Should I Joint or just Plane?

[Mike Congiusti]

I picked up some wide cherry boards, 14 inches that will become a dresser top that will be 22 ½ wide. They are pretty flat to start with. I usually run boards through a jointer first and then a planer. My max with to joint is 8 inches. So, my question is should I:



Just run then through the planer as is?
Cut them in half on the bandsaw to keep the grain flow together and then joint, plane them and glue back together?


I’ve done option 2 before and I can always see the cut mark. If I were to just plane them, I will still need to match the grain to make a panel and cut to size. I never tried this with such a wide board. I would hate to see this warp over time.

Thanks,

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

For some thing that good I would put a piece of wood on each side with glue. Shim to make level , easy to do with glue and a nice flat work
surface . After both sides are planed , take cuts from each side when one side has a bow ….”mow the bow” even if “ he just had a turn “

[Justin Rapp]

I picked up some wide cherry boards, 14 inches that will become a dresser top that will be 22 ½ wide. They are pretty flat to start with. I usually run boards through a jointer first and then a planer. My max with to joint is 8 inches. So, my question is should I:



Just run then through the planer as is?
Cut them in half on the bandsaw to keep the grain flow together and then joint, plane them and glue back together?


I’ve done option 2 before and I can always see the cut mark. If I were to just plane them, I will still need to match the grain to make a panel and cut to size. I never tried this with such a wide board. I would hate to see this warp over time.

Thanks,

Mike

Joint it in your planner to keep the board full width if your planner can take a 14" wide board. Hot glue it to a flat surface like MDF, shim up and wobbles, plane it flat, break it free from the mdf and plane the other side.

[John Kananis]

Put it through the planer on a sled for the one side. Or, remove the guard from your jointer, joint half of the board and then run it through the planer with jointed side down over a flat board about the same width as the jointed side (so flat board between planer bed and the half side of the board that's jointed and about to be planed).

Edit: then flip the board over and plane the jointed side flat.

[Andrew Seemann]

If the boards are flat enough to lay on the bench without rocking or being bowed in the middle, and if they aren't cupped, you could probably run them through the planner as is. If they need a little work, you can add shims and noted above, or else hit the offending high spots with a jack plane. if is is more than that, you may need to rip them down and then face joint.

All wide boards will warp to some degree with seasonal changes, no matter what milling ritual you do or finish you apply. The potential of boards warping needs to be accounted for in the design. I have had to learn this the hard way more than a couple times:)

[Jim Becker]

There is very little chance I'd ever rip a wide board and then reassemble it. So if it's relatively flat, a simple planer sled for the first side that you can shim level to flatten one side is the way to go. If it's really close to flat, I'd just thickness and make sure your construction technique deals with any minor deflections as well as wood movement.

[Cameron Wood]

I would rip, and join four relatively equal width pieces.

[John Kananis]

I got on yt and found a video of what I was talking about above. They even make a safety guard (hadn't thought of that). Also, instead of sticking the runner board to your board, you can use a cleat on a shorter piece and run your board over it.
https://youtu.be/3vOENDdFIJM

[Rod Wolfy]

Another option: go find a shop or a local woodworker that has a big jointer or wife belt sander & borrow it pay. I've talked to commercial shop owners before that have done this for people. If it is a very nice piece of wood, what's another $10 to have it done right? A dresser for posterity...

[Mike Congiusti]

I have access to a wide belt sander. If I see any cup in a board can I just run it through cup side down and take lite passes? It won't take much I would think. I never tried this.

Thanks,

Mike

[Jim Becker]

Theoretically, you can do that. Light passes are a must as you don't want the rollers/belts pressing out the cup. But you also have to be sure there's not also a twist. If so, you may still need to make a sled so you can properly shim the material to get an actual flat face across and along the entire board. (Same thing holds true if you do this with a thickness planer instead of the sander)

[Nick Lazz]

At 22 1/2" wide you're going to have a glue up...I would go with narrower boards for top (3 boards instead of 2)...then you can joint and plane. If you match your boards up well enough lines should be minimal. I would use an aligner however... dominoes or biscuits or Lamello... to keep it flush on glue up.
Another consideration if you're worried about the glue lines... make them work for you with a small v groove or bevel between each panel.

