have my hammer A3-31 setup for 5' clearance on each side. LOL

But if I were to have to do it, I would be using the track saw and a plane as already mentioned.

[Robert Engel]

I have two 55" tracks and one 42" track for my Festool and two 55" tracks for my Makita.
I'd use the track saw - either one - probably the Festool since it's just a tiny bit more accurate.

13' would require "leap frogging" one track.......which would turn it into a project of sorts, rather than a straight up no brainer.

My choice, too. Follow up with a jointer plane if needed.

[Darcy Warner]

Seems like the way to go. I was offered a ekstrom carlson slr with a newer chain today for less than a festool track saw.

That's a no brainer if you have the room and power for it.
I would always glue right off the 404 mattison or the Ekstrom I had before that.