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Thread: How to get straight board edges

  1. #16
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    Take the boards to your local cabinet shop.

    Pay them for an hour to joint and mark your boards so you get them glued up in the correct arrangement.

    Best money you'll ever spend on wood that expensive...............Regards, Rod.

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    Normally, you'd put the two pieces together and plane them both at the same time so that if you aren't straight across, the two will still match.

    Mike
    Correct me if I am wrong, but if you clamp two boards together as you state and plane the edges simultaneously. If I were to create a dip or bump in both boards, doesn't that dip or bump double when I put the two edges together?
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod Sheridan View Post
    Take the boards to your local cabinet shop.

    Best money you'll ever spend on wood that expensive...............Regards, Rod.
    I agree 100% with Rod......
    Army Veteran 1968 - 1970
    I Support the Second Amendment of the US Constitution

  4. #19
    I'd brick lay the surface; 2 or 3 lengths/length.
    That is, get the lengths down to something your jointer (& you) can handle. Say 42" & 66".
    The overlap on glue up will support all the sticks in the panel. You turn it over to the
    wood shop and you're out of control, at their mercy.
    Practice a little on scrap.

  5. #20
    Most cabinet shop jointers are not kept adjusted well and will produce slightly convex (open end) joints. Get a price quote then tell them you will not accept open end joints. Then you will hear "well,that don't hurt nothin' " and a higher quote. Do not allow them to do the gluing.

  6. #21
    Michael, where are you located? Perhaps I can help (12" jointer and table saw).

  7. #22
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    I use hand planes for this work, but I have experience to know how to tune and edge, it's not simple work for someone who has never used a hand plane. When I'm gluing up a long pair of boards, I clamp one in my vise, and then plane the edge flat, checking it with winding sticks to ensure that it is true. I can see straight (meaning I can see if the edge has a curve or hollow), so I will do 90% of it visually, then use my straightedge to find tune the remainder.

    I put that board aside, then do the same on the adjoining board. That gets me close, at that point I will stack one upon the other (one is tight in the vise) and check for a rocking motion, and look for gaps. Continue tuning until the two boards are tight.

    The router idea will not work, it is incredibly unlikely that the two faces are completely free of twist along their length (9') so the reference (wide face) will transfer that unevenness to the edge, the result is an edge that will not fit right.

    What you should do is find a local yard or shop that has a going machine jointer and pay them an hours rate to have them joint the boards for you.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  8. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    Correct me if I am wrong, but if you clamp two boards together as you state and plane the edges simultaneously. If I were to create a dip or bump in both boards, doesn't that dip or bump double when I put the two edges together?
    Absolutely. But that's a problem along the length. What clamping them together tries of correct for is if the edge is not perfectly straight across. So let's say that the edge is not 90 degrees across, but is 92 degrees. Both boards will have the same "error". If you put them together correctly (basically just fold the boards over), the angles will match and you won't have a gap on one side of the board. If you did them separately, if one board is 90 degrees and the other is 92 degrees, you'll have a gap on one side when you put them together.

    If you do them separately, both edges have to be perfect for them to fit and that's tough with an hand plane, especially for a beginner.

    The problem you raise is a problem along the length of the board, and putting two boards together will not help that. You have to use a long jointer plane to try to get a straight edge. One way to check for that is to take the boards and put them together and see if they fit. If not, mark the high spots and focus on that for the length.

    Before I bought an 8" powered jointer, I used to joint my lumber by hand. It's difficult and takes a long time when the boards are long like his (9 feet). A powered jointer is soooo much faster and more accurate.

    Mike

    [Because his boards are 8/4, you can't plane two of them together as I described. Hand planes are not that wide. That technique is for 3/4" boards (or less).]
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 01-06-2017 at 2:06 PM.
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  9. #24
    I've tried a bunch of blades in my Milwaukee circular saw and I used it with a guide but I never got what I would consider glue up ready cuts with it. Somebody more skilled than I am could have quickly cleaned up the cut with a plane but I would not consider any circular saw cut I have seen good enough to go direct to glue up. Too rough. But I've used table saw and track saw cut edges very satisfactorily.

    I have a jointer too but it is an Inca with pretty short tables. I get better results with the saws but some is me not using the jointer as effectively as I'm sure others could. With a really long jointer, I think it's easier to get straight edges.

  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris True View Post
    No. 7 hand plane?
    Find out how old the guy is first...that would kill me.

  11. #26
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    Any professional shops in your area. When I moved to Pa. and started in woodworking we were often getting local woodworkers coming in with challenges like this. The foreman would give it to one of the low guys who would make a couple of easy bucks doing whatever the job was.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by John T Barker View Post
    Find out how old the guy is first...that would kill me.
    Jointing an edge is not hard (physically).
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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