I just did this exact process. It is a lot of work, but when you're done and the table top is nice and flat, all that hard work seems to make it worth it. Great video.
Great video and technique. In your video you mention to continue planning until you can see it is flat. You can draw squiggly pencil lines on the top that you are planning. As you plane you will see some of the pencil marking being removed. When all of the pencil mark has been removed you should be good to go. Thanks for sharing!
really great video! no wandering monologue! just the facts and exactly what someone needs to know- nice job and good looking stock as a result. Thanks!
Got 'er done there, Chris... nice! Just goes to show 'it's not what ya got but how you use it that counts', right? Nice job of explaining the process; you've really shortened the learning curve for those who haven't done this before. When I've need to flatten planks this way I like to use an LVL beam for the 'guide board' and recommend it because of it's initial and long-term flatness and stability plus they're available 11 7/8" wide for maxing out capabilities of your process. Naturally the trade-off is initial cost. Your method of using hot glue for the shims is one I haven't seen but will adopt. Thanks for sharing! Best, Matt
Hey Chris. I'm building your workbench and at least a third of the wood I bought had significant bowing. I tried this method and it worked very well and was super easy to do. Thanks for putting this content out.
Thanks for this video. I’ve just picked up some 4 x 10ft by 8 inch oak boards. Warped and twisted like crazy and I was playing with the idea of building a router sled. Instead I’ll use my 12” Makita thickness planer with some flat stock, probably ply or MDF. As someone else already said I’ll cut to length first as I only need them to be 6ft long. Still looking for tips on how to make it look distressed and ‘vintage’. Love your dog too!
You could also use stops half the height of the board being planed at the front and back, instead of screws to hold the board from moving. Then you just need to hot glue the shims in place.
Can't wait to see the table! About the router, yes you can use a sled. But I tried with a smaller router 1/4" shank, and too forever. Upgraded router to 3.25hp, 1/2" collet with a bottom bit. Soooooo much easier.
I use a very similar method. It hasn’t failed me yet. I made a sled out of a piece of plywood, with a stop on the front edge as added security. I have a large infeed and outfeed table for the sled to ride on when I am jointing long pieces like that too. Great video and demo, my friend!
Using a piece of 3/4 hardwood plywood as a straight edge (factory side against the fence) attached to the board and tuning it trough the table saw to get your first straight edges works pretty well also
Dude I know this video is 6 years old but it's still super helpful. I'm about to mill up some 9' long walnut for the first time and there's not a lot of info out there on milling long boards w/out a jointer
Biggest tip I'd like to give you. Build up some type of infeed & outfeed table(s). That would help you out the most when no one is available to help out. Also, put blocks in front and back of the board being planed to prevent sniping
If you need the boards that long your choices for flattening are limited. If you can, always cut the longer lumber into shorter lengths for easier handling and less stress on the planer. Sometimes you might have to cut the length you need from the center of the board to eliminate twists, meaning cutting off the ends. You might think this would waste wood but with proper planning you do not waste wood. Just take the time to look at the rough sawn lumber and figure out where the twists and cups are. Then roughly draw your dimensions out on the wood to make sure you get the most usable pieces from your board.
Great method shown here. And yes, long and wide boards are heavy. I am in the process of making your farmhouse table out of some beautiful ash I found at a hardwood dealer (bought the plans from you on your website) and this is definitely a workout.
This method is great. I, myself, prefer the router sled method to this method; mainly because I tend to work alone and also because I don't need to use a sacrificial straight board or screws. Just hot glue and shims. Great video, and clear instructions. Thank you.
Sacrificial screws??? I always save every single screw I pull out of everything. If they look good and the thread and head is fine, I save it in my storage boxes! I came from a thirld world country where we did that, so it might be related to it :(
Angle the holding screws through your stock into the flat reference board. Then you don’t mar the face of your stock. You saw off the sides where the screws passed through which is something you’d do anyway when you bring the board to dimension.
Nice! I use small squares of double sided tape. I've found it to be super easy to use, and can be used even after it doesn't stick anymore. the pressure of the board, and spongy quality of the tape keep your shims in place. For the worst boards, I have a special guide for my table saw to cut one face perfectly flat.
I made myself a planer sled the other day as well. I don't know how I lived without it. Even the worst twisted boards became usable now. No more shimming required for 6 feet or less. Still require this method for anything over that length though.
Seems like to me a good way to accomplish this without screws and glue would be mdf strips with double sided tape. I have tried this with smaller boards and it works great!
