Hello,
I’m new to woodworking. Just outfitted my shop with most of the basic power tools. I would like to dimension my own lumber. I’m not sure how to handle boards that are wider than my 6″ joiner. Can I run the face over the knives then rotate the board 180 and run the face over again or is there another way?
Replies
Well, not a whole lot of options. You can do it like you mention, only you risk tear out going one way. You can also rip the board into less than 6" pieces, and glue them back together later. Or you can take up a hand plane and learn to do it by hand. It all depends on how you feel and what you're doing.
Tom
Hi,
Thank you Tom. I think I understand. When I run the boards over the joiner I need to pay attention to grain direction. The direction will be proper on one pass but not on the other if I understand you correctly. Will ripping then gluing produce good results?
You'll get the glue line, but yeah, it will work out okay. As long as you glue with the grain, no strength problems.
Tom
Thanks again,
ed
Hi,
Talking about direction of feeding, how can we tell by just looking at the grain . I have this problem, so always have to do the first pass to determine which way to feed. Thank you. vn
The simple answer is, you can't always tell. Plus, sometimes the grain will reverse on you so no matter which way you feed it, it will be wrong. Sometimes you can tell, though, by looking at the edges and seeing which way the grain runs out, ie, like this:
\\\\
Where the lines indicate grain. You want to feed it so the grain runs out towards you on teh bottom. Try it and you will understand me.
Tom
You can feel which way the grain is going better than with your eye. even if its smooth.
Try it!
Jeff in so cal
66 f---58% high clouds
Yeah, but can you describe in one post how that feels?
Tom
Close your eyes and feel the fibers (lite touch) one way its a little smother. Find a place on a board where the grane changes (by a knot) then feel the change.
Jeff in so cal
70 f---55%
Flowman,
I feel it now, but I can't wait untill the next time I use the planner, so the smooth in go first? vn
Ok Tom you got me!
Just a little slow today
Jeff in so cal
72 f---45%
???
Oh, and by the way, 72F and 45% humidity?- you suck!
Tom
I don't know if it's better or worse:
90 - 110F
20% humidity or lower
Touch smoky at the moment
Cheers,
eddie
I'm trying to start something with putting the tem and humidity on my posts.
With a Handel like big country you gota be in Montana?
What is the temp there?
Still 72 and 44% in my shop and the same outside (big doors)
Haven't worn long pants to work yet (maybe never)
Jeff in so cal
No, not in Montana, St Louis actually. Here it was 19 F with a wind chill of 13 F. A wind chill, by the way, is what the temp feels like with the wind blowing.
I actually got the nickname Big Country in High School in Chicago. I guess I wasn't 'city enough' for them. Just a weird thing that kind of stuck.
Tom
UP of Michigan
10 degrees and cloudy. Cold and snow on the way.
Hi Jeff
You say cold and snow on the way. !0 f is not cold?
I don't know how you guys do it. In fact I think you are all nuts! LOL
Well I'm off to Disneyland in my shorts
Jeff in so cal
68 f---56% and dark
Jeff,
I guess we get used to it the same way you acclimate to the heat. The difference however is that when it's cold we can bundle up to stay warm. When it's hot , you can't do anything about it other than stay inside.
BTW, 0 deg F really isn't very cold; -40 deg F is. Even we don't venture out in that temperature.
Jeff
27 deg. and cloudy
Edited 12/7/2002 8:35:57 AM ET by Jeff K
Jeff
Where in the UP do you live, I went to high school in Gladstone.
Scott
Menominee. I think we used to beat you guys up regularly on the football field.
Jeff
If it gets too hot, we go to the beach.
Scott in San Diego
3 to 5, fair to good form this morning
Scott
I was in San Diego in early November for 5 days, I really enjoyed it. It rained while I was there all the natives were walking around smiling, I found out why you had only 4 inches this year so far. I live in Baytown TX I called back home on Friday the day before we had had 5 inches between 2 PM and 5 PM. I wore a long sleeve shirt all the time I was there and I never got hot or cold. The temp on Sat was 60 low 65 high. I look forward to another visit there only for longer.
God Bless
les
Les,
Be careful about visiting here too often. Your tolerance to climatic extremes may be severely compromised. I moved here from NM in '89. I find myself whining about the temperature if it is above 85 or below 60. Yesterday was awesome, sunny and mid 70's, water temp 60, waves 4 to 6 and I was surfing with dolphins (they're better than we are). Of course I made myself all noodle-armed before 10:00 am. It made the afternoon home improvement projects interesting when it was difficult to hold the cordless drill above my head without my arms shaking. One of my surfing buds is from the Houston area. He generally does not miss it that much. Now if all the people who do not like it here (yes, there are some) would just move away.
If you are going to return, email me if you have any questions.
Happy Holidays!
Scott
I recently milled some maple, 14" wide, on a 12" jointer. It was cupped, so with the convex side down, I flattened as much as I could. This was a fine base for the planer. I took the fence and guard off, which I highly recommend against!
You might consider buying one more piece of equipment, a planner. I had a joiner several years ago and I never could really get a board a uniform 4 square. With a planner after you plane both sides it is the same, side to side and end to end.
Welcome to woodworking, you are in for a lifetime of learning. I've been making sawdust for a long time and I still enjoy it as much as when I started.
Now the preaching starts. Be careful, woodworking tools can hurt, read the manuals you get with the machines and. unplug your saw when you change that blade, I had a tablesaw start running by itself after bogging it down with some 2" lumber. Unplug your router when you change that bit, I had turned my router upside down to change bits and it started running by itself. These things happened years ago but if I hadn't been careful I probably wouldn't be enjoying WW as much as I do.
God Bless and Good Luck
les
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