planer as jointer?

[Dave Buffington]

hey everyone, first post here. I did a quick search, but did not find anything specifically about this, so maybe someone can help with suggestions.

I was thinking about the various ripping jigs for the tablesaw to create a straight edge on an unjointed board (where the jig has a striaght edge, calmps onto the board to rip a straigh edge on the other side).

Could one do something similiar with a planer to level on flat side of a board? I was thinking about using MDF or something similiarly stable to build a tray of sorts to then hold a board (perhaps clamped to the edges of the "tray" but with the top surface proud of the tray and clamps of course) to run through my planer, then flip it and run it through normally for two flat, planed parallel faces.
This couls be used to help sort out cupping or rought sawn lumber that might not have a flat surface or is wider than my little 6 inch (crappy) tabletop jointer. I think i have seen this done, but wanted to see if it was common and if anyone had design suggestions for it.

Thanks,
Dave

[lou sansone]

folks make sleds for their planers to do just what you said. I have never tried it, but some here do make it a practice

lou

[Mike Cutler]

Dave.

First off. Welcome to Sawmill Creek, and pleased to meet ya'

It is possible to make a sled for a planer that acts as the jointer. It's also very easy to make it.
I have a 15" planer, and a 6" jointer. So... I had to make one to help me out a bit.

I used a piece of MDF, 14" wide, and 10' long( It had to be made to get the 10'. There was a stop block at each end. That was screwed into the MDF to keep the material from moving. They were also on the side.

I used shim material from Home Depot ( found in the door section) and glued it to the mdf, to support the board where it didn't lay flat. You'll need a lot of shims, trust me on this one. Buy 3 or 4 packs of them. I've also read of people using old decks of playing card to accomplish the same task.

Once the board was set on the sled.I just fed it through the planer. It worked fairly well, slow, but it worked.

There used to be a free video available on the Fine Woodworking website, but now you have to register and pay to see the video. This is where I got my ideas. It was still free when I built one.

Like I said. It does work but it's a little cumbersome to setup. Putting the material through, with the MDF made for one heavy load in your hands. It works better with a benchtop planer, or a planer that has the head moving instead of the table. This was an aux infeed outfeed table can be made to support the MDF. I had to be a little more creative because the table on the Jet 15" planer moves and the cutterhead is fixed.

Once again. Welcome to Sawmill Creek.

[Dave Buffington]

Thanks, that helps give me an idea of some place to start.

The shim thing you describe sounds like quite an ordeal, this is to help support the board, which may be uneven? This seems like the only part of this sled that would need any real defgree of "precision" to amke sure nothing shifts while being worked. I was imagining some form of clamping from the side. Maybe some of that foam stuff they use to line drawers in the kitchen (and that i have seen sold very expensively as a hold fast surface for routing and sanding) might be a good addition the bottom of the sled- with enough give to accomodate bumps and unevenes in the wood, and holding power to avoid shifts. Combine that with some way to hold on the side (like a mini bench dog system), and I think that would be a nice solution.

Thanks much for the welcome and input!
Dave

[Dan Oelke]

You really need the shims. The reason is that the rollers of the planer put a lot of downward pressure on the board and will tend to bend the board until the bottom in flat against whatever surace is there. With the shims you are now holding up the bottom of the board so that it doesn't deform when the rollers push down. A foam or some other spongy type material won't hold up under the pressure.

[Mike Cutler]

Dave.

It doesn't take as long as it sounds to shim the board. It's actually fairly fast.
In the the video on Fine Woodworkings setup, the authors setup was more permanent than mine. He had a series of permanently attached adjustable wedges, that slid.

I never planned on using mine more than on the project I was working on, ergo it was cheap, and a little more cumbersome.

You are correct when you state that the shim part is the most imprecise. The planerexerts quite abit of downward pressure as it feeds. The more shims that you have along the length, the more support. You still have to go slow, and take off a lot less material in one pass, than would normally be required. You do not want the material to be planed to be able to respond to the feed roller pressure. It needs a lot of support underneath to inhibit it.

The boards I was doing were rough sawn, and I mean really rough brazillian cherry. The boards were twisted, cupped, and bowed ( sometimes all at once). The rough sawn condition was so rough that the boards that were flat wouldn't feed due to the inability of the rollers to maintain uniform pressure.

This was my first, and probably last experience in buying material sight unseen.

[Alan Turner]

I used a sled for years before I got a wide jointer. Use shims, and a lot of them. You can either use hot glue to attach them, or shoot them in with nails. MDF and its flatness are perfect for the sled. You will need a stop on the front only to keep the planer from shooting the stock off of the sled. It is not as slow as it sounds, and works quite well.

[Dave Buffington]

Great advice everyone, thanks much!

Dave

[Jesse Cloud]

If a board is too wide for my machinery, I just use a jointer plane. Works faster and you get better results.