Hi all,
Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been
given the opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer
(not both) and I'm not sure which to go for first or which would
be the most useful. I also have little experience with either
tool.
I'm leaning pretty strongly toward the 13" Dewalt Planer as
opposed to their jointer. I don't do much edge gluing, and what
little bit I've done has always come out OK using a good blade on
my TS, so that directs me toward the planer. I think I'm more
interested in getting repeatable thicknesses and smooth finishes
to minimize sanding, plus as long as it's reasonably straight, it
looks like a planer makes almost any type of wood usable.
My woodworking skills run from fair to good, probably more good
than fair. Most people are suitable impressed that I can get an
ego boost from showing off my work, so I assume I'm not too bad.
I see a lot of my mistakes, but others don't seem to.
Since I have no actual experience since my high school daze
many many year ago, I thought I'd see what the folk here think.
Am I right in thinking that a planer would make the better tool
for me at the moment?
Basically, all I see a jointer being good for is making a
straight edge, not that I mean that's not important! But I
think the practicality of being able to slice 1/16 or 1/32 or
less, to a max of 1/8, of materials from 3/4" to 13" would sure
make a nice tool.
Oh, and yes, I understand what snipe is, and that a warped
piece of wood will still be warped after planing it where that's
not the case with a jointer; done enough window shopping to be
able to see that.
But, a jointer is rather limited to not much more than
straigtening and edge, right? Wrong?
Whatever your thoughts, happy to hear them.
Oh yeah, a little sidelight: While perusing the local Ace
Hardware this morning, I noticed a no-name "Planner" sitting next
to the Dewalt planers. I wonder what kind of plane job a
'planner' would do? ;-) It -was- a lot cheaper; wonder why?
<g>
TIA,
Pop
Pop wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been
> given the opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer
> (not both) and I'm not sure which to go for first or which would
> be the most useful. I also have little experience with either
> tool.
In my opinion it's a no brainer to get a planer. Without a planer, a
jointer isn't going to do you much good (you won't be able to get the
opposite face of the board parallel with the face you just joined).
I have both tools, and I have found that I use my jointer less and
less. Often times, if the boards are only a little bit warped/cupped,
the planer does just fine flattening them out. I buy mostly rough cut.
If I get a board that's twisted beyound planer flattening (maybe 5%), I
save it for cutting into smaller pieces (like 2'-3').
There is a lot of information on this topic on google. You might try
looking there as well.
A jointer makes wood flat and makes two edges meet at a specified angle
(usually 90 degrees).
A planer (without additional jigs) makes your wood uniform thickness,
but not necessarily flat.
There are ways to work around not having a jointer:
You can use a sled to make wood flat in a planer, there are various
plans available for this.
You can use a jig with a tablesaw/router get your edges straight.
Chris
George wrote:
> "Chris Friesen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>George wrote:
>>>I use the jointer much more than I use the planer.
>>
>>Just curious...how do you thickness your wood without using the planer?
> Hmmmmm ... comparative get you, or are you curious? What I wrote, which
> makes sense, if you think about it, because there are two edges and one face
> to join per board. If you rip it, you may even do another edge or so.
Well, the context of the original post was which one to get if you can
only get one of them.
I read your post as suggesting that the jointer is a better option
because you use it more. While that may be true, if you only have one
of them the planer would be my first recommendation.
You can use jigs to allow the planer and table saw to do the work of a
jointer--not as well or as efficiently, but they'll do it. It's very
hard to do the work of a thickness planer with other power tools.
Chris
"Pop" wrote:
>Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been given the
>opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer (not both) and I'm
not
>sure which to go for first or which would be the most useful. I also
have
>little experience with either tool.
Depends on how you buy your wood.
SFWIW, there are many work arounds for a jointer, but your options are
much more limited when it comes to a planer.
Lew
"Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9wFTf.3570$hI1.3441@trndny06...
> I'm leaning pretty strongly toward the 13" Dewalt Planer as opposed to
> their jointer. I don't do much edge gluing, and what little bit I've done
> has always come out OK using a good blade on my TS, so that directs me
> toward the planer. I think I'm more interested in getting repeatable
> thicknesses and smooth finishes to minimize sanding, plus as long as it's
> reasonably straight, it looks like a planer makes almost any type of wood
> usable.
>
I use the jointer much more than I use the planer. If you buy your wood
rough cut, you can easily recover the cost of the planer. Might even
convince SWMBO by showing her the difference in price between surfaced and
not.
