Replies

1. 
   dherzig | Jun 27, 2007 04:09am | #1

   I hate to be a spoil-sport, but here goes anyway. Jatoba has been the most difficult wood I have worked with. Besides being very heavy and so filled with silica that it is hell on edges, it is also hard to get a good surface on it without tear out. Instead of using the jointer, have you thought about using a hand plane? It is easier on the long boards than the jointer and resharpening the iron is definitely easier.

1. 
   Napie | Jun 27, 2007 05:36am | #2

   Jatoba, concrete, titanium, all about the same in my experience…..

2. 
   frenchy | Jun 27, 2007 06:19am | #3

   dmortimer21

    I know nothing of the properties of the wood in question so you'll need to look elsewhere for solutions to that issue, However I have jointed extremely long boards. 18 feet and longer on occasion..

    What you need to use is a bed extension.

     I bought a set of rollers to use with all my power tools and they work extremely well.  So that's what I use.. mainly because the timbers I work with are very heavy.. 6x12's that are 22 feet long and made out of white oak aren't things I want to have to push across a surface so I roll them..

    Single boards on the other hand you could be extremely creative.   Look around, no doubt there are some old formica countertops available either free or extremely cheap.  Now all you need to do is build a stand on either side of the jointer to hold the countertops exactly level..

     If you have a nail gun it's simple to do.. take a string or a fishing line and stretch it across the tables. it should just barely kiss the table and you'll know that everything is straight and level.. then bang a few nails in and check again to ensure nothing has moved.. You can do the same thing with a screw gun or a simple drill with a bit in it.. don't think for a moment you can bang together something with a hammer and nails. hitting the nails jars things enough that whatever you started out with will be off when you finish it.

3. 
   philip | Jun 27, 2007 08:51am | #4

   Dustin, you should be able to joint your Jatoba with a jointer that length, and extensions or roller supports will help. I take it they are narrow boards so they will not be too heavy.
   I suggest you take minimal cuts and have the beds well lubed with something like candle wax. You need to have a decent set of sharp blades on there as Jatoba is tough on anything but the best HSS blades or better.You need to bear down on it more than usual to avoid bouncing on the cutters....
   That timber is worth any extra effort. If you are scraper orientated it is easy to scrape -often a saving grace of some difficult hard woods.I have made bar tops amongst other things with it -you can easily handplane it by going at right angles to the long grain, then taking very fine cuts with the grain,to save a lot of honing. (I am talking of ordinary planes like Stanley and Record).

   Philip Marcou
4. 
   hammer1 | Jun 27, 2007 02:06pm | #5

   You could use a straight edge or chalk line to mark a straight line, then cut to the line with a circular or jig saw. You could go directly to the table saw and let it do the work or make a clean up pass on the jointer. You won't have to worry about any irregularities in the board.

   Jointer extensions are as important in my shop as an outfeed table on the table saw. Simple enough to make but they must be perfectly in line with the jointer table.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

   
1. 
   dmortimer21 | Jun 27, 2007 11:45pm | #7

   I like that extension!  I have rollers, but I'm sure they don't work as well as your set up.  I like the chalk line idea, mainly because I ripped 8/4x 11 foot jatoba on my table saw in order to joint and plane it.  So I have different widths (slightly) at each end of my ripped boards.  So I should be able to rip another 1/4 inch off and get a straighter edge...and use my jointer to clean it up as you suggested.

   Someone else asked me if the boards are 9 feet.  They are anywhere from 9 and a half to 11 feet and the finished product will be 9 feet long.  We have seven guys, 365 days a year at my firehouse.  So the large hardwood table is a must for us!

    

   Well, off to my makeshift shop in the garage :)  Thanks guys.

    

   Dustin

1. 
   mwenz | Jun 28, 2007 12:24am | #8

   Basically, this is like the size of a small conference table.Just a couple questions. I assume there is a path to get this sized table into the space where it will reside? Seldom does one make a solid wood table of that size without a break...have you considered the weight of the table? A table of this size (you don't mention the final width) will expand and contract--even Jatoba moves--so I assume your construction technique accounts for wood movement?I'm not asking to be a pain. No response necessary.Take care, Mike

   Edited 6/27/2007 5:25 pm by mwenz

2. 
   hammer1 | Jun 28, 2007 03:16am | #9

   Hi Dustin. The jointer extensions are great. It's so much easier than trying to wrestle long heavy pieces. They turn a small jointer into a monster for long edge work. In most cases, I try to get a straight edge and then set my table saw fence for the size I want, not how much I want to remove. The saw will automatically cut your piece parallel. The only time I do it differently is with very small slivers.Another way to straighten a long board is with the table saw. You can attach a long straight board to the crooked one. Use the straight edge against the fence. A couple of screws on the ends won't show. Cleaning up an edge with the jointer is a little tricky with large pieces. It's best if you can do it in one pass. Unlike straightening a board, you want to keep pressure on the infeed table since you are trying to take an even amount off the whole length. With some of the better rip blades, you may be able to just sand the edge a little and skip the jointer.That's going to be one fancy firehouse when you are finished. Good luck and stay safe.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

1. 
   dmortimer21 | Jun 28, 2007 08:19am | #10

   Thanks for all the help!  Well I succesfully jointed all my boards.  The tabletop is glued and clamped as I type this.  It's virtually seamless and I scraped all the glue off after it got a little tacky.  The Ridgid 12" planer I bought did a great job and it looks like I won't have a ton of sanding to do.

   Someone asked about final dimensions and how I'm going to get the table into its final resting place....The table will be 9 feet by 43 inches.  And there is huge bay doors to get the table in the kitchen/dining area.  The hardest part will be driving up to the station in one piece.  Also as far as expansion/contraction....there's only so much I was able to do for this issue.  The tabletop is in my garage.  I used a biscuit joiner and Titebond III glue for the glue up.  My girlfriend and I did a dry clamp up and then started glueing.  I still have to put the Jatoba end pieces on (not 100% on how I'm going to do this yet) but I'm sure I'll figure something out with you guys helping me a long the way :)

   I attached a pic...hopefully it attached.  Even though I'm 28 years old I'm still not very computer savvy.  Thanks.

   Dustin

   
1. 
   wellis | Jun 28, 2007 05:54pm | #11

   Your comment about end pieces caught my attention.  If these are cross grain (Bread board) ends you must be very careful in your design.  If glued along their entire length you can expect that the end result will be a lengthwise split in your table top.  If you want to see an example, come to my shop and I can show you what an error looks like.

   Bill

2. 
   dmortimer21 | Jun 28, 2007 08:56pm | #12

   Ya I would like to do a breadboard end.  Other wise my table is going to look like a friggin' bowling lane :)  I've been reading up on it quite a bit and I must admit it's very intimidating for a beginning wood worker like myself.

   I'll just have to be careful and very patient.

5. 
   mwenz | Jun 27, 2007 08:48pm | #6

   Dustin, is the board length you indicate in your post (9'-11') the length of the pieces you need to make whatever it is you are making?

   I ask because it is common practice to break down boards to rough lengths and widths before working them. So unless you need to joint something that long, plan out the cutting up of the wood, cut it to shorter lengths/widths and then joint.

   Following that are trim cuts to final lengths, etc.

   Take care, Mike