A straight 1x6 with a skil saw will joint it.
A straight 1x6 with a skil saw will joint it.
I've build a couple of 4' in feed & out feed beds for my 6" jointer. It's bed is only 54" so it's nice to have the extra support. There is absolutely no drama when doing large timbers this way & the surface is straight & almost finish ready. An extension is way better than a roller because there is no worry about snagging on the roller. For a 100 lb board, help getting it on & off the jointer is good to have, but the actual jointing process is smooth & low effort.
Sometimes a shop has one guy who has an unusually good feel for keeping the material absolutely flat on the machine.
I made some hand rail for an acquaintance in his shop, it had no hold down. But he had a guy there who could keep a 16
foot piece absolutely flat on the shaper or jointer. One trial run with machine off and he was "programmed ".
This reminds me of an article I saw in Fine Homebuilding once about a guy in S.C. who had to bandsaw 6" x 12" x 29' long laminated beams. His solution was to mount his bandsaw on a round board and build it into a small hovercraft. He then piloted his bandsaw through the suspended beam. The builder wasn't all that complementary of his client and wrote of being white knuckled through the whole process.
The funny part is that my cousin who is: a. very wealthy, and b. not a very nice person had previously told me about his house he had built in S.C. that featured custom 6"x12"x29' beams. I have no doubt that it was my cousin who gave that guy heartburn.
There is a device called JOINTABILITY. It's not big enough for your project, but if you read up on it, you will see how to use a router and straightedge to joint two boards at once so that they mate together.
Pop a chalk line and cut it. Follow with a hand plane.
Jim,
One answer to your question in keeping with Lowell's suggestion is to use extruded aluminum angle stock as a proxy for the straight 1x6. You can get 8 foot lengths at Home Depot for probably around $15. They can be carefully lined up and joined together with a mending plate or two, maybe with the screws countersunk on the side that the saw will ride against. A local metal supplier may have longer lengths available. In this case I think extruded aluminum angle is about as straight as can be obtained.
I'll agree with that, Edwin, although I'd be leery of joining two pieces for this particular application and would want to try and source a longer length...which would preclude the home center most likely as you note.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
I don't see what the fuss is all about.
If you want to play with big sticks maybe its time to put on your long trousers and get yourself a grown-ups jointer.
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I use infeed and outfeed roller stands for support. I've done 16' material by myself several times, just takes some time. If you can take it to someone with a SLR, that will take most of the work out of it, then finish on the jointer
I just wish my shop had room to think about building with 14' material. In my little 20x22 space, an 8' board is getting really long. I currently only have my hammer A3-31 setup for 5' clearance on each side. LOL
But if I were to have to do it, I would be using the track saw and a plane as already mentioned.