Jointing first face with thickness planer

[Highdesertww]

Why are so many writers on the subject so emphatic that one cannot plane (face-joint)  the first face of a rough stock?

With indifference this is true, but I believe it is rather easy to plane the first face of a rough stock with a thickness planer.

As long the bottom of a rough stock does not rock while the stock goes thru the thickness planer, you can obtain the first planar face from a rough stock. Am I right? I think I am.

In many situations one can indeed obtain the first plane (jointed) face from a rough stock with a thickness planer. Even if the stock is quite rough, one can often support it with a carrier board with 3-4 spikes that will prevent rocking.

Often, even after just planing a rough stock, the cut top face even not plane may no longer rock if it is turned around and used as the bottom.

Incidentally, after face jointing with a jointer, even if a plane face has not been achieved, a face , when used as the bottom thru the thickness planer, may no longer rock. So I think it is often excessive zeal to insist that a face thru the jointer be perfect. The jointer is a preliminary step and one actually gets both faces parallel thru the thickness planer. So I say after you have jointed the face on a jointer, you check whether the face still rocks, not whether the face is perfect.

I hope I am right.

[knotscott]

You can get some flattening effect with a planer by taking away high spots, but it's  hard to control and predict.  If the board is bowed, which is very common, the planer will push it down flat during the cut, then it will spring back after the cut and still be bowed.  You'd fare better if the board was only cupped.  If it's twisted, or bowed and twisted, you'll struggle.  It's  better to build a planer sled for flattening with a planer, or better yet to just use a jointer....there's no more efficient or effective way to flatten and get a 90° edge that's consistent with the length of the board than with a jointer.

[MichaelMouse]

As long the bottom of a rough stock does not rock while the stock goes thru the thickness planer, you can obtain the first planar face from a rough stock. Am I right? I think I am.

Go back a hundred years or so. Sight the board, put it on the bench and take off the high spots with a plane and sticks.  Limits length, of course.  When it lays flat, run it flat down, flip, fresh side up, and so forth.

Helps if you have a real planer with a nice serrated steel feed roller.  You can make skim cuts.

[Admiral]

Go back a hundred years or so. Sight the board, put it on the bench and take off the high spots with a plane and sticks.  Limits length, of course.  When it lays flat, run it flat down, flip, fresh side up, and so forth.

That's what I do when a board is wider than 8" and I don't want to rip it to fit the jointer.

[Steve N]

A Jointer makes an edge square to the fence, and gives you a flat face which you can then take and put into a thickness planer which makes the board the same thickness. Using both tools as described will yield you the most usable wood. Free country, if you want to put wood into a planer first, and try to flatten it, sometimes it is close, but usually you end up making funny shapes because right off, the planer presses down on the board, and if it has any irregularity it will just increase and mirror this irregularity. You can make a sled to run through the planer, and by using chips of wood, or other substances get the board to go through flat to the cutters, but that is a huge amount of playing around to get things right, that you can do with a Jointer in a few passes.

If you use a board that really doesn't NEED any flattening, which some "store stock" comes to you as, then by all means a Planer first can work. It's when you start working rough wood that you will quickly see the benefit of both tools, used correctly.

[K. L. McReynolds]

The technique I learned to make S4S stock from sawmill stock is as follows:

Joint one face.

Joint one edge.

Use TS for second edge.

Plane second face.

I use that method on free wood---what usually gets thrown away.

[JGrout]

there is really only one or two situations where flattening stock can be accomplished in a planer 

twisted and  bowed  are the two that are pretty much not going to work without some sort of work prior to introduction into a planer. 

Joe

[mad_planter]

You guys must work with a lot more gnarly wood than I do.  I've never had trouble getting it flat and co planer with a planer.  I cut to rough length first, take very light passes...  Sometimes I have to push the board part way through before the feed rollers contact enough to feed.  Its probably not perfect but its wood, I figure a change in humidity will throw off the thickness more than I might be off.

[JGrout]

You guys must work with a lot more gnarly wood than I do.  I've never had trouble getting it flat and co planer with a planer.  I cut to rough length first, take very light passes...  Sometimes I have to push the board part way through before the feed rollers contact enough to feed.  Its probably not perfect but its wood, I figure a change in humidity will throw off the thickness more than I might be off.

my stock comes to me in bulk units no less than 300 bf.... I get what I get being I am not the one choosing 

my costs are likely about 1/2 yours or more

[Bill Wilson]

Go back a hundred years or so. Sight the board, put it on the bench and take off the high spots with a plane and sticks.  Limits length, of course.  When it lays flat, run it flat down, flip, fresh side up, and so forth.

+2

I sometimes use shims to stabilize a wonky board as well, before running it through the planer.  I don't have the space for a jointer, so this is a viable alternative.  In a perfect world, a jointer is better suited for the task, but like most things, there are multiple ways to skin the proverbial cat.