How do you flatten your boards

[cliffp]

I recently embarked on a project to make a coffee table using probably 10 feet or so of oak board. Although the wood was supposedly planed all round, it was quite badly cupped and twisted and I tried flattening it with planes initially then used a router sled arrangement. Both methods took ages and I want to find a better way. I am interested to know how people here accomplish this task? Planes, router sleds, thicknessers with sled or planer thicknessers (or jointer planers as I think you call them in the US). I know a planer thicknesser is the best tool for the job but I don't have much space so I would be interested to see if the majority of people find a cheaper and more space saving way of doing it.

 

[Len]

Twisted boards are a nightmare.  Hopefully you can cut it into smaller pieces before trying to surface it all around.  If it is real bad the fireplace is the best place for it.  Whatever, your 19mm board will be 10mm thick when your done.

 

[jacko9]

Cliff,

To get the best yield out of your distorted board I would suggest that you rip it in half lengthwise and then flatten one face of each piece on a Jointer.  When you have one face flat joint a 90 degree edge.  Run the boards through a thickness Planer and then rip them on your table saw.  You should have the  two half boards flat and true and if you wish to use a wide board, edge join them together using your domino Joiner to get a true surface.

Jack

 

[grbmds]

I flatten one side with my jointer (but I'm fortunate to have an 8" helical head jointer), then plane the other side parallel to the flattened side. If the board is wider than the jointer, I would rip it to a narrower width. The problem is that this is difficult when the board is badly warped. Depending on length I might try ripping on the band saw, but I have trouble doing that with longer boards. I tend to find narrower boards to begin with and glue them together to make wider surfaces after flattening and jointing each width. The wood is usually less expensive, but that also creates the challenge of matching grain so that the glue joints don't show. Mostly, I just refuse to but anything I think I can't do one of the above with. I've never found any easy answer for badly cupped or twisted boards except to cut them up and use them for smaller projects.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

A jointer.  I have three, 16, 20 and 30" machines.  Sold my 8" and now trying to find a 12.

 

[cliffp]

Thanks a lot for the replies. I did cut my boards into approx 50cm lengths because this was the dimension of the table top and apron. I can see that I might have been better off cutting lengthways as suggested in order to minimise waste (given the predominantly cupped nature of the wood). The boards were around 15cm wide. The flattened boards ended up around 18mm thick having started at 21mm. This doesn't sound too bad perhaps but it took a long time to flatten them with my router. I think the advice points to the use of a proper machine for the job (ie jointer). I think I will order a Hammer A3-26 tomorrow. I will also note your advice about the finer points of dealing with the problem - thanks again!

WarnerConstCo, I can't imagine a 30" machine! I will struggle to fit in a 10" jointer...

Cliff

 

[grbmds]

Take a look at the 12" helical head Jet Jointer/Planer combo. I don't know anything about the Hammer, but would expect it to be more money. The machine might be a better machine, but the Jet has a 3HP 220v motor, which should be sufficient. I've seen it demo'd and it appears to be able to handle anything I'd ever encounter and, withe helical head, it would do a great job. With the periodic Jet 15% discounts, it becomes an even better deal, if you can wait for the sales. The only reason I didn't get it was logistical; getting it down in my basement shop. I have a Jet 8" helical head jointer and have never regretted getting it. It has been a huge upgrade for me from a 6" jointer and has enabled me to flatten every board I've used since getting it. Would Hammer get a better result? Possibly, but I find the results from the Jet to be already excellent. The helical head is a great upgrade whatever machine you get. Sure, you can't flatten a 30" board or table top, but careful gluing can eliminate the need for most of that need to the point that using a scraper or a hand plane will take care of the rest with a small investment of time.

 

[jacko9]

Thanks a lot for the replies. I did cut my boards into approx 50cm lengths because this was the dimension of the table top and apron. I can see that I might have been better off cutting lengthways as suggested in order to minimise waste (given the predominantly cupped nature of the wood). The boards were around 15cm wide. The flattened boards ended up around 18mm thick having started at 21mm. This doesn't sound too bad perhaps but it took a long time to flatten them with my router. I think the advice points to the use of a proper machine for the job (ie jointer). I think I will order a Hammer A3-26 tomorrow. I will also note your advice about the finer points of dealing with the problem - thanks again!

WarnerConstCo, I can't imagine a 30" machine! I will struggle to fit in a 10" jointer...

Cliff

Cliff,

The Hammer A3-26 looks great.  I would suggest that you get the "Silentpower" spiral cutter head as an upgrade.  Changing out high speed steel knives is a pain but, the carbide spiral cutter head will give you long and quite service.  I think you'll be quite happy with the Hammer machine.

Jack

 

[CarolinaNomad]

Hammer or Jet,  you won't go wrong. If you go that route,  get a combo.

But to your original question, unfortunately you must cut the boards to a narrower size to minimize the waste.

 

[cliffp]

I don't think the Jet machine is available with the helical cutter head in the uk. On the subject of the "SilentPower" upgrade to the Hammer, I couldn't afford it unfortunately (the machine is already $3400 even after a big discount) and I would'nt be using it all that often being only a hobbiest (and slow worker!). I can see that the Silentpower head is a very well received upgrade and I may end up regretting not getting it but at the moment I am struggling to justify the machine at all!

