Do you always start with the jointer?

[Carl Beckett]

I cut to a few mm oversized then joint and plane to finish size.......Regards, Rod

You know, this brings up an adjacent question: ‘do you often have a ‘finished size’ in mind?

As a hobby worker, I do not. I stop milling once it cleans up or is in a ‘size range’ I want. Again reproducibility isn’t an objective. So if a side panel assembly for example, I don’t reallycare the rail/stile thickness (at least not within about a quarter of an inch). Subsequent pieces will be cut to fit. (And rarely am I building off precise/detailed plans for basic structural fit)

In a production shop this would be Crazy since every joint is custom fit. Depending on build sequence, I could have side panel assys a different thickness than back panel Assy as an example (thickness only impacts interior dimensions)

But it’s related, because there is rarely a need to have a piece with an overly precise size.

[Andrew Seemann]

I cut to a few mm oversized then joint and plane to finish size.......Regards, Rod

What do you do about snipe? On my 15" Grizzly, I still get about half of one of your millimeters of snipe on each side. It isn't a lot and could probably be sanded out, but it still irritates me and I always cut it off. It might be OK for a panel glue up, but I would never leave it on something that required joinery.

[glenn bradley]

Great discussion here. I have occasionally found a blank that is:
- flat
- the right color
- the right figure
but, for the purposes of reality, I mill everything by one method or another.

You know, this brings up an adjacent question: ‘do you often have a ‘finished size’ in mind?

Love this topic. I stray from typical dimensions in my furniture. Two end table setting side by side; one manufactured 'by the thousands' and one made individually . . . in my experience, people are drawn to the single build. This leads me to think that the slightly irregular features of the piece may contribute to some folks attraction.

Blathering aside, like Carl, I mill till I have what I want. I also measure off of the piece as I go so (despite having detailed plans in Sketch Up for some components) the fact that a rail is 13/16" thick when I get what I want leads to that deviation for the dimensions of other components in the piece.

I'm not talking about making a table 6 inches wide and 30 feet long. I am talking about subtle deviations from 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", etc. I use the golden ratio as loose (read in a Capt. Barbosa voice) guidelines for many dimensions. I freely adjust these to suit what I am after. My customers are after furniture I design and build, not furniture I copy from IKEA or Crate and Barrel

[Jim Becker]

You know, this brings up an adjacent question: ‘do you often have a ‘finished size’ in mind?

As a hobby worker, I do not. I stop milling once it cleans up or is in a ‘size range’ I want. Again reproducibility isn’t an objective. So if a side panel assembly for example, I don’t reallycare the rail/stile thickness (at least not within about a quarter of an inch). Subsequent pieces will be cut to fit. (And rarely am I building off precise/detailed plans for basic structural fit)

In a production shop this would be Crazy since every joint is custom fit. Depending on build sequence, I could have side panel assys a different thickness than back panel Assy as an example (thickness only impacts interior dimensions)

But it’s related, because there is rarely a need to have a piece with an overly precise size.

Some projects I work like you do and some I bring things to specific dimensions for thickness, etc. What matters the most is "proportion"...that components feel right together, both as subassemblies and for the project as a whole. Actual dimensions don't matter for that and all too often folks get pigeonholed into thinking in terms of "half inch" or "three quarters inch" or "quarter inch" when some other smaller or larger dimension is perfectly fine. Maybe "three eighths" is the right spot or "whatever" is ideal for the project at hand. This very thing is why I'm a fan of things like story sticks and/or having a general dimension in mind and then filling things in with components that are sized exactly from the "framework" of the project, rather than calculated in advance. Honestly, this is the most precise way to work because every component is fitted in the most optimal way relative to other adjacent components. But you are absolutely correct that this isn't the best thing for "production" work because there, repeatability is really important for efficiency and cost control. This is the difference between on-off fine furniture/cabinetry and production work for sure when it comes to building/measuring techniques.

Oh, and being anal about grain and color matching is a good practice in all of this, too. It can be the difference between a very nice project result and an outstanding one.

[Chris Fournier]

Always jointer first following preliminary break out of the lumber into over sized component pieces. Then plane away. I put stickered rest days in between the steps of my dimensioning process to allow for movement that I can account for once again with my jointer then planer.

[Warren Lake]

good to see your attention to stuff Jim. Dont see it as being anal, old guys I know payed attention to all as that is how they were taught. One got whacked for taking a short cut. It got figured out and refined to a level and stayed that way forever then went down hill Many times you can look at work and see if someone was trained or not.

[Michael Costa]

Using a jointer first never hurts. Unless of course you're like me and decide to take the tip of your finger off with said jointer.

[Rod Sheridan]

What do you do about snipe? On my 15" Grizzly, I still get about half of one of your millimeters of snipe on each side. It isn't a lot and could probably be sanded out, but it still irritates me and I always cut it off. It might be OK for a panel glue up, but I would never leave it on something that required joinery.

Hi Andrew, my planer is properly calibrated and has zero snipe.

It can neither be measured nor detected by touch or visual inspection.

Now, if you’re down to snipe on 0.5mm length, that would disappear when you trim it to length.......Regards, Rod

[Rod Sheridan]

You know, this brings up an adjacent question: ‘do you often have a ‘finished size’ in mind?

As a hobby worker, I do not. I stop milling once it cleans up or is in a ‘size range’ I want. Again reproducibility isn’t an objective. So if a side panel assembly for example, I don’t reallycare the rail/stile thickness (at least not within about a quarter of an inch). Subsequent pieces will be cut to fit. (And rarely am I building off precise/detailed plans for basic structural fit)


In a production shop this would be Crazy since every joint is custom fit. Depending on build sequence, I could have side panel assys a different thickness than back panel Assy as an example (thickness only impacts interior dimensions)

But it’s related, because there is rarely a need to have a piece with an overly precise size.

Hi, I normally make all my parts to a size listed on my drawing.

If the parts aren’t the correct size, my fabrication method doesn’t work in some cases.

Now, if the table top for example was 2mm thicker, that wouldn’t be a problem, if the drawer front was 2mm wider than required that would be a problem.

It’s simply the way I work.....Rod

[Brian Holcombe]

Hi Andrew, my planer is properly calibrated and has zero snipe.

It can neither be measured nor detected by touch or visual inspection.

Now, if you’re down to snipe on 0.5mm length, that would disappear when you trim it to length.......Regards, Rod

That is another thing that properly jointing helps to minimize or in many cases eliminate, in my experience. I watch the boards going through the planer and if they spring up slightly they will snipe (this is fairly common for planing very thin stock in my case (1/8") With normal size boards, properly jointed flat I have basically nothing for snipe unless they're so long and heavy that they depress the springs on the way out.

[Robert Engel]

A board can look really flat but in the rough state it still needs to be jointed even if just to get a smooth bearing side for the planer. If a board is dead flat looking and plenty thick enough, I'll usually skim both sides on the planer because I need to see the grain and defects.

That said, a surfaced board can look really flat, but be sure to check for twist, especially if its been kiln dried. I find this is where a lot of issues come in with surfaced lumber.