Anything but a jointer is just a workaround, and shop time is precious.
"Chris Friesen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> George wrote:
>
>> I use the jointer much more than I use the planer.
>
> Just curious...how do you thickness your wood without using the planer?
>
Hmmmmm ... comparative get you, or are you curious? What I wrote, which
makes sense, if you think about it, because there are two edges and one face
to join per board. If you rip it, you may even do another edge or so.
Alternatives exist. Though it was only once per class, and a single board,
I used to make foursquare and surfaced with handplanes from scrub to smooth
at school.
"Chris Friesen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> Hmmmmm ... comparative get you, or are you curious? What I wrote, which
>> makes sense, if you think about it, because there are two edges and one
>> face to join per board. If you rip it, you may even do another edge or
>> so.
>
> Well, the context of the original post was which one to get if you can
> only get one of them.
>
> I read your post as suggesting that the jointer is a better option because
> you use it more. While that may be true, if you only have one of them the
> planer would be my first recommendation.
>
The answer is the one you use most. Planer perhaps not at all if you buy
surfaced lumber.
Further, it's a nice idea to spend the discretionary money on the tool that
you can't present to SWMBO as a money-saver, merely a labor saver.
"Cyrille de Brébisson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> hello,
>
> DC is realy good with a planner. The planner is the biggest chip producer
> in the shop as far as I know, and will fill up a full trashcan in less
> than 1 hour.
> the HF DC is back on sale and I will be buying one this afternoon!!!!!
Nope. Can't compare in volume to a lathe. Of course, a DC, even the Monica
model can't pull in the curls that fly from roughing green wood. Keep
gagging....
I have both, but it depends on how you want to prioritize. I do not recall
which was purchased first.
I purchase rough cut lumber and so use my planer to surface the wood.
I do not use the jointer so much these days, partly due to myinitial tuning
of the machine being less than perfect resulting in jointing a nice twist
into 9ft long 8/4 maple. I later realised the machine fence was not
orthogonal at the infeed and outfeed tables. The other "partly" is due to
post re-tuning I still find my technique being imperfect to result in
tapering of the wood from front to back.
So these days I take off any major surface imperfections with either hand
planing or careful use of the planer (tiny depth of cut) to get the one
surface flat and then flip to get the other surface parallel.
If I could purchase only 1 machine, I would get the planer due to having
local sources of rough cut lumber. Hand planing can achieve a flat surface,
but it is very hard to achieve a parallel opposite surface without a planer.
Personally, I prefer to purchase rough cut lumber since I am able to achieve
a final working stock which is thicker than normal S4S lumber. I really
like the look of true 7/8 or 15/16in wood than the normal 3/4in or less of
S4S lumber.
Dave Paine.
"Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9wFTf.3570$hI1.3441@trndny06...
> Hi all,
>
> Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been given the
> opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer (not both) and I'm not
> sure which to go for first or which would be the most useful. I also have
> little experience with either tool.
>
> I'm leaning pretty strongly toward the 13" Dewalt Planer as opposed to
> their jointer. I don't do much edge gluing, and what little bit I've done
> has always come out OK using a good blade on my TS, so that directs me
> toward the planer. I think I'm more interested in getting repeatable
> thicknesses and smooth finishes to minimize sanding, plus as long as it's
> reasonably straight, it looks like a planer makes almost any type of wood
> usable.
>
> My woodworking skills run from fair to good, probably more good than fair.
> Most people are suitable impressed that I can get an ego boost from
> showing off my work, so I assume I'm not too bad. I see a lot of my
> mistakes, but others don't seem to.
> Since I have no actual experience since my high school daze many many
> year ago, I thought I'd see what the folk here think. Am I right in
> thinking that a planer would make the better tool for me at the moment?
>
> Basically, all I see a jointer being good for is making a straight edge,
> not that I mean that's not important! But I think the practicality of
> being able to slice 1/16 or 1/32 or less, to a max of 1/8, of materials
> from 3/4" to 13" would sure make a nice tool.
> Oh, and yes, I understand what snipe is, and that a warped piece of wood
> will still be warped after planing it where that's not the case with a
> jointer; done enough window shopping to be able to see that.
> But, a jointer is rather limited to not much more than straigtening and
> edge, right? Wrong?
>
> Whatever your thoughts, happy to hear them.
