Preparing Project Lumber with a Jointer and Planer — WOOD Magazine

Preparing Project Lumber with a Jointer and Planer — WOOD Magazine

To remove cups, hooks, and crooks from lumber, you need to machine your wood with a planer and jointer. WOOD magazine’s Craig Ruegsegger explains what steps to take, in the correct order, to ensure that the lumber for your project is flat, square, and true.

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33 Comments

  1. Don Moore on November 17, 2023 at 10:23 pm

    I am trying to figure out why you used the table saw on the last edge instead of the jointer? I’m looking into getting a jointer soon.

  2. rahul jain on November 17, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    We recently lumbered a 36" maple, a 36" white ash, and a 32" pecan. After drying, we tried planing with a Rigid (Home Depot) 13" planer with 2 HSS knives https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxIzvvTi3_Qc8JnVdYYRJCvuoDC4QjTzeL . This job was clearly too much for that machine. The pecan was particularly difficult, due to heavy mineral deposits, and a sharp pair of HSS knives would be consumed by a mere 3 boards. We were also having lots of problems from chip bruising, due to poor dust collection. The shavings came off like straw and jammed in the 4" hose.We bought the DW735 simply to be able to run carbide blades, which worked brilliantly for the pecan. However, we found it to be a much, MUCH nicer machine. It was far more rigid than the "Rigid" planer, and far more accurate as well. But what I liked most about it was the dust feed. This machine has its own blower, which shreds the "straw" like shavings as they come off the cutting head and helps boost the shavings into the dust collection system. No more clogs! It’s also nicely sealed so that the internals stay quite clean. This is just a well tempered machine that’s a delight to use. It literally cut the labor in half. Just another example of getting what you pay for.

  3. david tom on November 17, 2023 at 10:27 pm

    GOOD JOB, BLESS YOU.

  4. Ritalie on November 17, 2023 at 10:27 pm

    I am trying to figure out if there is any use for my 6" Craftsman jointer? It has a nice 1/2 horsepower motor with belt drive, and very sharp cutters. But I don’t own a planer. I am wondering if the jointer could be used for cleaning up rough edges of rough lumber, before ripping them on a table saw? I recently acquired a jointer and it seems useless without a planer?

  5. Monte Glover on November 17, 2023 at 10:28 pm

    This works well IF you work with narrow stock or have a large and very expensive jointer
    Alternatively very light alternating passes through your planner usually achieve a very flat board.
    Using a straight line rip jig (with a table saw or a hand held circular saw) will achieve a straight edge faster and with a longer capacity.
    My 6" Powermatic jointer usually just collects dust and rust.

  6. El Flanagano on November 17, 2023 at 10:28 pm

    Could you just do all four sides on that jointer?

  7. deebunch1 on November 17, 2023 at 10:33 pm

    No guard on table saw blade?

  8. kaebee23 on November 17, 2023 at 10:35 pm

    Thank you

  9. me94132 on November 17, 2023 at 10:36 pm

    I believe the pigtail mark was marked on the wrong/unjointed side @4:50. Should be the other side that is jointed since it was resting against the fence.

  10. mike joseph on November 17, 2023 at 10:36 pm

    loved this

  11. Mel Birnbaum on November 17, 2023 at 10:38 pm

    Excellent and concise explanation.

  12. J Stlriverman on November 17, 2023 at 10:38 pm

    Is there any risk to running your edges through a jointer a second time? I ask this because I ran my pieces through the jointer two or three times already (i.e. face jointed then edge jointed). Afterwards I ran them through my thickness planer and ended up with ripping the last edge at my table saw. When I laid out the boards for a dry fit (i.e. I’m laminating them to make a table top) I noticed that a few of the boards had what appears to be a "not" flat surface. There were noticable gaps between a couple of the boards when I did a dry fit. I’m thinking of edge jointing a few of them a couple more times to flatten out the edges. I have a little wiggle room as it relates to width of the boards. Am I on the right track? Thanks for your consideration and ??reply. I am somewhat of a newbie, but perhaps not a total "novice". I wish I could include a picture of what I’m building but I don’t think that’s possible.

