Replies

1. 
   ring | Sep 14, 2010 12:24pm | #1

   jointer

   If I understand you want to simply sandwich two pieces together to get the square stock you want, right?  You need to joint (either on a machine or with a plane) only the mating faces before you glue them up.  Only after the glue has set you need to machine or hand plane the glue-up to final dimensions and 90° angles.

2. 
   SteveSchoene | Sep 14, 2010 04:36pm | #2

   Ring is right on about technique to create the glue up. 

   Let me also suggest that unless grain can be very well matched and the joining done well enough that the glue line disappears, you will get a nicer results from a using full thickness lumber rather than trying to glue up the thickness you need.

1. 
   DonStephan | Sep 14, 2010 08:34pm | #3

   Not sure what is meant by "flimsy."

   A couple thoughts.  A glue line on the face of a leg is almost always going to be noticeable, sometimes very noticeable.  8/4 stock is an expense, but saves a lot of time and looks much better for eliminating the face glue joint.

   Ideally, the growth rings in a square leg run along a diagonal to the square ("rift" grain) so that relatively straight grain lines on each face and each face looks similar to the others.  I used to use quartersawn cherry for legs, and one pair of opposite faces looked marvelous; the other pair of opposite faces looked very unattractive.  Finally, one of the unattractive faces (essentially flatsawn) developed grain separation half way up the taper. 

   If you have to glue up stock,a face glue joint can be avoided by using thicker stock, ideally each rift grain, then cut the leg blank diagonally through the glueup, so that the glue line runs from one corner to the opposite one and won't be seen.  The glued thickness will have to be slightly more than the hypotenuse of the leg blank, if that makes any sense.