Jointer Basics - WOOD magazine

[@rogerbeard9647]

Straight and to the point, good video.

[@trevorcassell3561]

Good quick video. Maybe add which edge to square as the board is usually crowned. These are the types of videos you actually learn from. Keep them coming.

[@chickenjoe1003]

@@floydieharris6236 anywhere specific I can purchase a “functioning Brian” ?

[@lonewolftech]

@@floydieharris6236you obviously don’t have one yourself with that ignorant attitude of yours.

[@vids595]

@@floydieharris6236 He pounts out that it is crowned but doesn't say which side of the crown to plane. Seems like something a person with a functional brain would have understood.

[@1joshjosh1]

God damn it I always thought that thing was called a plainer. I know what this thing is just by watching my grandpa over the years I just didn't know it was called the jointer. EDIT: Good video.

[@AprilAllYear]

How much downward pressure should you use? I mean, if a long board is bowed, might a person accidentally flatten it as they feed it thru the jointer, causing the planer (later) to create parallel sides to a bowed board? (I think i just did this on my first ever attempt). Not putting enough pressure, though, does what? So confused*after*i thought I understood but before i made a beautiful, smooth, parallel, *bowed* board (only 16” long, too 😞) - and I'm not sure it was that bowed when I started. Or at least both sides weren't bowed.

[@willwilliams7057]

Good afternoon I have a problem, more so a question. I’m fairly new to this woodworking hobby. Needing something to do, I stared this hobby around 2014, just before retiring from both the US Army Reserves and Baltimore City Fire Department. In 2015, I was told that one of the more important tools I needed was a jointer. I saw a “great” sale for a Porter Cable bench jointer for around $300 and with military discount it was even better, about $250 before tax. So, I brought it. At that time, I did not know how to use it nor what the difference between it and a planner. I thought I would learn how to use it later. After buying it, I “played” with it and it seem to work. I pulled it out in 2018, for a project but my material did not seem to get level like I want it to. I thought it was due to operator error. In 2020, I finally read some books, took some online classes and viewed a whole lot of videos to better learn the art of woodworking. So, jumping up to what is happening now, a few weeks ago, I was building a crosscut shed. I was trying to square up my material. I knew I only needed to take off about 3/16”. I kept running the wood on the jointer but could not get it right. So, I did it another way to complete the project. After that I tried to figure out what I was doing wrong and tried to contact the makers of Porter Cable. With no one to talk to, the site led me to one of those live, online help text things. But the person who I was texting seem to know a lot less than I, she did not know what a jointer was or how to work with them. (Nothing against women, I have learned a lot from women woodworkers) She finally sent me a Delta JT160 jointer site, “How to adjust the parallelism……” Today I pulled out the jointer to make sure the in-feed and the out-feed tables were parallel. They were not, but that was not the only issue. Both tables had a crown or bow in them. The out-feed was minor, about .03” from one end to the other. Keep in mind this is a bench jointer so, the entire jointer is only about 36” or less. The in-feed side was even worst, more than .31” (yes more than ¼ inches) off. These are a cast iron tables, so I would not think they would bow like that in storage. It looks like I have an expensive paper weight. So, what is a good starter jointer for a beginner woodworker?

[@judyl.761]

Why not do the opposite face and the second edge on the jointer?? I’m newbie.

[@AaronGeller]

It won’t be parallel. The thickness planer uses the flat face of the board as a reference so that the thickness of the board is made even across the entire board

[@lonewolftech]

Won’t be the same thickness… and it’s not Always the case.. planer makes it the same size stock all through

[@MinHongJiwoodstudio]

hello.. I made a safety guide after watching your video. Thank you for being an inspiration to me.

[@tims7024]

Why couldn’t you just flatten the other two sides also with the jointer though?

[@tmk2280]

Because it is impossible to get the other 2 sides parallel. The only way is to use a planer and then table saw.

[@talaltahir5251]

why do you need the planer and table saw for the other sides? Why can't you just repeat this process on the remaining 2 sides?

[@calebnoble1527]

Using a jointer would give you two flat sides, but the sides might not be parallel. Using a planer for the second face will better achieve two parallel faces. While you can joint the second edge after planing, using a table saw will likely be more accurate as it will give you a straight edge, parallel to the opposite edge.

[@adamkoepke1366]

I have an older 6" Craftsman jointer where you can only adjust the infeed table with little to no other adjustments that can actually be made. I've noticed that I'm always getting a taper, no matter if I'm jointing the edge of the face. I used one of those magnetic jigs to make sure my knives are set in properly but I'm still having the same issue. Do you have any advice on what the problem could be?

[@robertkoretsky6170]

You need to apply even and consistently downward pressure on the wood that’s on the outfeed table. That’s not made clear in the video.

