Subject: Re: Edge planing a long board

From: Neil Williams <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 02 Feb 1997 16:48:27 -0800

There's also a jig in Popular Woodworking for turning a plane
upside down with infeed and outfeed tables, to make into a
"manual" jointer.

Take a long flat piece of board (plywood, MDF, whatever) and 
set it up as an infeed table slightly below the level of your
planer, and another piece of board slightly higher for the
outfeed table. Mount the planer upside down at a slight angle
(so the blade cuts the board at an angle), and you're all
set. Just jun your cherry through your manual jointer until
it's flat. Oh, you'll probably also want to add a guide fence.

This summary isn't exact, of course, but I assume you can 
figure out the infeed/outfeed table heights relative to the
blade yourself. Hopefully you won't disallow yourself from
using already flat board for the infeed/outfeed tables.

--Neil

StanR wrote:
> 
> Well, I use a "board carrier" jig I've made to do that same thing on the
> radial arm saw. You said you want to do it without power tools, but
> maybe a similiar technique will work. Start with a long length that's
> already straight (I hope that this isn't a no-no also). Clamp it to the
> board you're trying to straighten and use it as a guide to plane-down
> to. Add a passive fence or strike-pin to the side of your plane to
> contact the guide. You'll also have to be concerned with keeping the
> plane right to the edge, so you'll need a guide (on the other side of
> the plane, perhaps) for that, too.

---

From: [email-masked] (Michael John Hide)
Date: Sun, 09 Feb 1997 15:03:51 GMT

[email-masked] wrote:

;In article <[email-masked]>, HardWood
<[email-masked]>
;writes:

;> have a problem that is frustrating the daylights out of me.  I have
a 
;>9 foot cherry board and I want one edge to be "perfectly" straight.

;Sounds like a familier problem :)

;>The issue is how do you make a long board very staight using just >
hand
;tools? No matter how long the plane is, the board never seems >to
come 
;>out straight. When I eye the board from the end, I can see either a 
;>valley or a hill. Not huge, but visible. 

;Well, if you can see the hill plane it off.  Dont worry about trying
to
;take a shaving off the full length,  just hit the high spots.  Keep
;sighting down the board and making adjustments and if your lucky you
will
;have a little board left by the time you get it straight.  Most of
all,
;learn to trust your eyes.  They're a lot more accurate than people
give
;them credit for.

;This used to be the job of an apprentice in the shops before power
tools
;and is not a tough skill to master.  Of course they used to
"practise" 10
;- 12 hours a day.

;I dont own a jointer and I do the initial flattening of the first
face and
;jointing the first edge with a 14 inch bench plane.  I then turn to
the
;power tools to rip it to width and thickness it.  If the board isnt
to
;twisted or bowed I can have the handwork done in about 15 minutes on
a 6
;foot board.  How long does that take on a jointer?

;Keep trying and dont give up.  Like anything else that depends on
eye,
;hand,body, & brain control - all it takes is practise....

;Good luck,
;Jeff Olmstead
this is exactly why some cabinitmakers are called master craftsmen,
rthey can get the desired results through years of practice and trust
in their natural senses .To make another point ,senses include
thesense of touch ,often it is easy to feel imperfections that the eye
is completely oblivious of until displayed in the correct light.
Amastercabinet maker will gererally do long board jointing without any
gimmicks or jigs far faster than it can be done on a jointer.
                     mjh

---

From: [email-masked] (DavFessler)
Date: 10 Feb 1997 17:23:17 GMT

I routinely edge joint boards as long as 12 feet using my little old Sears
Craftsman 4" jointer with a couple of infeed and outfeed extensions
manufactured by a company called Jointer's Edge.  They went bankrupt, but
made a great product.  The extensions are also useful on my drill press,
shaper, bandsaw, etc. and can be moved and completely leveled fromn one
machine to another in less than 5 minutes.  Best investment I ever made.