Face Jointing a Wide Board on a Narrow Jointer

[Lance Norris]

I have a Jet JJ6cs that I really like. The size of my shop prohibits anything larger. I have never felt the need for a larger jointer. When doing large glue-ups, Im limited to 6" boards. The ability to use wider boards in a glue up, has obvious advantages. I have read all the threads and whenever someone asks the question about which jointer they should purchase, someone always says "buy an 8" over a 6" or buy the widest you possibly can. Ive always thought, in my head, that you could face joint a larger board than your jointer was really designed for. I was reading another forum and came across a thread about just what I was thinking.



Has anyone used this technique? Any comments good or bad?

[John Thompson]

I have used the method for around 30 years..

Good?... it works

Bad?... be careful and be sure to build the over-head guard mentioned.

Good luck...

Sarge..

[keith ouellette]

I have always wondered if that would work.

One thing I have learned here at the creek is the benefit of passing the wood over the jointer blades at a skewed angle to avoid tearout. I think it is most necessary on figured wood. It is another benefit of a wider jointer.

[John Hain]

Do you have a planer?

I'd think it's safer and easier to build a planing sled. Emphasis on safety. Accuracy is a nice secondary gain.

You could do it that way......but, IMO, the planing sled is a better option. It's not hard to make....very safe....very accurate....very reusable.

[Mark Berenbrok]

I second what John said. Using a planer works well and is pretty easy after you've done it once.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, I used the technique when I had a 6" jointer a few times, but it's a somewhat dangerous operation given the guard is completely removed.

[Lance Norris]

I have a 15" stationary planer. I understand the danger in removing the guard. I have a shelix head installed in the jointer, so Im not interested in using the jointer on an angle. Anyone have a link to plans, or pictures of a planer sled?

[Randy Klein]

I think this a good time to learn how handplanes can help out.

[M Toupin]

Two words, planner sled. The search button is on the top of the page, lots of threads and examples on SMC.

Mike

[Craig Stevens]

Using your jointer this way will work, but unless you have a lot of wide boards to do, it looks like a lot a work. You may not be a hand tool person, but this is a perfect example when hand tools could do the job faster.

A jointer plane could flatten that glue up in no time.

As far as the question of "needing" a 8" jointer instead of a 6" jointer, here's my two cents worth. I work wood because I enjoy building things, not because I enjoy figuring out how to make tools do something they weren't designed to do. An 8" jointer allows me to work more efficiently, which allows me to do more of what I like best, make furniture.

-Craig

[Larry Fox]

I have used this as well and it works ok when the board is cupped but I found it difficult to remove any wind that a particular board might have.

[John Michaels]

Anyone have a link to plans, or pictures of a planer sled?

I use a hot glue gun to attach the board to the sled. It's pretty simple and very effective. Get a very straight piece of plywood, MDF, or board. Take some blue painters tape and run it down both edges of the board that needs to be planed. This protects your workpiece from the glue which is strong enough to tear chunks out when removed. Lay the board on the sled and run a bead of hot glue along each edge of the board. Note: the blue tape wraps around the edge and is underneath the board about 1/2" for strength.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-11/1108263/sled01.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-11/1108263/sled02.jpg

[Wayne Cannon]

I'm a new to this level of woodworking, but after taking a hand planing class from Kevin Glen-Drake at our local Woodcraft, and then flattening my bench top, I would have to agree with the folk that say you can flatten a large board with a long hand plane quickly and with minimal effort -- probably less of each than fiddling with the jointer.

I think the jointer bed LENGTH is far more important than its width for most operations.


--Wayne

[John Thompson]

With all due respect to all that suggested hand planes and planer sled.. how many times have you flattened 8' - 12' lengths of stock in rough stock or S1? Would it be quicker than a double pass on a jointer and then a couple of light passes with a #8 hand-plane to take out the ridge line between the two sections.

And yes.. over-head guard is a must (and many will argue much safer than a pork chop gaurd anyway) and you do have to take the ridge lines out with a hand plane or belt sander if you are so inclined.

So.. I guess my question is those that use a planer sled as I already know the answer to exclusively hand planes.. have you ever done the lenghts mentioned (?) and if so... what pro's and con's dd you encounter? I have never tried a planer sled with those lenghts.

Sarge..

[glenn bradley]

I have a 15" stationary planer. I understand the danger in removing the guard. I have a shelix head installed in the jointer, so Im not interested in using the jointer on an angle. Anyone have a link to plans, or pictures of a planer sled?

Here you go:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=58735

[Wayne Cannon]

As I said, flattening with a hand plane was new to me, but I flattened a beat-up Ulmia 6' x 24" beech bench that I got used when Woodcraft swapped it out for a new one. I removed about 1/8" from 30% of the surface and 1/16" everywhere, which included a low center and a slight amount of wind.

It took about a half-hour (mostly testing flatness and marking high spots) and a few drops of sweat, which is less than it would take me to figure out how to do the two-pass trick on a jointer safely and accurately the first time, to say nothing of making the new guard and the correspondence here.

As a dedicated power-tool woodworker, I surprised myself with how well it worked out when measured with winding sticks and a straight edge. It helped my confidence in trying more hand work.

Having said that, if I expected to do more than two or three pieces, it would be worth the effort to make the jointer work.

--Wayne