>
> Oh yeah, a little sidelight: While perusing the local Ace Hardware this
> morning, I noticed a no-name "Planner" sitting next to the Dewalt planers.
> I wonder what kind of plane job a 'planner' would do? ;-) It -was- a lot
> cheaper; wonder why? <g>
>
> TIA,
>
> Pop
>
>
>
>
I have read absolutely none of the long list of replies....
But I can tell you I owned a Jointer for years before I purchased a
Planer...and I would do it that way again ...
I am retiered been doing serious woodworking for over 40 years
and have only owned a Planner for the last 20-25 years ...A jointer
found its way into my shop almost from day 100 or 1000.....anyway
Years before I Needed a planner...
The jointer does a little more then give you a straight edge...it
gives you a flat side also...
If you make the move to buying only rough lumber you will need both
and to be honest the savings will pay for the second machine...
Bob G.
On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 21:54:13 GMT, "Pop" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been
>given the opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer
>(not both) and I'm not sure which to go for first or which would
>be the most useful. I also have little experience with either
>tool.
>
>I'm leaning pretty strongly toward the 13" Dewalt Planer as
>opposed to their jointer. I don't do much edge gluing, and what
>little bit I've done has always come out OK using a good blade on
>my TS, so that directs me toward the planer. I think I'm more
>interested in getting repeatable thicknesses and smooth finishes
>to minimize sanding, plus as long as it's reasonably straight, it
>looks like a planer makes almost any type of wood usable.
>
>My woodworking skills run from fair to good, probably more good
>than fair. Most people are suitable impressed that I can get an
>ego boost from showing off my work, so I assume I'm not too bad.
>I see a lot of my mistakes, but others don't seem to.
> Since I have no actual experience since my high school daze
>many many year ago, I thought I'd see what the folk here think.
>Am I right in thinking that a planer would make the better tool
>for me at the moment?
>
>Basically, all I see a jointer being good for is making a
>straight edge, not that I mean that's not important! But I
>think the practicality of being able to slice 1/16 or 1/32 or
>less, to a max of 1/8, of materials from 3/4" to 13" would sure
>make a nice tool.
> Oh, and yes, I understand what snipe is, and that a warped
>piece of wood will still be warped after planing it where that's
>not the case with a jointer; done enough window shopping to be
>able to see that.
> But, a jointer is rather limited to not much more than
>straigtening and edge, right? Wrong?
>
>Whatever your thoughts, happy to hear them.
>
>Oh yeah, a little sidelight: While perusing the local Ace
>Hardware this morning, I noticed a no-name "Planner" sitting next
>to the Dewalt planers. I wonder what kind of plane job a
>'planner' would do? ;-) It -was- a lot cheaper; wonder why?
><g>
>
>TIA,
>
>Pop
>
>
>
hello,
DC is realy good with a planner. The planner is the biggest chip producer in
the shop as far as I know, and will fill up a full trashcan in less than 1
hour.
the HF DC is back on sale and I will be buying one this afternoon!!!!!
a shop vac will not handle the chip load of a planner.
my planner (dewalt 735 from memory) has a fan assisted chip ejection, so
what I did (in the meantime) is make a trashcan cover with some fabric, make
a 2" hole in it, and use that as a chip collection, but it is not the most
eficient (but mostly work).
cyrille
"Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:nTTTf.2302$3t1.863@trndny08...
> Hmmm, lots of good input; thanks, all who've responded so far. I'll chaw
> that over & see what spits out.
>
> One couple Q's if I may: How important is a vacuum attachment for either?
> Will a shop-vac handle it or does it take a real DC? I'm wanting to make
> this portable to roll it out of the way when it's not in use.
>
> In a limited space:
> My ideal location would be to have the outfeed side feed out and over my
> wood lathe, above the heads. I could easily put a "helper" roller on the
> lathe table for long boards, too that way.
> But, it'd be about 42" floor to wood. That might be convenient for a
> planer? but I don't think a jointer would be much use at that height.
> Or is it too high for either?
>
> I have an alternative, but it'd require opening the door and letting the
> outfeed feed into the garage parking area but it's cold/hot there
> depending on the season. Not a deal breaker, but if I could keep it
> inside it'd be more comfortable working with it. My shop's only about 12
> x 22 feet with 8' of that 22 down to 8' wide vs 12. Wife won't give up
> the sewing room on the other side <g>. Yet.
