Best way to straighten long boards

[Curtis Tippin]

I'm trying to think through the best method to straighten 8ft or longer 2x lumber. I was originally going to build a sled (like a tapering jig) but think an 8ft long sled for this may be too large for me to work with. I then thought that I could just use a circular saw with an edge guide, which would wokr fine. I then saw a video last night where someone mimicked the "joint on a router" methods I've seen with a table saw by cutting an 1/8" strip out of a portion of the edge of a board and then using that as a sacrificial fence so that the part of the board behind the saw blade is 1/8" wider than the portion in front of the blade.

This last method seems to be the easiest method but I haven't seen any discussions online comparing the methods for straightening longer pieces so wanted to see if anyone had suggestions for considerations I should factor into my decision.

Thanks in advance for any comments!

[Cary Falk]

A flush trim router bit with a straight edge works as well.

[Mark Bolton]

+1 To Cary's solution. Leave the material stationary and rip a strip of (or use a good factory edge), clamp it to the work, and top bearing router bit.

[Richard Coers]

A flush trim router bit with a straight edge works as well.

A saw will be much faster if there is something like 1/2" or more to be removed from the 2x stock.

[andy bessette]

Best way to straighten the edge of rough lumber is with a track saw and long track.

[peter gagliardi]

Seems first thing we need to know is what is in your toolkit?
Hard to advise properly without knowing what is at your disposal.

[Tom M King]

No trouble at all straightening an 8' board on any length jointer.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have a Festool track saw and use that sometimes.

My other method, I bought a cheap melamine 8' shelf from Home Depot. I clamp my work piece to that and use the finished edge, of the shelf, against my table saw fence and get a good straight edge passing this through the table saw. Before I had a good size in feed and out feed tables, I use cheap support rollers.

[Curtis Tippin]

Thanks for all of the responses. I considered the router option but think that will take a long time and a number of passes and I don't have bits long enough to do 2x material unless in one pass. I don't have a jointer either, but I have a table saw, router and circular saw.

The melamine shelf idea is similar to the sled concept I have considered. How do you clamp the board down to the to shelf (did you turn the shelf into a sled with clamps built into it)? I guess I was thinking the sled concept needed to ride in the miter slot which was going to be difficult because I didn't want to cut 7+ long miter extensions into my out feed table, but just using the fence as suggested would avoid that issue.

[Darcy Warner]

8 feet really isn't long though.

[Ben Rivel]

Best way to straighten the edge of rough lumber is with a track saw and long track.

Heck yes!!!

[Darcy Warner]

Heck yes!!!

Actually the best way is a SLR or gang rip.

[Andrew More]

You also haven't specified if you're attempting to do this with the edge or face of the board.

[Mike Wilkins]

Gary's solution is a great idea. You could also use a straight 8 foot piece of plywood, double-stick tape the board to the plywood, and run the plywood against the rip fence.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Thanks for all of the responses. I considered the router option but think that will take a long time and a number of passes and I don't have bits long enough to do 2x material unless in one pass. I don't have a jointer either, but I have a table saw, router and circular saw.

The melamine shelf idea is similar to the sled concept I have considered. How do you clamp the board down to the to shelf (did you turn the shelf into a sled with clamps built into it)? I guess I was thinking the sled concept needed to ride in the miter slot which was going to be difficult because I didn't want to cut 7+ long miter extensions into my out feed table, but just using the fence as suggested would avoid that issue.

I drilled a few 1/4 holes in the melamine shelf, recessed the head of 1/4 bolts and used these type of clamps to hold the piece to be straightened. I'd adjust the fence position as necessary. I didn't use the miter slots, I just kept the edge of the melamine pressed hard up against the saw fence.