Jointer Size Doesn't Matter! Flatten Large Boards on a Smaller Jointer

[@williampike6813]

Explained well, not too long, pleasant to watch. Thanks for not including garbage that others do such as obnoxiously loud jingle music, etc.

[@grumblycurmudgeon]

I've wondered for years why nobody else does this. I always assumed it was me doing something galactically-stupid, though (maybe due to how dangerous the exposed blades are... if you're inattentive or clumsy?) so I've only told a few people about it (both of whom chastised my recklessness). Kudos for having the stones to go public about it man! You're not alone! I've been surreptitiously working along the same exact process for years! For anyone wondering: yes, it works fine on a 6" jointer too, just bolt it down to the work cart and make damn sure she's gotta lotta weight to her. I solved it by making a single stand from 3/4" ply to hold jointer AND the planer (the planer added 100lbs straightaway. Plenty, but since I was twitchy about it, I made the bottom support plate hollow, then caulked it and filled it with sand. Add casters BEFORE you start. Mine prolly weighed 400lbs, total. Finally: outfeed and infeed. You REALLY want the support. I have a little removable shelf that runs in front of mine too, to support the front half of that board. Just make a mental note to always have either it or the guard in place at all times. The concern is if the stock overbalanced and tips forward, you don't want to lose your balance or instinctively flail... and set your hand down to catch yourself (wince). Awesome video bro!

[@arthooper5806]

Dude this is a piece of information that I needed so badly! I have huge slabs that I need to work. And I have the exact same size equipment as you. So I will definitely be using this technique. But be careful working with that Joiner. I lost the end of my left little finger earlier this year to mine. And I am incredibly safe with my equipment handling. Processing heavy wood and getting tired can be a dangerous combination on that machine. Take care and continue the great work, Art

[@kasbakgaming]

I've used this trick before. I prefer to use a laminated particleboard for the spacer for two reasons. One: It's not subject to warping due to humidity changes, and it's machine cut, so you're guaranteed a flat reference surface. Two: The lamination gives it a low friction surface to make the board glide easier. I also have a laminated board at full width and length that I use during normal operation to serve as an extension table for the planer, so I don't even have to adjust my height when I go to plane the full width of the board.

[@deadspeedv]

Good tip thanks Kasbak :)

[@MarcosElMalo2]

No significant expansion or contraction to worry about?

[@kasbakgaming]

@@MarcosElMalo2 It's particle board, so there's no grain to change with humidity.

[@eworth3]

That works great as long as you can flatten that partial first surface of the board in ONE PASS on your jointer. If it requires more than one pass to be flattened, you will have to remove the rabbeting ledge to make a second or third pass. The unplaned part of the board overhanging the infeed table also hangs below the level of the rabbeting ledge thus preventing a second pass. If you don't have a rabbeting ledge, you can use as many passes as you want to flatten that first surface of the board. Most of the lumber I use is rough hewn and takes more than one pass to flatten. If you're milling a lot of lumber, removing the rabbeting ledge makes sense - for one board, not so much. Thanks for the post. It's a good technique, especially if your jointer doesn't have a rabbeting ledge.

[@kennmacintosh2627]

Plywood is flat.

[@G.I.JeffsWorkbench]

Great tip Tyler. Thanks for sharing. The wisdom you shared made me a new subscriber. I won’t repeat the other comments about safety, but please take them seriously. I’m sure they were meant seriously and out of concern for you. Now if only I could remember to practice what I (& others?) preach.

[@mkbcoolman]

I just used this technique this week for a 12" board. I have a 6" jointer and 13" planer. The pieces were only about 4' long, but it works like a charm. Just be patient and take your time making really shallow passes. This is a lifesaver for a small hobby shop like mine.

[@Johnny-jr2lq]

Welp Im not sure what I did but I completely jacked one side of my butcher block reloading bench. Have the ridged set up the 6” jointer and the 13” thickness plainer. The boards im working with are pine 2x4’s and around the edges are pine 4x4’s 8 foot long.

[@timbertime7823]

I'm going to try this! It looks significantly more efficient than using a sled with hot glue and shims to stabilize the board for flattening the first side.

[@iaidoman]

that is pure genius..

[@richhagenchicago]

Nice trick, I have an 8 inch jointer, and a very nice, but only 12 inch powermatic planer. I will put that trick in my toolbox for those 8 to 12" wide slabs. Thumbs up!