>
> Pop
>
>
>
>
> "Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:9wFTf.3570$hI1.3441@trndny06...
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been given the
>> opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer (not both) and I'm
>> not sure which to go for first or which would be the most useful. I also
>> have little experience with either tool.
>>
>> I'm leaning pretty strongly toward the 13" Dewalt Planer as opposed to
>> their jointer. I don't do much edge gluing, and what little bit I've
>> done has always come out OK using a good blade on my TS, so that directs
>> me toward the planer. I think I'm more interested in getting repeatable
>> thicknesses and smooth finishes to minimize sanding, plus as long as it's
>> reasonably straight, it looks like a planer makes almost any type of wood
>> usable.
>>
>> My woodworking skills run from fair to good, probably more good than
>> fair. Most people are suitable impressed that I can get an ego boost
>> from showing off my work, so I assume I'm not too bad. I see a lot of my
>> mistakes, but others don't seem to.
>> Since I have no actual experience since my high school daze many many
>> year ago, I thought I'd see what the folk here think. Am I right in
>> thinking that a planer would make the better tool for me at the moment?
>>
>> Basically, all I see a jointer being good for is making a straight edge,
>> not that I mean that's not important! But I think the practicality of
>> being able to slice 1/16 or 1/32 or less, to a max of 1/8, of materials
>> from 3/4" to 13" would sure make a nice tool.
>> Oh, and yes, I understand what snipe is, and that a warped piece of
>> wood will still be warped after planing it where that's not the case with
>> a jointer; done enough window shopping to be able to see that.
>> But, a jointer is rather limited to not much more than straigtening and
>> edge, right? Wrong?
>>
>> Whatever your thoughts, happy to hear them.
>>
>> Oh yeah, a little sidelight: While perusing the local Ace Hardware this
>> morning, I noticed a no-name "Planner" sitting next to the Dewalt
>> planers. I wonder what kind of plane job a 'planner' would do? ;-)
>> It -was- a lot cheaper; wonder why? <g>
>>
>> TIA,
>>
>> Pop
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Pop" wrote:
>
> >Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been given the
> >opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer (not both) and I'm
> not
> >sure which to go for first or which would be the most useful. I also
> have
> >little experience with either tool.
>
>
> Depends on how you buy your wood.
I don't know what others' experience is, but it doesn't seem to matter how I
buy my wood. S3S doesn't consistently have a straight edge, so I end up
jointing it anyway. And no matter if you buy your wood planed, it's rare
that I need it in the exact thickness supplied.
> SFWIW, there are many work arounds for a jointer, but your options are
> much more limited when it comes to a planer.
Agreed.
> Lew
todd
Hi Steve,
No doubt, I probably do misunderstand the benefits of a jointer;
no arguement there. That's really the reason for my quandary
<g>.
I didn't find your info anal at all either, actually. It made
complete sense, to me at least; all good information and tucked
away for "next time".
Since I don't do a lot of jointing work, and in view at least
of my foreseeable projects, I've decided to go the planer route.
I started planning the underpinnings for a portable table for it
last night since I don't yet know the actual dimensions.
Wish my shop was bigger! <g>
Pop
"Stephen M" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>> Basically, all I see a jointer being good for is making a
>> straight edge, not that I mean that's not important!
>
> Although I reccomend that you buy the planer. You misunderstand
> the benefit
> of a jointer. First you want to *face* joint a board to make
> sure that the
> big surface is flat; then you edge joint. For an accurate edge
> joint, you
> need to have a flat reference surface to place against the
> jointer's fence.
>
> So you think that you can buy flat lumber? or you can buy
> jointed lumber?
> Maybe, but it's not going to be cossistantly as flat and square
> as a a
> freshly milled edge done by you that day. This is one area
> where DIY is
> generally better than a professional job done on huge
> industrial equipment
> (except particulary large boards). IF you buy rough stock, it
> may be close
> to flat, but not dead flat. If you buy prejointed stock, by the
> time that
> you get to use all of it, it will no longer be true.
>
> This may sound all way too anal, but it is a subtlety that
> provides a very
> real and measurable benefit. Ever since I started jointing
> (face and edge)
> all of my stock the accuracy of my work stepped up
> considerably. Eliminating
> all twist (which is what face jointing fixes) resuts in
> assemblies that are
> flat and square. It is damn near impossible to assemble a flat
> frame and
> pannel door if there is a little bit of twist in a stile, or of
> the edge is
> not truely square to the face. The twist is magnified by the
> connecting
> rail. Think through this geometry.
