Thread: Just got a jointer and thickness planer now what?

You tube is your friend for basic operation.

The answer depends on your goals/materials you're using.

In a nutshell they are a dimensioning tools much like a table saw so you use them to get to your target which can essentially be anything you want them to be.

At the jointer your goal is to get two sides flat and square to eachother, then you head over to the thicknesser/table saw to get the other two surfaces parallel to the first two surfaces. The thickness you go down ultimately depends on you/your project requirements. Ie no point making a drawer side the thickness of a 2x4 just because the board is flat.

I don't recommend sizing any timber until you have a project in mind and then sizing the timbers to suit.

There's naught worse than pre-sizing some nice timbers, only to have them marked in some way while stored on a shelf.

I also don't recommend relying on the in-built rulers on these machines... they're good for rough-setting, but a good set of calipers will ensure no surprises.

Wood moves. No point in dimensioning it until you build.

I would suggest getting some cheap pine and practicing on it. Make a few boxes.

Regards from Perth

Derek

That all makes perfect sense, thanks. Will do the set up and practice on crap (with no nails of course lol) until I’m comfortable with it all. This is a retirement gig, so I have lots of time.

Welcome to the forum SB

I will add a welcome, and another vote to get some practice in. If you are going to use cheap (used) lumber, get a small metal detector because otherwise you will hit something that will nick your blades. I learned this lesson once the hard way, and then again because I was sure the wood was ok. It wasn’t.

Its easy to make mistakes on the jointer…good to get past those on scrap so that you will be confident in your new skill. Accuracy matters once you have a project plan, so its better to be able to achieve that without risking too much expensive wood.

There are lots of resources for learning woodworking. You could spend a long Saskatchewan winter reading everything from the Taunton press for example, or the better woodworking magazines. There are a lot of gimmicks and do-dads for sale in woodworking; your machines and a table saw will allow you to do the basics. After a couple of small projects you will then be able to decide what else to add.

Hows your dust extraction?

I guess you know this is an Australian Woodworking forum?
I find the ‘Canadian Woodwork and Home Improvement’ forum worth a look.
I’m into old machinery and they are more into that than we are over here.
They also do seem to have quite a few project ideas from what I’ve seen.
H.

Welcome to the forum.

Lol, no I didn’t realize where this site was out of. Thanks for the Canadian lead I’ll check it out.

I would suggest getting some use of your new toys by 'skip' dressing some rough sawn stock.

The goal of skip dressing is not perfection, but to bring it close to straight and square, while leaving as much stock as possible for projects down the track.

It has the advantage of giving am indication of finished dimensions once fully dressed, as this often varies greatly board to board depending on the amount of twist etc, e.g. some 1 inch boards will be straight and square at 3/4 of an inch, others might have to be reduced further. This saves time when you are preparing stock for your project, as you will know what the final outcome should be.

It also allows you to colour and grain match boards, before having to commit them to a final size for a particular component, only to find out it doesn't match once dressed.

Cheers from down under!

Steve