I just got lucky and found a delta planer on Craigslist for 140. Unfortunately the guy I got it from was selling all his dad's tools that passed. Thanks for the great vid i am going to give it a go.
You could use a manufactured surface for the flat reference surface. Like a peace of melamine or MDF. They sell melamine shelving stock in 8ft lengths at most box stores.
Dieter Jones for smaller boards I think those would work great. For one my boards for 10ft long and also wanting something more rigid and stiff than 3/4 mdf. Plus a 10ft 2x10 was only $8. But you are spot on as them being super nice and flat!
If you have a flat surface to set it on while you are shimming, the stiffness of the sled does not matter. It is important that the sled have uniform thickness, however. You could use a sheet of 1/8-in thick hardboard as the sled and get good results.
@@ThirdCoastCraftsman Thanks for a great video. I kind of screwed up a big glue up yesterday and will need to rip the wide cupped boards apart and start again-- and I plan to use your method to remove the cupping. I will use some leftover 1" baltic birch plywood as my reference bottom piece... but wrt Deiter's proposed use of the flat, and not particularly stiff melamine- I would think that it would work just fine, since it's the incompressibility of the bottom board and the flatness along its cross section that count--right? unless you think it will somehow cup, ie. lose its flatness when the whole assembly is pushed thru the rollers of the planer. What do you think?
Do they sell MDF or plywood sheets larger than 4x8? Stock MDF is only good for 8' lumber. His boards were obviously longer than that. For 12' boards the method makes sense. You could laminate 2 or 3 layers of MDF with overlapping joints to create a reference piece longer than 8', but MDF is quite dense and thus heavy.
Wish I had access to a thickness planer. I only have a router with a 1/2" collet and a 3/4" bit. My way would be to go ahead with the glue up and use a router sled, obviously after straightening the edges. Nice explanation on how to do it differently.
1/2" shaft router bits are available with huuuge cutters, intended for flattening board with router sleds. Not cheap, but waaay less than a planer. Makes an outstanding mess doesn't it?
I just bought a used Jet 12" thickness planer! Stole it for $150 and two sets of brand new knives! Found it on a Facebook group. Had to drive 2 hours to go get it though.
I wonder if screwing long continuous pieces of plywood on edge to both of the sides of the plank would work as well. You can cut a ply sheet fairly straight. That straight edge of the ply would be on the planner bed. I am no expert but it may be faster to assemble and lighter to handle.
Hi Chris. I'm doing an 84" white oak tabletop using 8/4 stock. I have a couple of pieces that are bowed. Milling them would lose too much thickness, so I thought of cutting those boards in half and milling them before gluing them back together. That joint would be very weak, but would get strength from being sandwiched in with full-length boards might be acceptable. The line where it was cut in half would not be very apparent (theoretically) since the grain should match up well. What are your thoughts? Also, I built your Farm House Table a few years ago for a newly-wed couple and they still give me nice comments about it. Thanks Rodger
Good explanation at the end Chris. ive used a sled b4 but without a larger bit it takes 4ever and a day.....literally..lol have a good one bro i loom fwd to seeing the table if u decide to vid it.🍻
Instead of mucking about with screws all you really need is a cleat at the leading edge of your reference board. As the rollers pull your material through it essentially pulls the reference board along with it. Screws can pull down on the top board throwing everything off a bit.
This video is so good. Amazing how much your audio and video quality has improved these past few years though! I'm going to finally invest in a small shop planer. Are you still happy with that Dewalt?
Rather than buying those roller guides you can use adjustable sawhorses, then get exact height you need. You can put cutting boards or something slippery to help the wood slide. Made from construction grade lumber, so pretty cheap. I made two sets and use them a lot. The pattern was from one of the woodworking magazines, back issue, don't remember which one or I'd link it.
I picked up an 8' long roller platform, the kind they use for off loading boxes from trucks or in factories- with a series of small metal rollers in a metal frame. 2 adjustable horses and works great!
You could also have put some scrap wood along the SIDES of the stock that had a true/flat side protruding on the bottom. This would have been much faster and not left holes in the face side of the stock.
Instead of screws, I have always figured out where my shims needed to be and then used carpet tape on both the shims, and to secure the boards together. No permanent marks like screws could leave, but you have to be sure not to use too much or you'll never get those boards apart again.
Sorry dumb question.... but why the need to glue the shims in? Wouldn’t they be held in place by the two pieces being clamped together by the screws? Thx in advance
Thats a good question. I feel like they were still moving alittle even after screwing, but you may be right and not need it. I cant exactly remember, but I feel like it was still a needed extra step.
