How to joint wide boards - newbie question

[Christopher Kanda]

If you have a 6" jointer can you joint boards wider than 6". If so how would you go about doing it. Also what is the differecnce between a regular jointer and a parallelagem jointer? Some of this stuff is very confusing to me......

[David Freed]

A long time ago I read where someone made a framework of wood that adjusts with hinges at the corners and looks like a parallelogram. You placed the framework on the board and a router would fit on top. You would run the router over the entire surface of the board to true it up. Maybe someone else knows where that was.

[keith ouellette]

Hello and welcome.

First the easy one. a regular jointer slides up and down on dove tail ways. I think of it as one wedge sliding on top of another. If the jointer is not made perfect (as I found out the hard way) this is little you can do to put the tables back in parallel other than placing shims in between the wedges to lift up one side or the other. If the table needs to be lower you have to get the two faces ground down so they fit better and thats probably never going to happen.
A parallel table sits on eccentric bushings that can be turned to raise or lower each table at any of four points giving you much better adjustment abilities if things aren't machined right to begin with.

Height adjustment on either one, Other than adjusting the tables to be in the same plane, is really not very different.

The short answer to the other question is yes, but the long answer is probably not very well. Someone posted a method they had read about for facing boards almost twice the width of the jointer bed but people that had tried it said it didn't give very good results and was a little bit dangerous.

Hope this helped.

[glenn bradley]

If you have a 6" jointer can you joint boards wider than 6". If so how would you go about doing it.

Planer sled - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=58735&highlight=planer+sled


Also what is the difference between a regular jointer and a parallelogram jointer? Some of this stuff is very confusing to me......

P-beds are elevated on cams and the gap between table and cutter head is consistent regardless of height. Dovetail ways slide in . . . well, dovetails . . . and move closer and farther from the cutter head as you raise or lower the tables respectively.

Both are proven designs. P-beds are easier to adjust for the co-planer relationship between infeed and outfeed tables or in relation to the cutterhead should this become necessary. DT ways require shimming to adjust whereas P-beds ride on cams that are made to be adjusted.

[Lance Norris]

Here is an article on how to do it:

http://woodworkerszone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Jointing_wide_boards

You need a planer to finish up as well. Hope this helps. Looks simple enough.

[Peter Quinn]

One method I rarely see mentioned is DJ Marks router rail method where a router on a wide shopmade base is slid back and forth between cold rolled steel rails with the board in between. Seems logical for occasional wide boards, minimal cost to assemble the jig. Check David Marks web site, maybe he has a better explanation there.

I have taken off the guard and used the rabbiting ledge to get an extra 2"-3" out of a small jointer. You joint the first 6" flat, then attach a temporary tall fence to the table saw with the bottom of the fence set just higher off the table then the unjointed portion of the board. Set the outside of the blade flush with the temporary fence and voila, you've jointed a 9" board with a 6" jointer.

[Jason Scott]

Nice sled, but the way I do it it just hot glue the board in place so it wont move on a piece of mdf then run it through the planer to get a flat face, then pop it off the mdf and run it through the other way to get it nice and parallel, works great, Marc. Spag. has a podcast on it at thewoodwhisperer.com, it is the "jointers jumpin" episode, check it out!

[glenn bradley]

One method I rarely see mentioned is DJ Marks router rail method where a router on a wide shopmade base is slid back and forth between cold rolled steel rails with the board in between. Seems logical for occasional wide boards, minimal cost to assemble the jig.

This method definitly has its place but a planer sled is quick.

[Todd Bin]

First. Why doesn't anyone suggest a jointer plane (Hand tood). I know, I know handtools and all that, but router rails isn't exactly fast.

Second, Buy A BIIIIGERRR jointer!! 20" should do it. :D What's a second mortgage among friends.