 

[grbmds]

Sorry, didn't look at where you were from. After many years of buying tools that I found out I either don't use very often or not at all, I'm more careful and have taken the view during my conversion to Festools that I need to work through what I'm going to use a tool for and whether there are alternatives. I don't know what tools you already have, but you can buy decent jointers and portable planers for much less total than a 10" or 12" jointer or jointer/planer. While they won't be top of the line, they are still great machines. However, I don't know what is available in the UK. DeWalt has a great portable planer that is around $500 (#735) and there are a variety of 6" or 8" jointers that should be less when added to the planer. Again, they may not be available. How about another woodworker or a lumber store or other that might joint and plane boards that are not straight. I never want to discourage the purchase of new power tool, especially something like a jointer/planer, but it is a lot of money and it's worth depends on your frequency of use.

 

[mouppe]

Cliff, some boards just aren't worth the trouble. Either cut it up and use the pieces for smaller needs, or rip it into narrower planks and smooth and edge joint the planks (you'll have less material to remove when they're narrower) then reglue them.

Personally I'd find another boards with less problems.

 

[Stephen B]

[size=12pt]

I use a planer/jointer and thicknesser.

But for furniture and other critical projects, find a timber merchant that respects their timber stock by storing it in well supported racks and who [size=14pt]within reason [size=12pt]will allow you to check each piece of timber. You will not find 100% perfection, but hold one end and run your eye down each edge! flip it 90 degrees and check the faces for unwanted defects.

This will minimise the amount of work required on the machines, and for some tasks you will not need to do it.

When a customer asks me, "is it straight?"; I sometimes say yes, "straight out of the rack!"

As for those less than perfect lengths, someone buys them!  [smile]

 

[lumbajac]

I don't think the Jet machine is available with the helical cutter head in the uk. On the subject of the "SilentPower" upgrade to the Hammer, I couldn't afford it unfortunately (the machine is already $3400 even after a big discount) and I would'nt be using it all that often being only a hobbiest (and slow worker!). I can see that the Silentpower head is a very well received upgrade and I may end up regretting not getting it but at the moment I am struggling to justify the machine at all!

I just purchased the Jet 12" helical head jointer/planer combo.  Just got it into my basement shop, cleaned of shipping grease, and almost setup... haven't ran a board through it yet though.  Very nice, heavy machine.  I was going to get the Grizzly version because of cost, but took a try at bartering with Jet using that fact as my bartering chip.  It surprisingly worked and was able to get the Jet for within a few hundred of the price of the Grizzly.  Extra few hundred was worth it for a couple of features I really wanted.

Might be worth you trying to negotiate with Jet if the machine is available over there.

 

[wow]

For plain old raw boards I use a jointer like everyone else.

For wild grain and boards wider than my jointer width (12") I use my SuperMax sander. Set properly, it will flatten a board up to 37" wide very nicely - albeit a bit slower than a jointer - but completely without tearout.

 

[cliffp]

My timber merchant does allow me to inspect every board. I have to admit that I was previously checking for nice looking grain and no splits rather than flatness. If I use this supplier again I will check more carefully. Everything I have made using oak from this company has needed flattening so I probably need to find another supplier.

I am tempted to buy a planer thicknesser though as my instincts tell me it will be worth it.

I don't think the helical head Jet is available here so I think I will go for the Hammer.

As ever this forum has come up trumps with helpful answers/advice - thanks!

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

The 30" may cause me to replace one of my 24" planers with a 30 or 36", see how that works? 

I got the 30 so I could make and sell some of those over priced lazy edge tables.  Plus it is nice having all that table width for cleaning up bent laminations, chair backs, arched moulding blanks, etc. 

 

[Carl Prentiss]

I use bench planes. I start with a scrub plane and finish(term used loosely) with a jack. Just enough to get it to ride flat across the planer bed. That flattens the top. I then turn it over and clean up  the rough flattening on the other side. I aspire to someday have a 12" jointer and cyclone dust collector but this works well for now. There was a learning curve to make this process practical.
-Charlie

 

[Mitchwood]

Cliff

Go for the Hammer, you won’t regret it. I have the Felder 531 combination machine which I have had for four years now. The planer has a four blade cutter head, I believe the Hammer comes with a three blade cutter head, (the spiral cutter head was not available at the time I purchased my machine). The cutter head performance is excellent, and setting up the blades is no trouble at all. Felder / Hammer use reversible blades allowing you to turn the blades over and refit, from memory the replacement blades are not that expensive either.
The machine has allowed me to use rough sawn timber (KD) which is cheaper than planed all round, that is how I buy most of my timber now.
I am really pleased with my machine and I'm sure you will find the same with the Hammer. The Felder UK staff at Milton Keynes were very helpful and I arranged a demo at the Milton Keynes Showroom, I believe they are doing summer offers at present.

Charlie

 

[jacko9]

Cliff,

I made comments above about buying the Hammer machine with the Spiral Cutter head and your response about the higher cost was understandable.  I would like to ask you how long do you intend to use the machine?

I purchased my main tooling back in the mid 1980's and thought long and hard on every purchase but over that time I realized that certain upgrades would have saved me a lot of time and headaches over the years like buy my planer with a Dust Hood, etc.

In recent years I replaced my cutter head for a spiral cutter head with carbide inserts that can be rotated if damaged (carbide doesn't get dull very often from wood) and quite a long time ago I replaced my Jointer knives with solid carbide knives.  I bring this up because the down time and effort to get the dull or damaged knives on plane within the tolerance necessary to achieve the quality of finish I desire caused me to run boards through the machines with dull knives because the schedule didn't suit a changeout.

Bottom line, amortizing the costs over 30 - 40 years some of these upgrades seem like a better deal that the initial cost shock would indicate.

Good luck on whatever decision you make.

Jack