Good work. I’d probably try screwing through the shims first. Nice idea though. I have a powermatic jointer that needs a new cutter head. I may try this before I pop for a new one.
A Jet 8” jointer planer is 382$, free shipping. If you do enough work and have deadlines and so on, wouldn’t that be a worthwhile investment ? That’s the first one I saw on eBay, probably better ones or better deals around if you looked. But then maybe labour is its own reward.
Thats an incredible deal! was that one of their large floor models. Don't get me wrong, I definitely want a jointer and you are right its a vert worthwhile invest, but usually one of the last tools a woodworker gets, and typically a half way decent floor model jointer is much more expensive than that. I dont think a tabletop jointer would work as well for boards this size.
The jointer was one of the first machines I ever bought... It is critical for dimensioning lumber efficiently. First is a table saw. Second is a planer. Third is absolutely a jointer. fourth is a shaper. And so on. Of course, you can get around most of these issues with a router if you don't have the funds to get the machinery. With every single job you do, add in a few hundred dollars extra on top of what you need to put in your own pocket to put towards equipment that will make you more efficient, reduce your labor cost, and increase productivity.
You probably thought of this but couldn't you have sacrificed the edges and used short boards screwed to the sides and skipped the possibility screws ruining/scarring on the planer bed? I am no expert but I think hot gluing then shimming the gaps is good (and possibly along the sides too) would work even without screws?
Not quite sure what you mean about the boards on the sides. And yes you could get away with just hot gluing. My hot glue gun doesnt pump out enough fast enough for me to do that on such large boards. I also countersink the screw holes enought to not scar the planer bed. That would be bad for sure!
Cut several short pieces of board the approximate length of slightly less than the sum of the thickness of both long boards and screwed to both the SIDES of the long boards. This way only the side (which will be glued to the others) and not the bottom surface will only be "holed" by screws. Strategic placement may save the sides too.
Oh ok, I think i see what you mean. That very well may work, Im trying to visualize it in my head to see if there would be any problems, but can't really up front. That is worth experimenting with. most of the time the sides are cut down anyway to make them square and to final dimension so screw holes in them wouldnt really matter. Have you tried this yourself? Thanks for the comments
I use a hand plane for one edge and then rip the other edge in the table saw. check out my trestle table video. I show some of that process. It can be tricky if are used to hand planing and have a jointer plane. You can also make a jig for your table saw to cut the first edge, then take the board off the jig and run the other edge through the table saw. jointing edges on table saw. there should be some good videos.
I guess I'm a bit confused by the title.....I've never use a jointer to flatten a board....jointers are for the narrow edge to prep them for butt joints. A planer would always be used to make even thickness.
Jointers are definitely made to flatten a board face as well as its edge. If you put a warped or twisted board through a planet before flattening it, it will come out the other side still warped or twisted. Planets only make a board an even thickness, they don’t do anything to flatten.
I wonder if I can glue the 2x10x10 to a straight edge magnesium 2x6 screed with trim glue for fast and temp holding, get the one side of the board flat then remove and flip
Nice vid. Really have been enjoying your older vids and have been learning a lot. Was wondering if you had considered using pieces of MDF as the bottom board? I'm sure finding MDF that long would be a pain, but I came across some shelves at a box store for like, $5 a piece, and I'm sure they can be jointed together to make a long board for reference....or maybe I'm missing something. Idk. that's more of a question than a comment I guess, lol. :)
Yes that method works great however I’m not sure you would need to do that with 8/4 oak boards. I doubt the feed rollers are that strong as to compress board of that size? If you ran it through cup side down with shallow passes, I’m sure it would flatten it fine. On these tabletop planers I just don’t think the compression is strong enough to compress an 8/4 x 8” oak board? 4/4 it probably would but not 8/4
Great video! I was wondering if it's possible to attach just two straight boards on the exterior sides of the large board and then pass it through the thicknesser....
Don’t larger furniture companies in your area allow smaller manufacturers to use their expensive tools? I once saw a video uploaded by Black Tail Studio in which the presenter of the video showed that he pays another larger manufacturer some $60 or something per 30 minutes to use their equipment to flatten large boards. Have you tried to negotiate such an arrangement with a nearby larger manufacturer? What are the options?
How does this work? Please let me know, how do you justify flattening a board through this process! What do you do with all the screw holes. I think if you want something to so flat, it would warrant not having holes all through it.
