Hello All,
I am a relative “beginner” in terms of what I consider “serious” woodworking, and so I am hoping the more experienced woodworkers here can help me with what I hope is a relatively simple problem.
For the first time, I am using a jointer and thickness planer to mill my own lumber (maple and beech for a nice heavy duty workbench I building for my new workshop). While things have been going quite well working with somewhat smaller boards (say, 3 feet or shorter) I’ve encountered a bit of a problem with one of the longer boards I’ve tackled so far.
I have a piece of beech about 55 inches long, 5 inches wide and 2 inches thick that is intended for use as one of four stretchers between the legs of my bench. I have surfaced the first face on my jointer, but have found that the board has about 1/4 inch of twist over its length. On one hand, 1/4 inch doesn’t seem like much, but on the other hand, compared to the other boards that have come out “perfectly” flat, the amount of twist I’m seeing seems rather noticeable, so I’d like to try to improve it or eliminate it entirely, if possible.
Is there a technique for use on the jointer or planer (or by any other means) to eliminate twist when milling lumber to size? I wouldn’t think the planer would help, as it is my understanding that the planer will only make the second face parallel to the first. Will additional passes on the jointer eventually remove the twist (at the expense of making the board thinner, perhaps even thinner than I need it to be for its intended use)? I’ve already made two or three additional light passes on the jointer since the surface became completely smooth, and this only seems to make the board thinner without improving the twist much (if at all).
Any ideas or suggestions regarding the elimination of twist during milling?
Is 1/4 inch twist significant enough to be worth worrying about (at least in this situation)? The stretcher/legs of the bench will be assembled with mortise and tenon joinery, so I’m wondering if the joints will straighten the board after assembly without putting undesirable stress on the legs or stretcher.
I look forward to hearing any comments anyone might be able to offer regarding the above.
Thanks very much, in advance!
Dru
Replies
If you're just starting with milling, you should get (order? or maybe at the newstand) Power tool Techniques from Taunton. It's a magazine-style publication they put out a couple/three months ago, and it has an excellent article, "The Jointer and Planer Are a Team."
I'll quote the paragraph on jointing twisted wood:
Click here for this mag on Taunton's store site.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
As you continue the cut transfer the pressure to the opposite high corner, trying to prevent rocking to one side ..
I do that and get a WEDGE! Gee Just me?
If I get a warped or twisted board, I just cut it in half and let it sit out for awhile.. Sure I can use it someday!
>found that the board has about 1/4 inch of twist over its length.<
That's a fairly long board- and depending on where the twist is, you might have a problem. You might lay out the board on a flat surface and use some winding sticks to trouble shoot it. If the twist is confined to one section, and you are concerned about tapering the board on the jointer, hand planing that section with a scrub or jack plane might get things close to true, you can then finish on your power jointer.
One thing to watch out for is the risk of removing too much stock at one end- you could end up with a 5' shingle. You have more control over this using the hand technique described above. The way to avoid this is to measure the thickness on either end of the board and at marked points in between (pencil a few points on the edge) after each pass to make certain that you are not tapering the board (this is akin to using winding sticks). Use colored chalk to mark the high points on the board and to make certain you are knocking them down when you make a pass. Set your jointer to take off small amounts on each pass (many WWs try to get their jointers or planers to remove too much stock- it really doesn't take much time to mill boards a few extra passes).
If you are starting to taper- feed the other end on the next pass (same surface down, but "against the grain") and alternate each pass, checking for taper. You will get some tearout, but once you get a true face, you can clean it up on the planer. Mill the board in two stages- a rough mill within 1/4 " to 1/2" of final. Sticker the board on some scrap for ~4 days, rechalk and do the final mill. Don't worry about getting a perfect surface on the jointer- get it flat for the most part and clean it up on the planer. Good luck,
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too often...
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