  13. Tom Gallagher on November 17, 2023 at 10:40 pm

    Excellent video, thank you.

  14. Merika Goldstein on November 17, 2023 at 10:42 pm

    I have only a jointer and table saw. I don’t have a planer. How would I do it with just those tools?

  15. MYB on November 17, 2023 at 10:46 pm

    Why not use the jointer on both ends instead of table saw?

  16. Hannu Mononen on November 17, 2023 at 10:46 pm

    Before you prepare your project lumber as shown, how can you tell when your lumber is dry enough? Are wood moisture meters reliable and worthwhile, or is there a rule of thumb how long you should keep your lumber in room climate before you even start preparing it? Otherwise, isn’t there a risk of wasting your effort as the remaining moisture change and tensions inside the wood still keep reshaping it?

  17. Dallas Tucker on November 17, 2023 at 10:46 pm

    Two thoughts: 1) Most people who would need this basic level of instruction probably do not understand WHY a jointer works to flatten the first surface–i.e., because of the higher outfeed that is the same height as the cutters, while the infeed is lower. I think you need to explain that in this level of instruction. 2) It’s obvious to most of us, but you did not state that the face you just jointed goes DOWN when feeding it into the planer. (Did I miss that? For the table saw, you made a point of saying the jointed edge goes against the fence ) Yea or nay?

  18. Jim Lahey on November 17, 2023 at 10:47 pm

    Ugh I hate the American unit of measurement, which heavily involves fractions… 5/8… 7/8. For God’s sakes just use decimals. They were invented a thousand years ago.

  19. Ronald D on November 17, 2023 at 10:54 pm

    But you end up with super thin board

  20. Josh Tenny on November 17, 2023 at 10:55 pm

    I just bought a jointer. Thanks for the technique tips.

  21. Wim Van Geyt on November 17, 2023 at 11:03 pm

    Oh man, you just took my doubts away about that taper after jointing the wood. Now i know thats a normal effect. Pfieuw. Thanks! Very clear and in depth explenation 😉

  22. socalcraigster on November 17, 2023 at 11:04 pm

    Absolutely excellent video!

  23. JustAConservativeNerd on November 17, 2023 at 11:05 pm

    Very helpful. Thank you.

  24. Food Paradise on November 17, 2023 at 11:07 pm

    If it’s possible I would put pressure on the cup area to straighten it out first before do any work on it.

  25. Mark Mann on November 17, 2023 at 11:07 pm

    Clear and concise video. Thanks for the instruction, and thanks for keeping it straightforward

  26. Luke Marshall on November 17, 2023 at 11:08 pm

    Thank you

  27. Ben McCartney on November 17, 2023 at 11:09 pm

    That board still looked cupped at the end

  28. Blooming Glen Music on November 17, 2023 at 11:14 pm

    bad boy, no knife or guard on table saw!

  29. TheRealKirkHammett on November 17, 2023 at 11:17 pm

    I don’t understand. Was he adjusting the depth of cut on each pass with the jointer? He doesn’t go over anything on the depth of cut settings.

  30. N N on November 17, 2023 at 11:17 pm

    Why not put it back in the jointer after the thickness planer for the 4th edge?

  31. Back 40 Project Progress on November 17, 2023 at 11:17 pm

    Thanks ,what would be the recommended way to bevel the edges on 45* angle ,positive angle on one side and negative on the opposing edge

  32. Bullish Bear on November 17, 2023 at 11:18 pm

    Best video I’ve seen describing these tools for a noob like myself

  33. Henderson Handmade Iron & Wood Crafts on November 17, 2023 at 11:19 pm

    Very well done,in depth and easy to follow,Thank You for helping us new wood workers to understand the whole milling process!

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