>
> For me, having a jointer is about establishing reference faces
> from which
> all althe milling operations are made.
>
>> Oh yeah, a little sidelight: While perusing the local Ace
>> Hardware this morning, I noticed a no-name "Planner" sitting
>> next
>> to the Dewalt planers. I wonder what kind of plane job a
>> 'planner' would do? ;-) It -was- a lot cheaper; wonder why?
>> <g>
>
> 1st generation planers did not have cutter head locks. The
> result is snipe
> and lots of it. Over the life of the planer you will pay for
> the increased
> cost by not throwing away sniped wood. Sure there are
> workarounds, but they
> don't always work and they are a significant PITA. BTDT.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Steve
>
>
George wrote:
> "Cyrille de Brébisson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>hello,
>>
>>DC is realy good with a planner. The planner is the biggest chip producer
>>in the shop as far as I know, and will fill up a full trashcan in less
>>than 1 hour.
>>the HF DC is back on sale and I will be buying one this afternoon!!!!!
>
>
> Nope. Can't compare in volume to a lathe. Of course, a DC, even the Monica
> model can't pull in the curls that fly from roughing green wood. Keep
> gagging....
As in Lewinsky?
er
--
email not valid
> Basically, all I see a jointer being good for is making a
> straight edge, not that I mean that's not important!
Although I reccomend that you buy the planer. You misunderstand the benefit
of a jointer. First you want to *face* joint a board to make sure that the
big surface is flat; then you edge joint. For an accurate edge joint, you
need to have a flat reference surface to place against the jointer's fence.
So you think that you can buy flat lumber? or you can buy jointed lumber?
Maybe, but it's not going to be cossistantly as flat and square as a a
freshly milled edge done by you that day. This is one area where DIY is
generally better than a professional job done on huge industrial equipment
(except particulary large boards). IF you buy rough stock, it may be close
to flat, but not dead flat. If you buy prejointed stock, by the time that
you get to use all of it, it will no longer be true.
This may sound all way too anal, but it is a subtlety that provides a very
real and measurable benefit. Ever since I started jointing (face and edge)
all of my stock the accuracy of my work stepped up considerably. Eliminating
all twist (which is what face jointing fixes) resuts in assemblies that are
flat and square. It is damn near impossible to assemble a flat frame and
pannel door if there is a little bit of twist in a stile, or of the edge is
not truely square to the face. The twist is magnified by the connecting
rail. Think through this geometry.
For me, having a jointer is about establishing reference faces from which
all althe milling operations are made.
> Oh yeah, a little sidelight: While perusing the local Ace
> Hardware this morning, I noticed a no-name "Planner" sitting next
> to the Dewalt planers. I wonder what kind of plane job a
> 'planner' would do? ;-) It -was- a lot cheaper; wonder why?
> <g>
1st generation planers did not have cutter head locks. The result is snipe
and lots of it. Over the life of the planer you will pay for the increased
cost by not throwing away sniped wood. Sure there are workarounds, but they
don't always work and they are a significant PITA. BTDT.
Cheers,
Steve
"Cyrille de Brébisson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> hello,
>
> the guys at my local lumber yard will give me a straight edge for around
.20
> a foot on the boards that I buy, I then bring them back home and use them,
> and a face joint and edge for $.40 er bf...
I guess that all depends in your volume and how handy you lumber supplier
is. I could buy an 8" jointer with those .40/bf in about 4 years. Thats a
pretty good ROI for a hobbyist.
YMMV.
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth
"bf" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Pop wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been
>> given the opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer
>> (not both) and I'm not sure which to go for first or which
>> would
>> be the most useful. I also have little experience with either
>> tool.
>
> In my opinion it's a no brainer to get a planer. Without a
> planer, a
> jointer isn't going to do you much good (you won't be able to
> get the
> opposite face of the board parallel with the face you just
> joined).
>
> I have both tools, and I have found that I use my jointer less
> and
> less. Often times, if the boards are only a little bit
> warped/cupped,
> the planer does just fine flattening them out. I buy mostly
> rough cut.
> If I get a board that's twisted beyound planer flattening
> (maybe 5%), I
> save it for cutting into smaller pieces (like 2'-3').
