Making a 12″ Jointer from a Planer?
I have been pondering the chances of success if I were to take a portable thickness planer, such as a Dewalt 733 (since I happen to have one!) and try to convert it to a jointer.
It seems to me that one could cobble up a pretty good 12″ jointer, maybe lacking a lot of bells and whistles, but with the important functionality, for an extremely low cost.
I think I would need to take apart the planer to make it work. As appealing as it is to simply flip a planer over and mount into some kind of table/jig, it would be tough to maintain a steady downward pressure on the board as it is being fed through. Plus you’d be limited to about a 6″ high board.
If you take the cutterhead assembly out of a portable planer, and then get rid of the feeder wheels too, you’d have a pretty neat little unit that you could mount upside down to use as a jointer.
For the infeed and outfeed tables, a couple sheets of heavy MDF glued together might do the trick. Or maybe scavenge a couple slabs of granite from a local quarry or kitchen counter supplier. Two pieces a bit more than a foot wide by three feet long would do it for the infeed and outfeed tables.
Of course you’d need to build a sturdy base for it. And you’d need some way of adjusting the infeed and outfeed tables to be parallel. And you’d have to attach the powerhead securely to the whole thing, and be able to adjust its height slightly to eliminate snipe. Shims maybe? Washers?
I think I’d be willing to sacrifice adjustability of the infeed table, just set the thing for a cut of 1/32 or so and make extra passes if neeed. Same on the adjustable fence. Leave it fixed, and at 90 degrees.
Anyone care to offer up any thoughts or suggestions on this idea?
Dan
Replies
If you want to use your planer as a jointer, just make a sled that allows you to shim the board so that it is stable and doesn't just follow the short planer bed when you use it. This clearly works. You can find articles published about it.
There is a reason why you don't see published plans about cobbled together jointers.
I've seen used 16" jointers for $100. I don't think it's really economically feasible to do what you are thinking in the long run. At best you will have to forget about adjustability. Perhaps with a torsion box for tables and presetting your infeed table at 1/32" cut and adjusting the head to the outfeed table. Did you see the home made wooden jointer in an old back issue of Fine Wood Working????
Have to admit I've been thinking about making one myself but certainly not for economic reasons. I have a spare 13" cutter head kicking around and a 6' machinists straight edge ( a must for such a project) and 20 years machine rebuilding experience. Also have access to a 20" jointer at work and a 12" down the street any time I need it. So no real reason to do such a project and space is tight in my home basement shop but perhaps some day I might and only for the challnge of it.
Also you can buy a better head from one of the import jointers or better yet go with a shelix or tersa head instead of tearing apart a lunchbox planer.
Edited 12/11/2005 8:57 am ET by RickL
Thanks Steve and Rick for your feedback.
Steve, I have researched the planer sleds, there have been a number of them published as you say. Some of them are pretty good, but none will allow you to edge joint a board, and most are kind of fussy to set up and use. They are great for doing an occasional special board, but not suitable for more regular use. Of course I am only a hobbyist, far from a professional shop, but if I can get this to work I can sell off my 6" General jointer and further reduce my costs!
Rick, not sure why it is not economically feasible. A 16" planer for $100? Gotta imagine you'd have to spend a few bucks getting it in running order. Plus, unless the thing is within driving range of my house, the shipping is going to be a killer on it. Lastly, I need to fit it down my narrow steep and curved stairs into my basement so an old heavy machine (as delightful as it would be to own and tinker with) is not going to get there. Since I could assemble my home made unit right in the basement shop, shipping and delivery are not problems.
I did not see the home made jointer in FWW, and would love to check it out. Was it issue #28? I don't have them that far back. . .
I was considering an aftermarket cutterhead as you suggest, but I would still need a motor from somewhere, so I think that takes me back to ripping apart a lunchbox planer? A torsion box is a great idea, I had not considered that but I bet it would be superior.
Dan
"but none [planer sled] will allow you to edge joint a board"
Tablesaw + quality blade = edge jointer
Router+piloted bit+straight edge = edge jointer
Have fun, whatever you do, and let us know.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" .... :>)
It might have been issue #28. I think you might find it in one of the reprinted compilations on Tools and Machines.
Torsion boxes are the most stable form you could make. I had a torsion box stored in a damp unheated garage for 4 years and it was as flat as the day I made it.
The import 12" heads aren't that expensive. Priced one a few years ago at $350 complete with gibs, etc. I think it would be easier than trying to cobble a lunchbox planer into a jointer in the long run. The pillow blocks could be shimmed to the outfeed table. To make it adjustable would be more complicated. I would make it fixed on a frame and shim it to alignment with a fixed setting of 1/32" and leave it. The torsion boxes would have to be really flat. Do you have a machined straight edge? I use one to align jointer beds along with a special indicator for aligning knives.Like FG said there's other ways to edge joint and the sled does work. For many a few swipes with a jointer plane and some winding sticks is pretty quick to get it close enough to run through the planer.
Dan,
We were just having this discussion in a post about a 12 inch jointer.
I used the plans from a summer FWW issue to make a planer sled. (The front cover is pictures a TS tendon jig being used.) It worked well I Jointed over 1600 linear feet. The only addition we made was a wooden stop at the front end of the sled. It prevented the wood from feeding though the planer without the sled. As for jointing the sides straight- I used a piece of channel Iron 16ft long as a auxilary fence on my table saw. Worked like a dream for the large quantities I was producing.
Cheers
M.Stehelin
Dan, if you know what you are prepared to spend, then you can compare this against the cost of a "proper machine".
These days there are so many options available old or new across the whole cost spectrum that I would not advocate doing what you want to do.
Why do you want a 12 inch jointer anyway? A jointer is characterised by long tables and a narrow cutter head-typically 6 to 8 inches, tables the longer the better....
If you are talking about a surfacer that is a different kettle of fish.
A 12" jointer is a perfect match to a 12" planer. He mentioned a narrow winding stairway to his basement so getting a full sized 12" jointer would be a pain. He would have to take it completely apart which is possible. Of corse if the narrow winding stairway is his only access I can't imagine taking big planks down or trying to build a big armoire down in his basement. Would have to be assembled upstairs or be RTA (Ready to Assemble). I think it's a doable thing for the right person with the proper knowledge and skills. I agree he can buy a real machine for less than the undertaking. The Crescent 12" jointer would break down nicely and fit down his stairs but buying used machines is not for novices either.
I get the picture now.Philip Marcou
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