[Tom Bender]

If you do this with only one glue line you can locate it closer to the back of the dresser where it will be less noticeable. In many cases there will be stuff on it for most of it's life.

If the unflatness you're working out of it is minor you might pull it down to the frame.

Don't forget the option of a router sled.

And don't discount hand tools.

You might even get there with aggressive use of an ROS

[Alan Lightstone]

If it's very close to flat, I would make a sled/shims as suggested, then just run it through your wide belt sander. Draw some pencil lines on it. When the lines are gone, flip it over and run it through the wide belt without the sled to get the other side smooth and parallel.

Would be less passes, and a nice smooth surface when done.

I just did this exact thing for a piece of furniture I'm building, and it worked out just fine.

Of course, if it really is cupped, warped, etc..., the planer sled method is faster.

[Sam Shankar]

I'll add my vote to the "don't rip it" contingent. You'll see that line forever and it will drive you nuts.

Beyond that, you have lots of options. If the board is relatively flat to start I would go the hand tool route: use a jack plane to flatten one face until it sits on your (hopefully reasonably flat) bench without wobbling or showing a lot of bowing or cupping under that side. It doesn't have to be dead flat on that one side. It just has to be stable enough to run it through your planer. Take light passes, god speed, and remember if it's a dresser top it doesn't have to be dead flat; the rest of your structure will pull it into place.

[johnny means]

I would rip it up and alternate faces. I don't preserve wide boards just because they're wide. Unless it's something really super special and very specifically a design feature, I'd rather it just be stable and flat. I don't see how a well done glue up looks any worse than it it were a single board.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I got on yt and found a video of what I was talking about above. They even make a safety guard (hadn't thought of that). Also, instead of sticking the runner board to your board, you can use a cleat on a shorter piece and run your board over it.
https://youtu.be/3vOENDdFIJMThat video was plagairized from a tip I sent Wood in 2009, including the design of the guard. Only thing they left off is double taping a piece of 1/4" hardboard to infeed table, with edge aligning with rabbeting ledge. This allows for multiple passes.

[John Kananis]

Bruce, I'm sorry to hear that. What could it hurt them to give a little credit? Terrible. Regardless of the origin, it's a decent method although a long 14 or 15 inch board is a little difficult to handle that way.

[Cameron Wood]

That video was plagerized from a tip I sent Wood in 2009, including the design of the guard. Only thing they left off is double taping a piece of 1/4" hardboard to infeed table, with edge aligning with rabbeting ledge. This allows for multiple passes.


Could you explain the 1/4" hardboard thing more? I'm not getting it.

Cheers, jay

[Mel Fulks]

Another option: go find a shop or a local woodworker that has a big jointer or wife belt sander & borrow it pay. I've talked to commercial shop owners before that have done this for people. If it is a very nice piece of wood, what's another $10 to have it done right? A dresser for posterity...

Theoretically that could work ! But I worked in shops for many years. Everyone there had a lot of stuff to do. Whenever a guy came in
carrying a board , most guys would give the board a quick cursory ride through the “tunnel of knives” but the jointer usually did not get used,that is about all the boss would
allow for a few bucks. Mel always faced ,then planed. Boss would sometimes complain about my thorough approach. But I stuck with doing
it right. If you can get the proprietor to use “ Mel method “ ,go ahead . Don’t pay to get a planed, but warped and twisted surface .

[Bruce Wrenn]

Could you explain the 1/4" hardboard thing more? I'm not getting it.

Cheers, jay


Taping the piece of hard board to the in feed table allows for making more than one pass over the cutter head. Without it the mounting bracket for stock guard will hit the non rabbeted area after the first pass. Seldom is one pass enough to produce the desired flat face on the board. The edge of the hardboard has to be inline with the edge of the rabbeting ledge for it to work.