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Milling Raw Wood

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B

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I am new to milling raw wood and have a question about the process.

I have both a 6 inch joiner and a DeWalt 735 planer. From what I've read the process is: rip raw planks to 6" or less, finish one face on joiner. Finish one edge, then plane to thickness and cut to length. I plan to build two bookcases and received the wood, and let it acclimate to my shop for two weeks. I followed the above process yesterday and rough milled about half the wood. Today I did another quarter, but instead of using joiner on first face, I used the planer, then did an edge, then planed to thickness. Is this ok? Every edge squares out, but I'm wondering if I'm missing something.

My joiner makes a boatload of chips that do not go into my DC, so I prefer planer which is clean as a whistle.

Thoughts/comment would be appreciated.

Blue
 
C

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#2 ·
Yes you are missing something. When you run wood through planner you aren't making that piece flat. If a board is cupped and you run it through a thickness planner it's simply following that cup.
Do it like you know it :thumbsup: rough rip, joint one face flat and then plane it, joint one edge true.

Good luck!
 
D

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#3 ·
bluespook said:
I am new to milling raw wood and have a question about the process.

I have both a 6 inch joiner and a DeWalt 735 planer. From what I've read the process is: rip raw planks to 6" or less, finish one face on joiner. Finish one edge, then plane to thickness and cut to length. I plan to build two bookcases and received the wood, and let it acclimate to my shop for two weeks. I followed the above process yesterday and rough milled about half the wood. Today I did another quarter, but instead of using joiner on first face, I used the planer, then did an edge, then planed to thickness. Is this ok? Every edge squares out, but I'm wondering if I'm missing something.

My joiner makes a boatload of chips that do not go into my DC, so I prefer planer which is clean as a whistle.

Thoughts/comment would be appreciated.

Blue
Click to expand...
the way i do it is , put the bowed side up , now run it thro the planer, the 2 ends are down on the planer bed , run the board thro again not you should have a flate side to the board, now flip it up and run the board thro with the 2 cup end's up plain tell you have a flat side, now turn it over and plane down tell it is flat, the board is flat now, run it thro the jointer, now the edge's will be 90 degree's to the flat , if you do it before the board is not flat and the 90 degree's will not be right for the face, this is the way i do it, now if you only have a 5" or 6" piece of wood you can serface that on the jointer on one side now that is a 1 side flat, now run that thro the planer with the flat side down and plane tell it is flat on the top, now with say a lite pass on the other side it will be flat on both sides, now run the edge on the jointer and it will be 90 degree's, now you can run it thro the table saw and than the board will be the same size width wise, that is the way i have been doing for around 50 yrs or more , works for me my 2 cent thanks for reading this
 
BZawat

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#4 ·
I've never had any luck using a planer to flatten stock. Seems you always have to settle for "close enough" with that method. Problem is, the feed rollers will bend the stock flat to feed it thru the planer, but it springs right back to its original shape when it exits the machine. So you get a bowed/twisted board with nice smooth faces.

I use the method you described in your first post. Flatten one face (whichever is easier), joint one edge square, plane to thickness, cut to final dimensions.

A few considerations: I have had stock move on me after it was milled. That's a bummer. I mill to within 1/8" of finished dimensions & let it sit overnight, and finish it out the next day. Seems to help.
Also when planing try to take an equal amount of material off of each face. This will help keep an already flattened board true.
 
B

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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
Thanks, guys:


Okay, I'm a believer now. Guess I dislike joiner mess so much I was hoping for a shortcut. I'll work on my cleanup effort.

Was milling 5/4 poplar and took it down to mostly one inch. Bookcases will be 3/4" and I plan to let it sit for a few days before bringing to final dimensions.. It's already acclimated two weeks in shop...oh, yeah, I have to hit it borate to get rid of some powder post beetles. Got about 175 bf, delivered, for $24. Fantastic deal, but then the beetles showed up. Aggravation yes, but in my opinion still worth it.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Thanks for the great input.

Blue
 
woodnthings

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#6 ·
I love my jointer because ...

It's the only way I can flatten a cupped or twisted board easily.
There are some techniques that aren't readily apparent to a beginner.

Here's s good thread to check out. See my posts 3 and 11.
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f5/jointer-what-am-i-doing-wrong-21758/

As far as safety goes, with the blade cover in place, proper push blocks, and a board no shorter than 12". it's a pretty safe machine.
It is NOT a one pass to a finished, flat and straight surface machine like a table saw where you can cut off any length and be done with it. The jointer requires much more technique and may take several passes to get a straight and flat finished surface.

A twisted or cupped board must be flattened before it goes on the table saw to prevent a kickback.
 
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Paarker

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#8 ·
Mines at a 1/32 also. It might take a couple of more passes to do the job but I'm okay with that.
 
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B

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Discussion Starter · #10 ·
That raises a good question. If flat facing is done on joiner, how do you ever handle a 12" wide board? Or maybe you use only panels created with multiple smaller pieces. In other words, can you use a single wider board?

Blue
 
BZawat

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#11 ·
The bigger the board, the bigger the jointer. I have a 6" jointer. I'd love a 12", but can't afford one right now. So I use about 5 5/8" as my max and glue lam to go wider.
I'm just beginning to learn to use bench planes for stock facing, which is a cost effective option if you want to keep your wide boards wide.
 
woodnthings

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WarnerConstInc.

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woodnthings

· where's my table saw?
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#17 ·
Those large machines are not toys

Warner uses them on a daily basis because they perform as required and they cost relatively little to acquire and maintain. :yes:
 
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dodgeboy77

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#18 ·
Bluespook,

A couple of things in addition to what the experts above have said: Since you have a 6" jointer (as I do) you might want to purchase rough-sawn wood that is 6" wide or under. The reason is that it can be hazardous to rip rough sawn stuff on a table saw. If you are ripping it on a band saw, then "Never mind".

Also, when you are jointing a board that has any twist or bow to it, you lose less wood if you cut the rough lumber to shorter lengths first - like the approximate finished length you'll need for the project (leave some extra to compensate for snipe, etc.). If you are milling an 8' board with some twist to it, you could end up milling off as much as you'll have left. Also, I just find it easier to joint shorter pieces than long stuff, but maybe that's just me.

Bill
 
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