[@3sticksoutdoors]

I only have a 6" bench top jointer and it made things pretty tricky because the cherry boards I'm using have some crowning and twisting after drying. I had to get out a portable jointer and take the portion that overhung down in order to make additional passes to get it to ride the board on the planer without doing funky stuff. It's doing its job but adds some extra steps. Great video!

[@HebronGrandpa]

I have a 6" jointer so can see there might be a problem. Thanks for the tip.

[@pemtax557]

Well explained and demonstrated ... Thanks and Cheers!!

[@randymarshall1267]

Great video! I've thought about doing that for a couple of years but was reluctant till I witnessed you doing just that. I have the same 8" jointer and a 1033X planer. Got some wide cherry lumber and didn't have a clue how I was going to process it. Now i know. Thanks

[@beckdesignbuild6372]

That is brilliant!

[@willwatlington6750]

Nice method! Thank you..

[@mattneff1262]

This is fantastic!!! Looks like I'm making a jig for my planer today... Thanks!!

[@Keionspost]

I've got other ways but this is by far the best way to get the job done. Good job

[@Deep_Divers]

Thanks for the tip!

[@thebobloblawshow8832]

Great idea. 👍👍

[@samuelsherman1822]

This is very clever

[@Creator_Nater]

Well done

[@RonMarshallrone]

This is awesome! I'm gonna try it tomorrow...it sure beats the hell out of hot gluing to a board with shims. thank you!

[@RonMarshallrone]

This worked great. One of the best tips I've seen and used on youtube. Works great for reducing snipe on smaller pieces as well. Very cool

[@DIYTyler]

Glad it helped Rone!!👊🏻👊🏻

[@finalcutchuck7357]

BRILLIANT! LOVE IT.

[@davidharvey5672]

Very clever !

[@michaeldenney286]

Great tip and well demonstrated without any extra jabber. Gotta say though that when you reach over the end of the board with your finger tips right over the mouth of the cutter I had to pause and go get a stiff drink. Be careful pal!

[@user-fx9jj2xh1n]

Clever solution. Thanks!

[@jimrosson6702]

Great tips

[@alovemetropolis]

This just made my day. Thanks!

[@pavelow235]

Awesome trick man !

[@RDAUGIRD]

Pretty slick!

[@johnwurst6691]

Thanks for showing us your method. I will try it next time!

[@mitzibud6908]

Love, love, love your resourceful nature!!

[@seanb9436]

just bought a jointer and planer and was wondering if you could do this - thanks for the info!

[@claytonholton2749]

great job little buddy!

[@oniechambers3522]

Wow that's cool thanks!!!!

[@richragan4810]

Thank you!

[@shaynesabala]

Thank you.

[@HalcyonGuitars]

Way to think it out!

[@peterkiernan1668]

Very good tips, thanks.

[@garrettthornton3086]

Brilliant!

[@willyzook]

Awesome method! Thank you for sharing this!

[@Azarie03]

Good job, man, I learned something today.

[@sapelesteve]

Nicely done Tyler! Good thing to know for sure... Stay safe.......👍👍😉😉

[@DevinciDesign]

Hi I’m impressed by your dust collection ! Can you make a video about that ? What are the specs or your collector ?

[@BronkBuilt]

Great tip

[@AlexanderGibbonsAudio]

I feel dumb for not realising this, but in awe that it can be done. Great video!

[@2tipit]

Great video, finally understood how to use the supporting board. I made mine with a 1 inch tick by 60 inch long melamine, easier to calculate the thickness of the finish board ounce you remove supporting board and a lot more slipper. Made a test today and wow

[@williamsturley6631]

Outstanding idea. Just be extra cautious Of course.

[@stevensuckling5329]

Great idea but are we not limited to size of thicknesser we have

[@matthewwright57]

This works! But make sure that your board isnt more than twice as wide as your jointer, the center of gravity in the planer needs to be over the board. For these size tools 14inch would be the max.

[@jeffkennedy5607]

Thanks for the help.

[@ruinunes8251]

It makes perfect sense. I like the length of your jointer. I had one years ago (ELU made by Dewalt I think) but the length was much shorter.

[@chrislowery330]

Elu was bought out by Dewalt. They made some great tools but as the adage goes, if you can’t beat em, buy em out

[@gordonmckay4780]

Very cheeky! I like it.

[@emedina403]

Great tip, I just wish I had that kind of cash to buy such nice equipment! I followed your affiliate links and I'm a bit jealous at how expensive your jointer and planer are! Maybe one day.... but not today!

[@frankjames4573]

Great vid... thanks

[@BigJBizz]

Absolutely brilliant!

