# Benefits of jointing



## justfishin20 (Oct 24, 2014)

So I am wondering why jointing is needed with a hand plane (or an eletric jointer but I dont own one). What benefits would face jointing or edge jointing a piece of stock? I understand the need for rough sawn wood, but I buy my lumber dimensionally for common woods like pine oak and mahogany, and when I buy other woods online I get them S2S and straight lined on one side, which I then use my table saw to straighten out the other side. Is it worth it to get a good set of bench planes?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*depends on the application*

When "joining" planks or boards the edges must be square to the faces and they must also be straight OR the pieces won't glue up properly.

When making furniture with mating surfaces they must also be square and true OR they won't glue up properly and your joints will have gaps.

Taking a rough sawn board and squaring it to certain dimensions was my first woodshop assignment. It wasn't easy. Sharp tools, namely a hand plane was absolutely necessary and sharpening it was also one of the first tasks before taking on the squaring assignment. 

Whether you use a handplane or a powered one is a matter of choice or budget requirements. I use both for what it's worth. I have several jointers and many hand planes, and use them all. A "slick" which is a long handled chisel used in timber framing is also a useful hand tool. How do you know when your surface is square? Now you need a trisquare or engineer's square to verify the surface relationships. You also need straight edges in various lengths depending on your project. 

It's always about accurately measuring and then working to those dimensions. :yes:


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## justfishin20 (Oct 24, 2014)

woodnthings said:


> When "joining" planks or boards the edges must be square to the faces and they must also be straight OR the pieces won't glue up properly.
> 
> When making furniture with mating surfaces they must also be square and true OR they won't glue up properly and your joints will have gaps.
> 
> ...


so then my table saw should be fine then, until I start using rough sawn woods?

also the cedar at my yard is S1S2E so id need to face joint or plane that edge?


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Another thing to remember is that wood moves - continually. Lumber machined today to a perfect fit may not fit tomorrow, so you may need to joint it again (depending on the build, tolerance, and environment of course). And lumber machined by someone other than yourself may not be to the tolerance you require.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If you look close at the edge of a sawn board you will see ridges made by the saw blade. Since there are ridges on the edge of the wood when you put another sawn board against it the ridges prevent the board from mating as close as if it was jointed. This is why jointing the wood is important. It will make a better joint than one sawn. Also a saw blade can bend slightly when ripping wood. If it isn't very sharp it can slightly following the grain making a joint that isn't as straight as if it were jointed. Now having said that it takes pretty good skills to joint two boards with a hand plane and have both edges straight and square. It would be a lot easier if you purchased a jointer. If you only work on small projects you could get by with a small table top jointer. It's when you make larger glue up panels you really need the longer table.


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

justfishin20 said:


> so then my table saw should be fine then, until I start using rough sawn woods?
> 
> also the cedar at my yard is S1S2E so id need to face joint or plane that edge?


It's very rare (read: never) that edges are true enough to be glued up right from the source. Even S2E.


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## justfishin20 (Oct 24, 2014)

Maylar said:


> It's very rare (read: never) that edges are true enough to be glued up right from the source. Even S2E.


Anyone recommend a good inexpensive bench top jointer?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*good vs inexpensive*



justfishin20 said:


> Anyone recommend a good inexpensive bench top jointer?


A bench top jointer is usually too short in the bed length to be "good". The longer the bed length, the better the result. 

I recently gave away an older Craftsman 6" "bench jointer with about 48" total bed length to a good friend. I gave it away not because there was anything wrong with it, I just had a few others that were slightly better. The outfeed bed was fixed, so the only adjustment was to the infeed bed/table. This is only an issue if you want to set the outfeed dead even across the knives. I always leveled out the knives to the fixed outfeed bed anyway, so it was never an issue for me. and it was my "go to" small jointer.

They can be bought from $75 to $125 on Craig's List. 
They work well when adjusted properly and last for ever. See if you can find something like that and post the link here so we can give you advice.


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## justfishin20 (Oct 24, 2014)

woodnthings said:


> A bench top jointer is usually too short in the bed length to be "good". The longer the bed length, the better the result.
> 
> I recently gave away an older Craftsman 6" "bench jointer with about 48" total bed length to a good friend. I gave it away not because there was anything wrong with it, I just had a few others that were slightly better. The outfeed bed was fixed, so the only adjustment was to the infeed bed/table. This is only an issue if you want to set the outfeed dead even across the knives. I always leveled out the knives to the fixed outfeed bed anyway, so it was never an issue for me. and it was my "go to" small jointer.
> 
> ...


http://newjersey.craigslist.org/tls/4707123380.html


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

justfishin20 said:


> Anyone recommend a good inexpensive bench top jointer?


Pretty much a jointer is a jointer. If it were me I would watch ebay and craigslist and get a used one but be sure to get one with a rear table that is adjustable. It makes it a lot easier changing the knives.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*probably not this one*

Another distinction of a bench top jointer is a builtin motor. This one is a 3/4HP unit, not really enough for a 6" jointer in my opinion. My 6" have 1 HP motor and when taking a full width pass they will slow down a bit, but still remain workable. It depends on the depth of cut you are making. Me, I like to just get the job done and may first take an 1/8" cut to waste away the twist, then raise the infeed to 1/16" or 1/32" as I get closer to straight and flat.

Keep looking, is my advice.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I bought a used jet 6 inch jointer off Craigslist. I used it for about a year. I liked it but the blades need to be changed. Then it seemed to be making a noise that concerned me. The cutter head and most of the screws were rusty from sitting idle somewhere for a long time.

Bottom line is I bought a spiral cutting head from Grizzly. It came with new bearings. It will outlast my time here on earth for sure. It works well for me. But then, I hardly ever joint anything longer than 4-5 feet. I plan, precut my pieces, then start the milling process.

Good luck. Cheep is cheep, no matter how you look at it. Save up and get something you can work with.


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