Almost every piece of wood in every project has a face that will be seen and a face that will not. This wood was for a table, and all the screw holes were on the underside of the table where it doesnt matter. I also used some of this lumber to glue together to make thick pieces to make the feet and posts of the table and I just glued the faces with the screws together so that they would never be seen. Do me a favor and watch my video on the trestle table I built. The lumber in this video was used for that project and I think you will see that the process works just fine as I end up with an beautiful heirloom piece
Thank you. That is called a crochet. I actually just posted a quick little video explaining that on my instagram account. If you are on there you should go check that out. Essentially, it is for holding boards against the side of the bench
Yes, but it will be a cheap light duty 6 inch table top version. Any jointer with a 8-10" cutting capabiltiy (which is what is needed for these boards) is big bucks, even used on craigslist.
Third Coast Craftsman I have seen a hack that someone did with jointing 6 inches of a board and then putting it on a piece of mdf and running it through the planer on the other side
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I just did this exact process. It is a lot of work, but when you're done and the table top is nice and flat, all that hard work seems to make it worth it. Great video.
I'm glad you added the bit with the illustration! Very informative. Thank you.
Jimmy I am glad you liked that part, I was unsure about adding it, but really wanted to make those points.
Great video and technique. In your video you mention to continue planning until you can see it is flat. You can draw squiggly pencil lines on the top that you are planning. As you plane you will see some of the pencil marking being removed. When all of the pencil mark has been removed you should be good to go. Thanks for sharing!
Great tip david. Thanks!
Good tip, thanks!
I do this.
Hey David, good common sense there bud. I would have never thought to do that. Thanks.
Exactly what I do too.
really great video! no wandering monologue! just the facts and exactly what someone needs to know- nice job and good looking stock as a result. Thanks!
You my favorite woodworking channel so far. Thanks man
I needed a video like this. Other videos made this seem to hard. But the way you teach it, it's easy. Some people are too complicated.
Im glad to hear to say that. Thats my goal in videos like this
I know it’s an old video but very helpful. Thanks!
Got 'er done there, Chris... nice! Just goes to show 'it's not what ya got but how you use it that counts', right? Nice job of explaining the process; you've really shortened the learning curve for those who haven't done this before. When I've need to flatten planks this way I like to use an LVL beam for the 'guide board' and recommend it because of it's initial and long-term flatness and stability plus they're available 11 7/8" wide for maxing out capabilities of your process. Naturally the trade-off is initial cost. Your method of using hot glue for the shims is one I haven't seen but will adopt.
Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Matt
I'm getting ready to start making a table out of reclaimed barn wood, and this is just the method that I need. Thank you for sharing
Hey Chris. I'm building your workbench and at least a third of the wood I bought had significant bowing. I tried this method and it worked very well and was super easy to do. Thanks for putting this content out.
Haha that’s great to hear! Make sure you send pictures of the finished bench!!!
Thanks for this video. I’ve just picked up some 4 x 10ft by 8 inch oak boards. Warped and twisted like crazy and I was playing with the idea of building a router sled. Instead I’ll use my 12” Makita thickness planer with some flat stock, probably ply or MDF. As someone else already said I’ll cut to length first as I only need them to be 6ft long. Still looking for tips on how to make it look distressed and ‘vintage’.
Love your dog too!
You could also use stops half the height of the board being planed at the front and back, instead of screws to hold the board from moving. Then you just need to hot glue the shims in place.
Good tip carl, thank you!
Excellent tip and seems much easier and less invasive to the board being planed too.
I'm also building a dining table out of oak. I spent all day in the shop yesterday doing just this. Great explanation!
Can't wait to see the table! About the router, yes you can use a sled. But I tried with a smaller router 1/4" shank, and too forever. Upgraded router to 3.25hp, 1/2" collet with a bottom bit. Soooooo much easier.
Great video and excellent explanation of when to have the cup up or down.
I use a very similar method. It hasn’t failed me yet. I made a sled out of a piece of plywood, with a stop on the front edge as added security. I have a large infeed and outfeed table for the sled to ride on when I am jointing long pieces like that too.
Great video and demo, my friend!
Great video. Next time ask your buddy to include the dust collection shroud too 😂
you have good pals to let you borrow the planer, most people are to selfish these days!! Great vid
Using a piece of 3/4 hardwood plywood as a straight edge (factory side against the fence) attached to the board and tuning it trough the table saw to get your first straight edges works pretty well also
I'm at a real loss without a planer, good video, message received and understood.
Yea, those are a big help when you have to demension a bunch of stuff
Helpful video and awesome Pointer! Simple and easy to follow thanks for the upload!
Thanks SO much for the tips! Really enjoy your videos!