[@miguelatlsilvamagana7060]

Hello, thank you very much for sharing. A question from your experience. Do you recommend a indutrial planer with an up or down motor? They told me that the ones with the upper motor have more problems but I honestly don't know. thank you so much

[@Nick.k18]

So what if I were to face joint a 12 inch board on a 6 inch jointer? Could I not just face joint one 6 inch side the flip it around a land face joint the other 6 inches? New woodworker here, just wondering if that would work

[@alfredocastro6181]

Thanks man excellent trick

[@akebaharper5931]

What is the brand of the thickness planer?

[@delapopo1]

IDK why i had never thought of this....thanks man!!!

[@Arterexius]

It might seem small, but I highly appreciate the degree of safety you showed in this video, including turning the jointer off whenever your hand had the faintest chances of getting close to the rotating knives of the jointer. That's professionalism right there and it shows you respect the power of the machines you use. This video stands in stark contrast to most "how-to" videos on YT and I thank you for showing others proper tool safety guidelines. It is paramount to keep all limbs intact, from the womb to the grave.

[@DIYTyler]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@gd3design63]

Great trick 👍

[@dennistaylor7655]

Nice tip! You just saved me some money!!

[@michaelruss1742]

Thanks for the tip.

[@daveh9521]

Not so sure I understand this one. I was wondering how you were going to run the other side through the jointer, and thought you were using the jointer because the board was too wide to fit through your planer. If this board can go through, they why not just use the planer? I've run rough boards through my planer all the time. I'll even up one side to "flatten" any irregularities, then flip and take down the other side to finish. Gorgeous shop, by the way =)

[@douglashaner6802]

I have the same difficulty understanding.

[@erk9822]

The planet will make a board parallel to the other side, not exactly flat. So if there’s any twist in the board it will still be there after the planer. Still though, this method is pretty time consuming and there’s a better way to do this. Just make a planer sled and shim the twist out and flatten one side that way and then flip over.

[@MarkK01]

Tyler, I see that you stepped up your game from Ridgid power tools. Congrats on that. What I am surprised with is you still only have such a low subscription count. I have followed your channel for years now but I have never paid much attention to your sub numbers.

[@1hellokittymeow]

Ok guys, so I’m about to buy my jointer tomorrow, so a 6” jointer is ok? If I mostly work with 10 inch boards?

[@popolkon]

Wow, thanks man, perfect decision :)

[@Cactustone]

Excellent video! Do you have any rules of thumb for ratios? For example, if I have a 6" jointer and a 13" planer, woulda 6" support board support a 13" feed?

[@jmac2o229]

if i was to guess, i would assume you need your support board to be at least, preferably slightly over, half of the width of the board you're processing. So for a 13 inch board, you'd want a 6.5" or greater support board for the sake of stability. Can be done with smaller, like he said, but it'll just be more of a challenge

[@ironwoodautoentrepreneur3862]

good job!! thanks

[@JLWoodArtistries]

Great tip. Thanks for sharing.

[@timthorp5841]

this is a great technique, but the following should be pointed out: -if your jointer has a rabbeting ledge (which yours has) you only get one pass to do the cut, otherwise the lug that is left behind will hold the board up as it hits the ledge -I have a jointer like this and the technique you describe still works, but I set the infeed table low so that I can make 1 deep cut

[@mattheww7280]

Exactly!

[@SuperBardley]

Delta DJ20 has a removable rabbeting shelf.

[@lakeacres9750]

do you find that the rollers of the planer push down the unsupported side while planing though? i would think that would cause the side being planed to be warped coming out.

[@montet202]

Bingo.

[@terrylevasseur2819]

Awesome tip. thanks!!

[@drkline69]

I'm kind of new to planers and jointers. Why didn't you just run it through the planer in the first place? Why did it have to go through the jointer at all?

[@jimstewart1044]

Great trick!

[@Oak6]

I'm new to using planers/jointers. Why does he need a support board? Why cant he just turn the piece around after running the first half over the jointer?

[@TylerJohnson-li8yt]

So I’m new to woodworking and have a question. Could you not have just planed the board on the planer being its wider than the board itself? I thought that was what the planer did, was to flatten boards and to make them the same thickness. Is that not right? I guess essentially I’m wondering what the jointer step offered that the planer didn’t do? My question probably tells how much of a noob I am, but I love woodworking and am trying to absorb all the knowledge I can!

