A new and easy solution for jointing on the tablesaw ?

[sebcbien]

Hello, I had to joint 2m long stock and only had a small jointer.
I searched the web and found the kind of jig to joint on the table saw like this one:

I scratched my head a little more and bought a long aluminium rectangular tube like this one:

It's strong and doesn't bend easily.
I made 3 holes in it and clamped to my CS 70 fence.
Now I have a longer reference fence and I can joint 2m long stock the easy way.
I made some tests and it works very well.
Maybe I miss something because I didn' find this trick anywhere on internet.
any objection on this solution ?
View attachment 1

 

[sebcbien]

View attachment 1

 

[Michael Kellough]

That works! The longer the fence the better if you're cutting well behaved wood.

I have a Paralok fence that is about 54" long so it's good enough most times
but when I want a longer fence I just clamp an 8 foot level to the existing fence.

If you're cutting badly behaved wood the long fence will increase binding which could result in kick-back.

In the old days before engineered wood products fences often stopped at the arbor to allow warping wood room to move without binding.

 

[flair woodworks]

I can think of a few downsides. If both edges of your board are convex, your method won't work.  Also, the fence must be at least twice as long as the material being cut.  Also, it won't joint the face!

 

[blaszcsj]

In a pinch I use a level as my reference surface that I hold the board against and slide past the fence rail.

If a board is bowed both ways you just need to run it thru both sides. Approximate the first cut, fix the board to the straight edge and do the first edge. It may take two passes, I have done this before with acceptable results. A good blade is also essential for this working well!

 

[Michael Kellough]

I can think of a few downsides. If both edges of your board are convex, your method won't work.  Also, the fence must be at least twice as long as the material being cut.  Also, it won't joint the face!

Not if you're willing to make several passes.

With a badly bowed board run the concave side against the fence to make a flat section in the middle of the convex side. Then flip the board over and use that center flat/straight section to guide the board and trim the "ears" of the concave side. A couple more flips/passes and you have a straight board with parallel sides.

With a very long board you can bias the fence toward the infeed side. Sometimes you have to add a shim between the board and the fence to maintain a straight feed-line through the blade.

My jointer has a short bed so I get better results jointing edges with the tablesaw, as long as the stock is thin enough, 3" or less.

Face jointing is another story.

 

[ear3]

Just curious why one might opt for this method over tracksaw + long rail.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Just curious why one might opt for this method over tracksaw + long rail.

Way faster, only one moving part. Especially superior when working with narrow stock.

 

[flair woodworks]

the fence must be at least twice as long as the material being cut.

Not if you're willing to make several passes.

With a badly bowed board run the concave side against the fence to make a flat section in the middle of the convex side. Then flip the board over and use that center flat/straight section to guide the board and trim the "ears" of the concave side. A couple more flips/passes and you have a straight board with parallel sides.

With a very long board you can bias the fence toward the infeed side. Sometimes you have to add a shim between the board and the fence to maintain a straight feed-line through the blade.

Very resourceful!

 

[sebcbien]

A couple more flips/passes and you have a straight board with parallel sides.

Yes, this is also a great advantage with this method, one tool, one guide and you have a jointed AND parallel board.
I've jointed 180cm stock quite easily.
I noticed with such lenght that the guide is still a little "soft".
To have a perfect result, it's better to not put too much pressure on it.
Maybe I will try to find harder/thicker/wider aluminium or bind two together.
Thank you all for your comments.

 

[Gregor]

I noticed with such lenght that the guide is still a little "soft".
To have a perfect result, it's better to not put too much pressure on it.
Maybe I will try to find harder/thicker/wider aluminium or bind two together.

Try it turned 90°, having the profile flat instead of upright should give it a little more resistance against sideways bending.

 

[sebcbien]

Thanks Gregor, you are absolutely right, I should had mentioned this.
I was lazy and just posted "old" pictures left in my smartphone (February 2016...).
Rotated by 90°, it's of course better but still not "perfect" and the clamping is more difficult.
Looks like there is a lot of different aluminium, and clearly the one of the tube I've used is not as hard as the one of the festool fence.
I will place some calls today to see if there is different alloys availaible for those tubes

 

[pixelated]

To joint a board on a table saw, you need a flat reference edge to run against the fence. This is why the pictured jig is clamped to the board which will be jointed. Extending the fence by clamping a long straight edge to it doesn't do the same thing. Using several passes with light cuts will work, but the jig can do it on one pass (plus one more cut on the other side without the jig to make the board edges parallel).

 

[Michael Kellough]

To joint a board on a table saw, you need a flat reference edge to run against the fence. This is why the pictured jig is clamped to the board which will be jointed. Extending the fence by clamping a long straight edge to it doesn't do the same thing. Using several passes with light cuts will work, but the jig can do it on one pass (plus one more cut on the other side without the jig to make the board edges parallel).

The jig is good, as is the long fence and tracksaw. It's great to have options. One will better fit the situation.

 

[sebcbien]

You are true if the stock is longer than the fence (before and after the blade)
But not if the stock is shorter than the fence (that's why mine is very long).
In this case, the stock will have two points of contact to the fence before hitting the blade.
As those two points of contact will stay during all the cut (because the fence is long enough) the cut will be straight in one pass.

Only problem is when the stock has two concave sides, in this case, multiple passes is mandatory.

 

[sebcbien]

I made a small drawing to illustrate:
It's better also to rotate horizontally, to keep the same face as "reference" (it the stock top and botom faces are not parallel)
[attachimg=1]

 

[fritter63]

Maybe I miss something because I didn' find this trick anywhere on internet.
any objection on this solution ?
View attachment 1

As they say in (Ecclesiastes?), "There is nothing new under the sun".

I used to have a jig like this years ago (it didn't make the "cut" when we moved 1000 miles). But I think I got the idea from Fine Woodworking. I've got a similar smaller type sled that rides in the miter slot, that I've been using to joint guitar fretboards for years (it just became obsolete with the addition of the CNC to my shop).

 

[sebcbien]

no jig and no mitter slot here, just a long fence...  [wink]

 

[Michael Kellough]

no jig and no mitter slot here, just a long fence...  [wink]

The simplest and still the best solution.

 

[sebcbien]

Hello,
I just made a video explaining this technique:


I should be displayed with English text and I translated the video in English subtitles (but I speak French in this video)
Thanks for watching  [smile]