Thank you Henry, I am glad it was of some help
Dude I know this video is 6 years old but it's still super helpful. I'm about to mill up some 9' long walnut for the first time and there's not a lot of info out there on milling long boards w/out a jointer
Exactly the option I was looking for!
You have a great friend to let you run all that oak through his planer. Hope you got him some new knives, or at least a beer :) thanks for the video!
Trust me, he owed me haha
You have a gift for teaching. Nice video.
oh thank you. I definitely try, but im not the most articulate at time haha
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I'm in the same situation... Need flat boards, no jointer, same planer. Keep up the good work 👍
Excellent explanation, THANKYOU !
Biggest tip I'd like to give you. Build up some type of infeed & outfeed table(s). That would help you out the most when no one is available to help out. Also, put blocks in front and back of the board being planed to prevent sniping
Excellent job.
Great video, thanks 👍👍👍👍👍
My pleasure, thanks for watching
Thanks I needed to see this method of smooth ing the thick boards .😜👏
If you need the boards that long your choices for flattening are limited. If you can, always cut the longer lumber into shorter lengths for easier handling and less stress on the planer. Sometimes you might have to cut the length you need from the center of the board to eliminate twists, meaning cutting off the ends. You might think this would waste wood but with proper planning you do not waste wood. Just take the time to look at the rough sawn lumber and figure out where the twists and cups are. Then roughly draw your dimensions out on the wood to make sure you get the most usable pieces from your board.
Great piece of information Ron. Thank you
Thanks for the great explanation!
My pleasure.
Great method shown here. And yes, long and wide boards are heavy. I am in the process of making your farmhouse table out of some beautiful ash I found at a hardwood dealer (bought the plans from you on your website) and this is definitely a workout.
This method is great. I, myself, prefer the router sled method to this method; mainly because I tend to work alone and also because I don't need to use a sacrificial straight board or screws. Just hot glue and shims. Great video, and clear instructions. Thank you.
I still have yet to use a router sled. Its coming though as I have some slab projects coming haha
Sacrificial screws??? I always save every single screw I pull out of everything. If they look good and the thread and head is fine, I save it in my storage boxes! I came from a thirld world country where we did that, so it might be related to it :(
You know what you are doing, beautiful explanation, thanks !
Very slick setup
I've used the router sled method on maple boards this size. This seems like it may be much easier. Thanks for the tip!
Daniel Dunlap ku
Nice job! A set of portable rollers can make the job easier when you are just one man.
Big time! I was wishing for those big time!
Awesome video thanks!
That was rude of me....great video! Good explanation. Thank you
Very clever great job
Angle the holding screws through your stock into the flat reference board. Then you don’t mar the face of your stock. You saw off the sides where the screws passed through which is something you’d do anyway when you bring the board to dimension.
Very helpful, thank you.
Nice! I use small squares of double sided tape. I've found it to be super easy to use, and can be used even after it doesn't stick anymore. the pressure of the board, and spongy quality of the tape keep your shims in place. For the worst boards, I have a special guide for my table saw to cut one face perfectly flat.
Double sided tape is a great tip. Ill try that next time. (hopefully there wont be a next time) haha
I made myself a planer sled the other day as well. I don't know how I lived without it. Even the worst twisted boards became usable now. No more shimming required for 6 feet or less. Still require this method for anything over that length though.
Seems like to me a good way to accomplish this without screws and glue would be mdf strips with double sided tape. I have tried this with smaller boards and it works great!
If no jointer, then this works! Just very labor and tedious, but it’s doable nice job
I just got lucky and found a delta planer on Craigslist for 140. Unfortunately the guy I got it from was selling all his dad's tools that passed. Thanks for the great vid i am going to give it a go.
Its tough work, but it will work :)
You could use a manufactured surface for the flat reference surface. Like a peace of melamine or MDF. They sell melamine shelving stock in 8ft lengths at most box stores.
Dieter Jones for smaller boards I think those would work great. For one my boards for 10ft long and also wanting something more rigid and stiff than 3/4 mdf. Plus a 10ft 2x10 was only $8. But you are spot on as them being super nice and flat!
Dieter Jones und
If you have a flat surface to set it on while you are shimming, the stiffness of the sled does not matter. It is important that the sled have uniform thickness, however. You could use a sheet of 1/8-in thick hardboard as the sled and get good results.
