Jointing wood without a jointer

[ScottGoddard]

Hi all,

I havent yet got round to buying a jointer (mainly not found one close enough in a reason price range). However, i have seen some video suggesting you can do this on the table saw using a jig, i am yet to believe these actually work, i can see it would give you a clean edge but not square......

Has/does any one do this?

 

[marcros]

a hand plane would make a better job I think.

 

[Brentingby]

You can use a bearing-guided bit in a router with a straight edge template.

 

[Cordy]

I use a table-saw jig, excellent
Jig one side then run that down the fence on T/s to get opposite side parallel


Videos galore on youtube

 

[thetyreman]

a handplane is the best option, I agree with marcros

 

[transatlantic]

The tablesaw jig does work. See the video below for a guy who uses it to make a MASSIVE garden table. I personally wouldn't attempt it though, I don't have the patience. With my skill-set, I know I would got to all the trouble of making it and it would be way off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPee7XMyhEA

 

[Ttrees]

Have a look at Mitch's jig for the tablesaw
40 seconds into the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zatCdDecOdc

I've also seen a youtube video by Kelly Mehler......
masteringyourtablesaw8 calling it his old Kentucky holddown jig.

Still would need to run over it with a hand plane though

 

[ED65]

...i have seen some video suggesting you can do this on the table saw using a jig, i am yet to believe these actually work, i can see it would give you a clean edge but not square......

Flip alternate boards over, then it doesn't matter if the edges are perfectly square.

You can of course joint with a hand plane but if that's not something that appeals to you you can do a very good job of it using a router, and that will guarantee perfectly square edges every time.

 

[transatlantic]

...i have seen some video suggesting you can do this on the table saw using a jig, i am yet to believe these actually work, i can see it would give you a clean edge but not square......

Flip alternate boards over, then it doesn't matter if the edges are perfectly square.

You can of course joint with a hand plane but if that's not something that appeals to you you can do a very good job of it using a router, and that will guarantee perfectly square edges every time.

This assumes you have flat boards though (not cup or twisting)

 

[Nelsun]

I've settled on getting boards flat and hot glueing boards to be joined side by side to a flat surface then running a track saw along between the edges to be joined. The kerf gives a great join as both edges are cut in a mating fashion regardless of the blade being 100% on 90 degrees. I've had good results in the past with a plane but this method is near fool proof on long or short boards If I had a good sized planer then alternating boards would sound a lot quicker and reliable method.

 

[memzey]

I think if you're not going to use a planer then you should probably get familiar with some bench planes. In my limited experience I'd say it's the most efficient way to four square rough stock at your disposal. A good planer thicknesser would of course make it much easier and quicker but jiggery pokery with a router, etc seems like more faff than it's worth when compared to the quiet and satisfying bench plane route.

 

[sunnybob]

I like me you are not good with hand planes and cant get a flat straight edge, use a router table with any straight sided cutter to give a 90 degree flat edge, or use a finger joint bit like this for strength
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MOHOO-Reversib ... ter+finger

 

[custard]

Hi all,

I havent yet got round to buying a jointer (mainly not found one close enough in a reason price range). However, i have seen some video suggesting you can do this on the table saw using a jig, i am yet to believe these actually work, i can see it would give you a clean edge but not square......

If you have a perfectly true face to reference from then you can get a reasonably true edge with a router. But how are you going to get that true face in the first place?

Another thing, a machine routered edge won't be quite as clean as a hand planed edge, the router bit has a tendency to minutely move in and out of the cut, there may be some scorching, the beginning and end of any routered cut can be tricky, there may be some traces of scalloping, and it's a lot of faff to cut a sprung joint with a router. IMO if you want to make solid wood furniture then you should learn to true a rough sawn board with a hand plane. No ifs, no buts, because unless you've got that basic level of hand plane skill then you'll be defeated by many other cabinet making challenges that you'll meet later on.

Here's an analogy. Imagine your son or daughter wants to learn to drive, but they've convinced themselves that changing gear and operating a clutch is just too difficult, so they propose to learn in an automatic and get an automatic only driving licence. What would your response be? Well, that's my response too! It might take a few hours practise to learn to use a hand plane properly, but it's worth it in the end.

Good luck!

 

[ScottGoddard]

Have a look at Mitch's jig for the tablesaw
40 seconds into the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zatCdDecOdc

I've also seen a youtube video by Kelly Mehler......
masteringyourtablesaw8 calling it his old Kentucky holddown jig.

Still would need to run over it with a hand plane though

Thanks that's the sort of jig i was think of, but why bother with the jig? i would have thought that the fence on the table saw is as true as the jig. (suppose that is what i am struggling with)

 

[ScottGoddard]

a hand plane would make a better job I think.

agreed, just don't have any of those either....I have a set coming my way in the next couple of months. They are being passed down from my dad, who got that from his dad (Master Carpenter) so waiting to see what i get and their condition.

 

[Eric The Viking]

You can joint stuff (i.e. make it true and straight* for glueing) with anything from a No.5 plane upwards. You do need to set the plane up nicely and make sure the iron is sharp, but that's all good practice.

I like doing it, to the extent I prefer it when I can.

I have used a router table as a planer ("jointer"), and it does work, but it's not a nice process - noisy and prone to tearout, etc.

There is a lot of help on here with setting up Bailey-type planes, and lots on the internet (incl. YouTube). Sharpening likewise. It won't take long to get the hang of it.

One word of caution: cheap softwood, such as from builders merchants or the DIY sheds, is very hard to use, because the grain goes all over the place, it isn't dried properly and hasn't stopped moving around, and there are usually nasty knots and resin inclusions. You will be disappointed with the results you can get using it, compared to better materials. For example, I have one moulding plane, that gets used mainly for beading. It works well, but not with cheap softwood. When I first tried to use it, I though it was me, but it wasn't.

E.

*"straight" isn't actually straight if you're making things like big tabletops - you want the joint faces to be very, very slightly concave along their longest axis: when you cramp up they'll glue nicely, but the ends are less likely to spring apart as the wood settles down. Jacob, of this parish, will explain better than I can.