# Thin stock on the jointer



## ObtainiumMaker (Oct 2, 2012)

Hi All, 

I just picked up my first ever jointer, and it's been a great addition to my newbie shop. A jewelry box is my current project and I'm stuck at critical step. 

I started with boards of varying dimensions, from 2" up to 4 7/8" wide, all of them 13/16" thick. I ran them through the BS down to 3/8" or, for the trays to go inside the box, 3/16". I was thinking I'd run them across my jointer to clean up the saw marks, but the first 3/8" piece I tried scared me when it hit the knife. I had a push stick at the infeed end, but the stock jumped up from the table so I backed it off right away. 

I'm worried that even with a push stick/paddle, the thinness of my stock is just not right for this tool. What am I doing wrong? Should I push these boards through my planer instead?

Thanks!


----------



## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Id run them threw the planer, but I would attach the piece to a thicker piece of wood that is smooth and flat. You could attach it with double sided tape or you could use carpet tape. Run it threw taking very small amount off at a time. No more than /16th off.
Make sure your in feed and out feed tables are in plane.


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Its a common practice to face boards on a jointer however its dangerous. You need to raise the front table so your not taking so much wood off at one time. Also I have a push block that visually looks like a lot like a hand plane made out of a 2x4 with handles above the board to push the stock. By doing this it keeps my hands away from the blades in the event the board kicks back.


----------



## ObtainiumMaker (Oct 2, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> Also I have a push block that visually looks like a lot like a hand plane made out of a 2x4 with handles above the board to push the stock. By doing this it keeps my hands away from the blades in the event the board kicks back.


That sounds like an extra set of hands that I need to make :thumbsup: You wouldn't happen to have a pic of it handy? In the meantime, I'm going to try them in the planer as suggested, double sided tape on a bigger, flat board.


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Sorry, I can't help you with a photo. My camera is in the shop. Here is a sketch of it.


----------



## jfwernicke (Jan 11, 2008)

A planer would be better. Another approach would be to attach your stock to a thicker piece with 2 sided tape.


----------



## Jory (Feb 19, 2012)

you are trying to use the jointer for a purpose other than what it was designed for. The jointer is s power version of the jointer plane. It was made to prepare wood for glue up. The jointer is also good for getting two surfaces perpendicular to each other. While there is nothing wrong in using tools for purposes other than what they were designed for, this application is dangerous. The tips you have received basically agree with me using double back tape and a 2x4 push block effectively make the piece you are working on a thick piece that is safe to joint. What you want is to smooth the surface left by the band saw. Use a smoothing plane or a planer. if you are going to use the planer I am sure jewelry box pieces are too short to run without getting sniped surfaces. try to run them end to end and consider attaching strips of the same thickness or slightly greater to the boards. Thes strips should be about 6" longer than the piece or pieces. You want them to extend 3" in both the front and back of the pieces. Any snipe will be on they strips and not on your jewelry box sides. Note also that even planers have a minimum thickness that they work with. To get really thin pieces you would have to go to a sander such as a Performax. I successfully made a tea box for a friend that had 1/16" thick partitions inside. I got them down part of the way with a planer but then switched to the sander.


----------



## ObtainiumMaker (Oct 2, 2012)

Jory, thanks for the detailed reply! I'm going to go with the hand planes and see how I do, since I don't need to shave of more than few hundredths in most places, and nothing bigger than a 32nd anywhere on the boards.


----------