@@ThirdCoastCraftsman Thanks for a great video. I kind of screwed up a big glue up yesterday and will need to rip the wide cupped boards apart and start again-- and I plan to use your method to remove the cupping. I will use some leftover 1" baltic birch plywood as my reference bottom piece... but wrt Deiter's proposed use of the flat, and not particularly stiff melamine- I would think that it would work just fine, since it's the incompressibility of the bottom board and the flatness along its cross section that count--right? unless you think it will somehow cup, ie. lose its flatness when the whole assembly is pushed thru the rollers of the planer. What do you think?
Good suggestion.
Hardest part is finding a flat base board at a home center! Most of their lumber is junk.
Very true! Luckily I was able to find one flat "enough". If you watch my trestle table build you will see that the results I was able to get.
@@ThirdCoastCraftsman i think a product like mdf would make better sense for this, mdf is usually quite flat.
That’s the reason planer sleds are made of mdf. Problem solved.
You dont need to worry about the base board if you use Hdf MDF or plywood. Generally they are all nice and flat
Do they sell MDF or plywood sheets larger than 4x8? Stock MDF is only good for 8' lumber. His boards were obviously longer than that. For 12' boards the method makes sense. You could laminate 2 or 3 layers of MDF with overlapping joints to create a reference piece longer than 8', but MDF is quite dense and thus heavy.
good work buddy
Nice job, I would have put out feed rollers to help as a second set of hands, but nice job
I really wish I had some for this for sure
Couldn't you knock up a couple of short saw horses with a bit of copper pipe on top? Or an inverted skateboard? 🤔
Short saw horse with a cheap plastic cutting board top for less friction to the height of the out feed could help with that.
You can use a crayon or some spray paint in a design on the top of the rough cut board to be able to easily see when you have surfaced it all over.
great tips thanks
What you did is a good method!
Thanks man!
Wish I had access to a thickness planer. I only have a router with a 1/2" collet and a 3/4" bit. My way would be to go ahead with the glue up and use a router sled, obviously after straightening the edges. Nice explanation on how to do it differently.
I am lucky my friend let me borrow it. This and a jointer are on my list of tools I need to buy. Im keeping my eye out on craigslist!
1/2" shaft router bits are available with huuuge cutters, intended for flattening board with router sleds. Not cheap, but waaay less than a planer. Makes an outstanding mess doesn't it?
I just bought a used Jet 12" thickness planer! Stole it for $150 and two sets of brand new knives! Found it on a Facebook group. Had to drive 2 hours to go get it though.
Chris & Utz, Congratulations on 20K subs!
~James
Thanks James. Feels good, and I hope to keep it up just like you :)
Another great video 👍👍👍 A jointer and thicknesser are on my wish list for Santa this year ......................... 😉
me too!
I wonder if screwing long continuous pieces of plywood on edge to both of the sides of the plank would work as well. You can cut a ply sheet fairly straight. That straight edge of the ply would be on the planner bed. I am no expert but it may be faster to assemble and lighter to handle.
I dont know, that a good possibility. it would be interesting to try that out!
Hi Chris.
I'm doing an 84" white oak tabletop using 8/4 stock. I have a couple of pieces that are bowed. Milling them would lose too much thickness, so I thought of cutting those boards in half and milling them before gluing them back together. That joint would be very weak, but would get strength from being sandwiched in with full-length boards might be acceptable. The line where it was cut in half would not be very apparent (theoretically) since the grain should match up well. What are your thoughts?
Also, I built your Farm House Table a few years ago for a newly-wed couple and they still give me nice comments about it.
Thanks
Rodger
Good explanation at the end Chris. ive used a sled b4 but without a larger bit it takes 4ever and a day.....literally..lol have a good one bro i loom fwd to seeing the table if u decide to vid it.🍻
Instead of mucking about with screws all you really need is a cleat at the leading edge of your reference board. As the rollers pull your material through it essentially pulls the reference board along with it. Screws can pull down on the top board throwing everything off a bit.
This video is so good. Amazing how much your audio and video quality has improved these past few years though! I'm going to finally invest in a small shop planer. Are you still happy with that Dewalt?
Sorry it took me so long to find your channel, great video quality can't wait to run through all your content!
I am glad you found the channel! Thanks for checking it out!
Rather than buying those roller guides you can use adjustable sawhorses, then get exact height you need. You can put cutting boards or something slippery to help the wood slide. Made from construction grade lumber, so pretty cheap. I made two sets and use them a lot. The pattern was from one of the woodworking magazines, back issue, don't remember which one or I'd link it.
Thanks for the tip! I definitely needed something haha
I picked up an 8' long roller platform, the kind they use for off loading boxes from trucks or in factories- with a series of small metal rollers in a metal frame. 2 adjustable horses and works great!
Asome thanks!!!