>
Sounds like we think in the same channels although I have no
basis in reality yet. I have wondered how "much" cup/warp could
be stood, but ... most of the long work I do is such that the
internals will pull the longs into shape in one way or another.
I've gotten fairly good at getting things to come out assembled
square and stay square over the years since my best friend to
date has been the table saw, glue and screws/dowels/pins <g>.
Pop
You don't have to go as big as a jointer. A Stanley #5 works quite well.
"Bugs" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You will need a jointer to make the board flat before you can plane it
> successfully, as already mentioned. I like my 13-1/2" Delta Planer.
> Bugs
>
Hmmm, lots of good input; thanks, all who've responded so far.
I'll chaw that over & see what spits out.
One couple Q's if I may: How important is a vacuum attachment
for either? Will a shop-vac handle it or does it take a real DC?
I'm wanting to make this portable to roll it out of the way when
it's not in use.
In a limited space:
My ideal location would be to have the outfeed side feed out
and over my wood lathe, above the heads. I could easily put a
"helper" roller on the lathe table for long boards, too that way.
But, it'd be about 42" floor to wood. That might be convenient
for a planer? but I don't think a jointer would be much use at
that height.
Or is it too high for either?
I have an alternative, but it'd require opening the door and
letting the outfeed feed into the garage parking area but it's
cold/hot there depending on the season. Not a deal breaker, but
if I could keep it inside it'd be more comfortable working with
it. My shop's only about 12 x 22 feet with 8' of that 22 down to
8' wide vs 12. Wife won't give up the sewing room on the other
side <g>. Yet.
Pop
"Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9wFTf.3570$hI1.3441@trndny06...
> Hi all,
>
> Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been
> given the opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer
> (not both) and I'm not sure which to go for first or which
> would be the most useful. I also have little experience with
> either tool.
>
> I'm leaning pretty strongly toward the 13" Dewalt Planer as
> opposed to their jointer. I don't do much edge gluing, and
> what little bit I've done has always come out OK using a good
> blade on my TS, so that directs me toward the planer. I think
> I'm more interested in getting repeatable thicknesses and
> smooth finishes to minimize sanding, plus as long as it's
> reasonably straight, it looks like a planer makes almost any
> type of wood usable.
>
> My woodworking skills run from fair to good, probably more good
> than fair. Most people are suitable impressed that I can get
> an ego boost from showing off my work, so I assume I'm not too
> bad. I see a lot of my mistakes, but others don't seem to.
> Since I have no actual experience since my high school daze
> many many year ago, I thought I'd see what the folk here think.
> Am I right in thinking that a planer would make the better tool
> for me at the moment?
>
> Basically, all I see a jointer being good for is making a
> straight edge, not that I mean that's not important! But I
> think the practicality of being able to slice 1/16 or 1/32 or
> less, to a max of 1/8, of materials from 3/4" to 13" would sure
> make a nice tool.
> Oh, and yes, I understand what snipe is, and that a warped
> piece of wood will still be warped after planing it where
> that's not the case with a jointer; done enough window shopping
> to be able to see that.
> But, a jointer is rather limited to not much more than
> straigtening and edge, right? Wrong?
>
> Whatever your thoughts, happy to hear them.
>
> Oh yeah, a little sidelight: While perusing the local Ace
> Hardware this morning, I noticed a no-name "Planner" sitting
> next to the Dewalt planers. I wonder what kind of plane job a
> 'planner' would do? ;-) It -was- a lot cheaper; wonder why?
> <g>
>
> TIA,
>
> Pop
>
>
>
>
On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 14:14:43 GMT, "Pop" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Hmmm, lots of good input; thanks, all who've responded so far.
>I'll chaw that over & see what spits out.
>
>One couple Q's if I may: How important is a vacuum attachment
>for either? Will a shop-vac handle it or does it take a real DC?
>I'm wanting to make this portable to roll it out of the way when
>it's not in use.
>
I have both machines in my shop....and I also have two DUST COLLECTORS
a small 1 Hp unit dedicated to the planner...(and it fills up pretty
fast)....
On the other hand my Jointer is the ONLY Machine in my shop that is
not hooked up to either....I simply use a box under ot to catch teh
shavings...
I do gat a small amouth opf airborn dust when usong the jointer BUT I
have two Air Cleaners that eventually catchs most of that....
Ya Need a DC for t planer...after 40+ years I still see no need to put
one on my Jointer...
Bob G.
"Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9wFTf.3570$hI1.3441@trndny06...