[@bigjoe2458]

I have a question for you. I saw another video where the instructor said that pressure on the board should be placed on the OUTFEED table side as soon as it is possible. I think the pressure should be on the INFEED table side as long as you can otherwise you would get a seesaw effect on the back end. This would be on edge jointing. What are your thoughts on this?

[@Wood]

Yes, Outfeed as soon as practical. The outfeed table becomes your reference surface.

[@bigjoe2458]

@@Wood sorry but still don't agree. Reason just like I said.

[@Wjracer106]

Keep your hands and pressure on the indeed table

[@michaelb1478]

@@bigjoe2458 if you put pressure on the I feed side the board will angle up from the out feed surface and you will exaggerate the unevenness. Believe me I’ve done it. 😂

[@pro-seriesfabrication3810]

​@@bigjoe2458 so you asked their opinion, didn't like it, and now discard it? Did you not see the part of the video where the outfeed table height is the same height as the cutting blade? The outfeed is what you are cutting to. Holding pressure to the infeed will make your boards worse

[@allaboutpixhawkandrpi3691]

quick question. also i am a newbie. but why doesnt anyone finish all sides on the jointer?is it just to save a step on the planer? if thickness is no factor for example.

[@PLACEonPLATE]

I was wondering this too

[@thomasbrown938]

Because the jointer will make the sides straight, but not parallel. The planer works off the other side to make it parallel.

[@einfussganger]

@@thomasbrown938 If you were using pieces that had an edge and face about the same size, like a balluster or table leg, you could probably square everything up on the jointer, couldn't you? I get why a 1" x 8" board should be finished with the table saw and planer, but a 2x2"?

[@lonewolftech]

@@einfussganger they call them planer jointers for a reason… 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@nickzhaosun]

Question: Why do you not use the jointer to squarre the remaining two sides?

[@stevemartin171]

I'd like to know this as well. Did you ever figure it out, Nick? I'd like to get away with only needed a jointer or planer, not both.

[@nickzhaosun]

@@stevemartin171 I didn't find a very satisfying answer. I best I came up with said that planers will even the surface out but not square the board. So a jointer will give you rough wood(on the surface) which is more or less square but the face of the board will rough in texture.

[@billybob-wx2re]

@@nickzhaosun if you exaggerate your question on a piece of paper, and attempt geometry as an adult, i'm sure you'll figure it out tip: don't start with a square piece of wood on your paper ;)

[@nickzhaosun]

@@billybob-wx2re I'm a complete novice who asked a sincere question. If you don't want to answer it; that's fine. But do you have to be condescending and unhelpful?

[@billybob-wx2re]

@@nickzhaosun i was neither condescending or, by my own estimation, unhelpful. you didn't spend 30 seconds to do what i asked, or you'd be singing a different tune "it's physically impossible" is the short answer. but, if you're like me, and i suspected you were based on your previous responses, you'd want proof. i tried to give you some

[@ChefKevinRiese]

Cant you just use a planer to flatten the board?

[@dennislevasseur7848]

Good question I feel like the jointer might be better but I gotta do my research

[@christopherenders4280]

A planer will make one side parallel to the other. If the reference side isn't flat, then the side it's cutting won't be, either. The way around this would be to build a sled to feed through the planer, so that you always have a flat surface for the planer to reference.

[@niko9942]

The chalk idea fell flat lol.

[@imtypingwords]

Couldn't you just square up the entire board with a jointer? Or is that not possible

[@ok-hd4so]

Not possible

[@MD-en3zm]

You can make all the faces flat but they won’t be parallel to each other. (i.e. You could end up with something shaped like a shim - all 4 faces of a shim are (theoretically) flat and 90 to each other, but they aren’t necessarily parallel on opposite faces.) There are, however, ways to square up a board using a planer. It’s more complicated, but it can be done using a sled to flatten one face first. A table saw can be used to then square up the narrower faces/edges (but you’ll need a way to make a straight rip first, such as a track saw or circular saw).

[@zackh7570]

The faces would be square to one another but you would likely end up with a piece that has different sizes/measurements from end to end.

[@lonewolftech]

@@MD-en3zmthey won’t be parallel to one another? Yea you’re lost mate… they will be parallel to one another but they won’t be exactly the same thickness all through..

[@nelsondelgado5610]

I’m not understanding this either. I’m new and probably need to be taught.

[@ferjeouichaker]

As it should be

[@ahmedhamada5896]

EXSLEND GOOD

[@zyclose8653]

A friend gave me a link to this vid and told me “listen to it, it’s sounds sexy” I must respectfully disagree.

[@1joshjosh1]

God damn it now I'm getting confused

[@christopherh6361]

I use to operate the jointer without hand guards, now I cant joint at all.