Wouldn’t mdf have been a better choice for the bottom material as it’s dead flat?
Those filters on your respirator are for chemical vapors, not particles.
I better check into that then
I seen someone else do the same thing!nthank you.
A real woodworker would use a hand plane to get that twist out! 🤣 Just kidding of course...great video and explanation. Looking forward to the table.
Dan Prudlow oh i would agree there. And I do quite often, but just not for over 120 board feet. I still have a deadline after all haha
good job.tu. Mighty good friend to lend planner for so muck oak :-)
He owes me haha
You could also have put some scrap wood along the SIDES of the stock that had a true/flat side protruding on the bottom. This would have been much faster and not left holes in the face side of the stock.
Instead of screws, I have always figured out where my shims needed to be and then used carpet tape on both the shims, and to secure the boards together. No permanent marks like screws could leave, but you have to be sure not to use too much or you'll never get those boards apart again.
Interesting! Good tip. I have never even heard of carpet tape, ill have to go get some and try that out. Thanks
A heat gun is good for loosening carpet tape and hot glue as well.
Carpet tape is a tape which is adhesive on two sides
Jointer/router comparisons
nice work on the planer, can we expect some serious chisel action on the rest of this project?
ABSOLUTELY, This is going to have lots of mortice and tenons, some timber framing style knee braces, and proper breadboards!
Sorry dumb question....
but why the need to glue the shims in?
Wouldn’t they be held in place by the two pieces being clamped together by the screws?
Thx in advance
Thats a good question. I feel like they were still moving alittle even after screwing, but you may be right and not need it. I cant exactly remember, but I feel like it was still a needed extra step.
Good work. I’d probably try screwing through the shims first. Nice idea though. I have a powermatic jointer that needs a new cutter head. I may try this before I pop for a new one.
Cheers man, I’ll be giving this a go. Thanks
Which way would you face a large bowed board?
Your buddy will be happy to receive his dulled all to he'll planer back. Lol.
Trust me, he owes me :) haha
A planer is made for this what are you talking about
Melamine or mdf shelving would have been less difficult to handle and more flat. Nice video.
altpath 10' mdf would weigh more than the 2x10 plus you'd have to connect two pieces and make sure they were dead flat.
A Jet 8” jointer planer is 382$, free shipping. If you do enough work and have deadlines and so on, wouldn’t that be a worthwhile investment ? That’s the first one I saw on eBay, probably better ones or better deals around if you looked. But then maybe labour is its own reward.
Thats an incredible deal! was that one of their large floor models. Don't get me wrong, I definitely want a jointer and you are right its a vert worthwhile invest, but usually one of the last tools a woodworker gets, and typically a half way decent floor model jointer is much more expensive than that. I dont think a tabletop jointer would work as well for boards this size.
The jointer was one of the first machines I ever bought... It is critical for dimensioning lumber efficiently. First is a table saw. Second is a planer. Third is absolutely a jointer. fourth is a shaper. And so on. Of course, you can get around most of these issues with a router if you don't have the funds to get the machinery. With every single job you do, add in a few hundred dollars extra on top of what you need to put in your own pocket to put towards equipment that will make you more efficient, reduce your labor cost, and increase productivity.
You probably thought of this but couldn't you have sacrificed the edges and used short boards screwed to the sides and skipped the possibility screws ruining/scarring on the planer bed?
I am no expert but I think hot gluing then shimming the gaps is good (and possibly along the sides too) would work even without screws?
Not quite sure what you mean about the boards on the sides. And yes you could get away with just hot gluing. My hot glue gun doesnt pump out enough fast enough for me to do that on such large boards. I also countersink the screw holes enought to not scar the planer bed. That would be bad for sure!
Cut several short pieces of board the approximate length of slightly less than the sum of the thickness of both long boards and screwed to both the SIDES of the long boards. This way only the side (which will be glued to the others) and not the bottom surface will only be "holed" by screws. Strategic placement may save the sides too.
Oh ok, I think i see what you mean. That very well may work, Im trying to visualize it in my head to see if there would be any problems, but can't really up front. That is worth experimenting with. most of the time the sides are cut down anyway to make them square and to final dimension so screw holes in them wouldnt really matter. Have you tried this yourself? Thanks for the comments
Great video! I am also building a table, but am using Douglas fir. For 2x12's would you place them cup up or cup down? Thanks for the info!
