Thread: Edge Joining

Clamp both boards face to face in the vice. Concentrate on getting the edge straight and not necessarily square. When you bring the two edges together, the angles will complement each other, even if they are not 90 degrees. This also gives you a wider platform on which to rest your plane.

http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDo...DEX_How_To.htm

Hi Adam

The solution you have been given – planing the two boards together – is a good one for avoiding the problem of out-of-square sides, but it will not help you with your problem.

Incidentally, planing the boards together involves opening them up as if they were mirror images, clamping them together as flush as possible, then planing them as squarely as possible.

As I understand you, the problem is not one of squareness, but one of a gap along the join. Either in the middle or at one (or both) ends.

Now, a slight gap in the centre is often very desirable since two boards may be clamped together and they will lie flat against one another. There is a problem when the gap(s) are at the ends since then the boards will rock and not join against one another without a noticeable seam.

The first step in any jointing is to make sure that you identify and eliminate any high points. If you simply try and plane over a curved area – especially with a shortish plane – all you will do is follow the line of the timber and replicate the curve. This is not going to get one anywhere and will lead to much frustration (don’t ask me how I know!). So get rid of the high points first. Mark them out and plane these away. Then you are in a position to edge joint. Not before.

The second factor that must be looked at is technique. The way you weight the plane will determine whether the line is held or not. For example, you need to place 80% of your weight at the front of the plane when you start the cut, then 80% at the rear when you end the cut. This will keep the plane flat on the edge of the board.

I hope this helps. Let me know. If you like I will show you some of the joins I have produced in pieces I have built when you come for the sharpening workshop. Often the jarrah floorboards I use are too narrow (and in very visible areas, such as drawer fronts) and I have to edge join them to get a satisfactory size. I think I do this well, sometime so well that I cannot find them join myself. What I am saying is that it is very possible – just a matter of technique (if I can do it anyone can).

Regards

Derek

The solution you have been given – planing the two boards together – is a good one for avoiding the problem of out-of-square sides, but it will not help you with your problem.

:confused:

The two edges are as square as i can measure but when I put them together.....theres a 1-2mm gap

This bit tended to make me believe that the problem was that the edges were not square and so when laid down flat and butted together, there is a gap of a couple of mm. Did I miss something?

BTW, whether or not the edges need to be square when planed this way is a matter of preference. It is not strictly necessary because an error of any amount will be cancelled out. You could plane them at 45 degrees and still be able to join them into a flat panel.

Thanks for the responses guys, I'm aware of the "sprung joint" theory and was hoping that it would be my saving grace. hand pressure does not bring the joint together with no gaps which suggests, that it's not square.

I'll try clamping the boards together, setting the iron in my plane dead square and going from there.

The sad thing was, the machined edge from the shop was actually not too bad and would've been ok. I thought I'd be a handtool snob and improve it

I built a long shooting board. ... then i bought a badass 12" jointer

Gidday Lefty

Check this out:

http://www.hntgordon.com.au/jointinglongboards.htm

Set yourself up a decent shooting board..................My approach is Once you get a feel for edge jointing with a hand plane/Shooting board then you can progress onto Free HAnd

....................REMEMBER what you are attempting is a true Dark Side technique and requires a lot of practice practice practice to get right. I'd never attempt this on one of your projects till you at least become competant/adept with your technique.

REgards Lou

I have followed this discussion with much interest because I seem to be jointing boards fairly regularly, using darkside methods.

I am not at all sure about the 'sprung joint' theory. Why incorporate tension when getting the edges straight is possible? Panel glue-ups can be white-knuckle enough without having forces that compromise the panel flatness.

I have learned that, even when using heavy metal such as a #8 jointer, I need to start with a substantially straight surface. This can be done with a straight edge or a string line - finding the high points and planing them off, not exactly. This gets rid of systematic lack-of-straightness or subtle bows. After that, the jointer plane makes its way across the high points until, eventually, a continuous shaving is made. Wonderfully tactile. The board will now be straight.

I don't remember how many articles I have read on getting the joint square. I used a jointer fence for a while, but haven't recently. Too fiddley. I adopt the method of holding the plane so that my fingers of my left (front) hand are in contact with the sole of the plane and the face of the board. And I check for squareness as I go, making adjustments. After the first board, adjustment and correction diminish. Self-calibration, I suppose.

I have the idea that we subconsciously adopt reference planes when we do this exercise. Many years ago I was trying to joint some half inch boards for door panels - easy enough you would think. There was just one edge I could not get square. It was so bad I was running out of wood! Then I noticed that the end of the board, the one ahead of me, was docked a long way off square. I realised that I had been using the end of the board as the horizontal reference line for the plane. I changed the docked cut to square and the problem disappeared.

I hope you keep at it as hand jointing is a very satisfying process. It also saves money as the wide stuff is much more expensive, and more likely to cup.

Regards

If you spend some time setting up your table saw you will be able to glue up straight off the saw
Fence & blade alignment are important conciderations but the most important is how vertical the blade is... it must be PERFECT to acheive an edge you can joint straight off the saw.

The previous poster said:
"I have the idea that we subconsciously adopt reference planes when we do this exercise."
I have to agree as I remember having problems jointing boards with a handplane. When I leveled up my workbench so it was horizontal both length-wise and cross-wise, then my jointing problems dramatically reduced in magnitude and pain and success was easier to achieve.
At present (after shifting house) the bench has a slight lean forward so I'm tending to plane on an angle -weird but true.
Paul

"I am not at all sure about the 'sprung joint' theory. Why incorporate tension when getting the edges straight is possible?"

That's a throwback to the oldtimers methods when access to KD timber was very limited.
The theory was that it allowed the timber to continue to shrink without splitting joins.
Not necessary these days with KD.

and pain and success was easier to achieve.

Congratulations on successfully acheiving pain.

Rus.

One more tip for planing square.

When you start the run of your plane (ideally a #6, #7 or #8) along the edge of the board, make sure that the plane is centred on the edge. Now where does the shaving come from as the plane moves forward? One side or the other, or from the centre (of the plane)? Assuming that the board you are jointing in already flat, a shaving that comes from the side indicates that the blade itself is cantered to one side. If you continue to plane this way, then the board edge will end up being planed this way the edge will be cantered. So just take very light cuts, very slowly at the start and watch what the plane is doing.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I am not at all sure about the 'sprung joint' theory. Why incorporate tension when getting the edges straight is possible? Panel glue-ups can be white-knuckle enough without having forces that compromise the panel flatness.

To quote from Tage Frid on Joinery."The right way to glue boards long grain to long grain is without using dowels. Run the edges over a jointer slowly, or even better, use a hand jointer plane, and get a slightly concave surface. Then glue the boards together. This puts a slight pressure on the ends. When the wood dries and gives off moisture at the ends, the pressure is released and the ends will not split. At the same time, fewer clamps are used."

This is not meant to hijack the thread, just to respond to a previous response. I guess that it is a case of "what works best for you".