[@KZ-1155]

I used to wonder that also, until one day the lightbulb in my noggin went off. What your asking doesn't work due to the top and bottom side of rough lumber boards are not parallel or flat (coplanar) with each other. The boards he used don't look that out of whack, so it's harder to imagine. But especially if you have cupped, bowed, twisted boards. You need to face plane on jointer first, or use a planer sled with a planer to get one side flat. On a bowed/cupped/twisted board, the pressure rollers on a planer will flatten the bow or cup as it passes through, which will then spring back when it exits the planer, so you’re not Flattening like you would think. Bowed/Cupped Boards need to be supported from under side if running through a planer. Or First face plane them on a jointer. If the Jointer is wider than the board. It takes care of the initial face plane. Then there is no need for a planer sled. But the method in this video works for when your board is wider than your Jointer. Before my lightbulb moment, I was always stumped by thinking why can’t both sides be flattened on the jointer if it were wide enough. For the same reason. Both sides are not Coplanar to each other. If one end of the board is thicker than the other, no matter how many times you run each side on the jointer, one end will still be thicker than the other. Hopefully you will now have your lightbulb moment. lol

[@giovannipetitti1588]

very good Tyler.💯👍👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@randyf2960]

So a question to the group. Why can't you just flip the board end for end and joint the same face going in the opposite direction?

[@AntiViGames]

OR if you want to save space just make a jointer sled for your planer and use that as a jointer. Not only is it cheaper because you don't have to buy a jointer but you also save space in your shop. There's plenty of jointer sleds out there so just look them up.

[@CindyL4261]

With this method, are you limited to just one face pass on the jointer? Because of the rabit catching on the 2nd round.

[@BenaiahHenry]

Yes, unless your rabbiting ledge is removable.

[@Realism91]

I've seen other woodworkers use that planner sled to improve snipe also... I now think everyone should just have one of those as wide as their jointer fixed to their planner on one side with a pivot point on the infeed and a clamp on the outfeed this way if they aren't maxing out their planner they can skew the bed to improve the finish on weird grain.

[@Realism91]

Forgot to mention the sled should have a fixed fence on one side of it so it works when you set it to skew. I also don't care about my planner bed because it's a rigid planer and is horrible.

[@Realism91]

And have a second sled that can go bedside the other one when your doing the second side of wide boards.

[@Realism91]

Just throwing some ideas to the public, love your method.

[@allent555]

How do like the planner and jointer you have?

[@nigeljoiner]

what kind of snipe did you get running a board that weight and length through the planer?

[@odbo_One]

Perfect for certain jointers, mine will not allow that. However, it's a large jointer.

[@jeffstewart395]

Insurance Company's have gotta love this video

[@Lasnoe]

This may sound like a stupid question, I’m interested in woodworking but don’t have any equipment yet…. Why can’t the piece be flipped to have the overhang run on the jointer with the live edge against the fence???

[@Lasnoe]

Found another video on it…. Makes sense now. Lol

[@mikeamboy7292]

How do you like the grizzly jointer?

[@paulnelson648]

Super cool and intuitive trick! Now if only I can get my Grizzly Jointer off backorder this century.

[@BuckysCustoms]

Where there is a will there is a way! Really enjoy your video's!

[@jimrolf]

Which jointer do you have? Are you happy with it?

[@Ryandevine16]

What do you do if you have to make multiple passes on jointer?

[@JGumaJ]

To make multiple passes on your joiner will you need to remove the metal piece that the blade cover connects to. Sorry can't remember the name of that piece right now

[@JGumaJ]

To make multiple passes on your joiner will you need to remove the metal piece that the blade cover connects to. Sorry can't remember the name of that piece right now

[@josephjetton273]

Wow! what a great tip. I have never needed to joint and plane a board that size. I do work with smaller boards and only have an old 4" jointer, and a 12" Shopsmith planer. I will be trying your idea very soon. Thanks and keep up the great videos.

[@Ritalie]

I've done novice wood working for 25 years, with no jointer or planer. From what I can see here, using this technique, as long as you have both a jointer, and a planer, you could basically use a 4" jointer and a normal size planer to do almost all normal boards, up to the width of the planer? Using this technique means there isn't an absolute necessity to own a larger planer? It also appears that there is no way to flatten a board without owning BOTH tools.

[@casual257]

wouldn't it be best to size the length board first, as long as it not too short?

[@Jiminvt1]

nice

[@steverochon1620]

Hey, but if you take more than one pass to get the jointed face flat, doesn’t the unjointed edge run into the rabbet surface?

[@ethanweikleenget9747]

I was thinking the same