> Hi all,
>
> Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been
> given the opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer
> (not both) and I'm not sure which to go for first or which
> would be the most useful. I also have little experience with
> either tool.
>
...
Wow, lots of outstanding advice came in, and I thank each and
every one of you for giving of your experience and knowledge. As
I suspected, there are some excellent reasons to want both; so
maybe next year...
Anyway, I chose the DeWalt planer over a jointer because it
looks like it fits my foreseeable needs best for the next few
months to a year. I brought it home, read all the manuals, made
copies for the shop, with print large enough to actually read,
and set to work setting it up. No idea what it'll be like a
month or two from now, but man, I'm extremely pleased with it
right now! It's one amazing machine to me, since I've never
owned either a jointer or a planer. And yeah, it makes a lot of
chips; boy, does it! I jury-rigged a shop-vac to the dust
collector shield after the second test board!! Jeez, what a hail
of wood they create!
Right now I think my only con is the dust collector: It looks
really cheap and the fasteners aren't very robust. It's made to
clip on or screw on though, so I've only clipped it. Don't think
screweing it down is a very wise idea; won't take much of a bump
to break the screw channel. Looks like more of an afterthought
than a part of the product. I'll probably make my own
eventually.
Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it! I've done lengths of 16"
to 8' boards with it and no snipe I could see, just a perfect
cut! Feels solid as a rock other than the chip chute I
mentioned. Now to get the table finished up for it and move it
into the shop!
Thanks, all
Pop
--
Life is to be USED,
not beautified!
--
hello,
the guys at my local lumber yard will give me a straight edge for around .20
a foot on the boards that I buy, I then bring them back home and use them,
and a face joint and edge for $.40 er bf...
not only do I get my straight edge freshly cut, but it's done on a
professional quality, well setup and maintained 8" jointer with nice long
extra infeed and outfeed tables to ensure quality work, a setup that I could
never reproduce at home in my small shop.
I however use the planner all the time. could not live without it.
regards, cyrille
"Stephen M" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>> Basically, all I see a jointer being good for is making a
>> straight edge, not that I mean that's not important!
>
> Although I reccomend that you buy the planer. You misunderstand the
> benefit
> of a jointer. First you want to *face* joint a board to make sure that the
> big surface is flat; then you edge joint. For an accurate edge joint, you
> need to have a flat reference surface to place against the jointer's
> fence.
>
> So you think that you can buy flat lumber? or you can buy jointed lumber?
> Maybe, but it's not going to be cossistantly as flat and square as a a
> freshly milled edge done by you that day. This is one area where DIY is
> generally better than a professional job done on huge industrial equipment
> (except particulary large boards). IF you buy rough stock, it may be close
> to flat, but not dead flat. If you buy prejointed stock, by the time that
> you get to use all of it, it will no longer be true.
>
> This may sound all way too anal, but it is a subtlety that provides a very
> real and measurable benefit. Ever since I started jointing (face and edge)
> all of my stock the accuracy of my work stepped up considerably.
> Eliminating
> all twist (which is what face jointing fixes) resuts in assemblies that
> are
> flat and square. It is damn near impossible to assemble a flat frame and
> pannel door if there is a little bit of twist in a stile, or of the edge
> is
> not truely square to the face. The twist is magnified by the connecting
> rail. Think through this geometry.
>
> For me, having a jointer is about establishing reference faces from which
> all althe milling operations are made.
>
>> Oh yeah, a little sidelight: While perusing the local Ace
>> Hardware this morning, I noticed a no-name "Planner" sitting next
>> to the Dewalt planers. I wonder what kind of plane job a
>> 'planner' would do? ;-) It -was- a lot cheaper; wonder why?
>> <g>
>
> 1st generation planers did not have cutter head locks. The result is snipe
> and lots of it. Over the life of the planer you will pay for the increased
> cost by not throwing away sniped wood. Sure there are workarounds, but
> they
> don't always work and they are a significant PITA. BTDT.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Steve
>
>
"Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9wFTf.3570$hI1.3441@trndny06...
> Hi all,
>
> Birthday coming up, and I'm in a bit of a quandary. I've been given the
> opportunity to pick up either a planer OR a jointer (not both) and I'm not
> sure which to go for first or which would be the most useful. I also have
> little experience with either tool.
Depends on your source of wood. I can buy jointed wood so I've yet to get
around to buying a jointer. I'd not be without my planer though.