Fantastic video. How did you joint the edges for the glueup? Now on a 2" pine table and facing the same struggles
I use a hand plane for one edge and then rip the other edge in the table saw. check out my trestle table video. I show some of that process. It can be tricky if are used to hand planing and have a jointer plane. You can also make a jig for your table saw to cut the first edge, then take the board off the jig and run the other edge through the table saw. jointing edges on table saw. there should be some good videos.
Awesome thanks. :-)
Good idea
Whats your opnion about your quality planner brand?
I guess I'm a bit confused by the title.....I've never use a jointer to flatten a board....jointers are for the narrow edge to prep them for butt joints. A planer would always be used to make even thickness.
Jointers are definitely made to flatten a board face as well as its edge. If you put a warped or twisted board through a planet before flattening it, it will come out the other side still warped or twisted. Planets only make a board an even thickness, they don’t do anything to flatten.
I wonder if I can glue the 2x10x10 to a straight edge magnesium 2x6 screed with trim glue for fast and temp holding, get the one side of the board flat then remove and flip
Nice vid. Really have been enjoying your older vids and have been learning a lot. Was wondering if you had considered using pieces of MDF as the bottom board? I'm sure finding MDF that long would be a pain, but I came across some shelves at a box store for like, $5 a piece, and I'm sure they can be jointed together to make a long board for reference....or maybe I'm missing something. Idk. that's more of a question than a comment I guess, lol. :)
Thanks for your continued support man. Mdf is usually 3/4” and quite flimsy. That’s why I went with a thicker and stiffer board.
Do you have a video showing how you rip the rounded edges?
I planed one edge flat then just run the other side through the table saw with the flatten edge against the fence.
Came for Utz. Stayed for woodworking.
I need to start including more shots of him. I have been getting lazy and having found fun ways of including him haha
How'd you do the edges
Yes that method works great however I’m not sure you would need to do that with 8/4 oak boards. I doubt the feed rollers are that strong as to compress board of that size? If you ran it through cup side down with shallow passes, I’m sure it would flatten it fine. On these tabletop planers I just don’t think the compression is strong enough to compress an 8/4 x 8” oak board? 4/4 it probably would but not 8/4
You still need a flat board on the bottom and shims to get twist out.
Probably would make it easier with in feed and out feed support
Great video!
I was wondering if it's possible to attach just two straight boards on the exterior sides of the large board and then pass it through the thicknesser....
someone else mentioned that I think you probably could, just as long as you make sure there isnt any twist
Nice! thanks for the reply
Don’t larger furniture companies in your area allow smaller manufacturers to use their expensive tools? I once saw a video uploaded by Black Tail Studio in which the presenter of the video showed that he pays another larger manufacturer some $60 or something per 30 minutes to use their equipment to flatten large boards. Have you tried to negotiate such an arrangement with a nearby larger manufacturer? What are the options?
I’m just curious, is there a difference between securing it to a straight board and running it through the table saw?
That is a good way for edges, it was the first jig I ever made, but you couldn't do a wide board like that.
Now how to join the boards together.
How much snipe did you get with that? Enjoyed the video. I do NOT have a long bed jointer and I’ll have to do mine this way. Thanks.
I lifted the board as it came out of the planer and that really reduces snipe. Wasnt really an issue at all. nothing some sanding couldnt fix
Nice. Figured with something that heavy it would be worse. I lift mine when they come out and it's still always snipe-y.
How does this work? Please let me know, how do you justify flattening a board through this process! What do you do with all the screw holes. I think if you want something to so flat, it would warrant not having holes all through it.
Almost every piece of wood in every project has a face that will be seen and a face that will not. This wood was for a table, and all the screw holes were on the underside of the table where it doesnt matter. I also used some of this lumber to glue together to make thick pieces to make the feet and posts of the table and I just glued the faces with the screws together so that they would never be seen. Do me a favor and watch my video on the trestle table I built. The lumber in this video was used for that project and I think you will see that the process works just fine as I end up with an beautiful heirloom piece
I always enjoy your videos. But question for you... What's with the wood hook on the end of your bench?
Thank you. That is called a crochet. I actually just posted a quick little video explaining that on my instagram account. If you are on there you should go check that out. Essentially, it is for holding boards against the side of the bench
You can get a used jointer on Craigslist for less than $50 sometimes
Yes, but it will be a cheap light duty 6 inch table top version. Any jointer with a 8-10" cutting capabiltiy (which is what is needed for these boards) is big bucks, even used on craigslist.
Third Coast Craftsman I have seen a hack that someone did with jointing 6 inches of a board and then putting it on a piece of mdf and running it through the planer on the other side
You still need one hell of a jointer to accurately face joint a board that's 8' long. That is a cool trick though, I agree.