Planer and Jointer Questions

[Don Ware]

Hi Guys, My first post here. I have two questions. I have a surface planer (never used) and will have a jointer soon.

(1) I have some slightly cupped 1 x 12 poplar board. Which side should face the cutters? Anything else I should know ?

(2) I have some 2 x 2 poplar 'legs' that are slightly bowed. How should I go about fixing this ?

Thanks a lot.
Don

[Pat Germain]

Is your jointer wide enough to face plane your cupped boards? If so, face plane them with the concave side down. (That means the inside curve will be on the bottom.) When the cup is gone on the bottom, run the boards through the planer with the same side down. This will remove the curve on the top and you'll end up with two sides both flat and parallel. Since you're new to your tools, be sure to remove just a tiny bit of material at a time. You don't want to get your planer stuck (like I have done) or tear up your wood on the jointer.

If your jointer is not wide enough for face planing, again, run your boards through the planer with the concave side down, then turn them over and run them through again. The two sides probably won't be paralell, but likely close.

You should be able to use the jointer to straighten out your curves legs. Depending on the curve, you may have to remove a lot of material. Be sure to consider this before you end up with chop sticks. :)

[Don Ware]

Thanks for the info. The legs are currently 36" long and are about 1/8" "off center" in the center. Should I put the concave side to the blades ?

The legs will be tapered on two adjoining sides. I suppose I might get away with flattening only two sides and taper them accordingly.

Thanks again.
Don

[Pat Germain]

Yes, Don, on the jointer I would put the concave side down toward the blades.

I would also recommend practicing with some cheap stock. It likely be a good idea to buy a few 2X4's and plane and joint those to get the hang of your tools before you go cutting on the good stuff. Just keep in mind the 2X4 will be much softer. The harder wood will require removing material in much smaller increments.

Have fun making shavings!