milling lumber - should I continue wasting any more time not using a jointer?

[andrew-in-austin]

I have avoided buying a jointer because I thought I could do without one.  First attempt at milling was using a jack plane & lunch box planer.  Bottom line the hand plane took a long time and was a heel of a workout.  Now I am trying a router/jig and finding it still takes quite a bit of time.  I really dislike the milling process so far, so I am wondering about getting a jointer.  Can I expect the time to mill the lumber to drop significantly with a jointer?  The route/jig is not too slow -once- the board is setup to go.  The problem is the setup for each board is very slow in comparison to the actual routing.  This is where the jointer might be a huge win.  Just turn it on and go to work.

 

Are there others here who have gone through the same situation?  Or were you all smart enough to make the jointer your first power tool purchase

[..Kev]

People typically use hand planes because they enjoy them, not for speed.  Yes, a jointer will increase your speed a great deal.  Especially on larger projects where there is a lot to do.

 

I would suggest continuing to improve your hand plane skills as you'll enjoy them a great deal later.  I started with pretty much all power tools and am just now getting into the benefits of hand tools. 

[T-astragal]

Hard to get by without a jointer and planer. Other problem is small jointers really suck at processing medium to large stock. Try to get at least an 8" jointer. You will not regret having it over a 6". The only regret will be not having a 12" as it seems that lots of boards are between 8-12" wide.

Steve

[4-Square]

Hand-tool evangelist Chris Schwarz is quite open about his power-tool use. He mills all his stock on a planer/jointer setup prior to starting is DVDs/classes/etc. If it's good-enough for The Schwarz, it's good-enough for mere mortals...

 

There are some who derive satisfaction for milling stock by hand. Nothing wrong with that. But you must keep in mind that these are the very same folks who get a glass of milk by purchasing a cow...

[Llama]

Hand-tool evangelist Chris Schwarz is quite open about his power-tool use. He mills all his stock on a planer/jointer setup prior to starting is DVDs/classes/etc. If it's good-enough for The Schwarz, it's good-enough for mere mortals...

There are some who derive satisfaction for milling stock by hand. Nothing wrong with that. But you must keep in mind that these are the very same folks who get a glass of milk by purchasing a cow...

I don't own a cow

[Tpt life]

I would if I could...

[rodger.]

I love hand planes and hand tools, but I only get so many free hours to do my hobby. I not want to spend the bulk of my time in the shop milling lumber by hand. I use a power jointer and planer to get my stock prepped, and then use the hand tools to cut or refine my joinery (or do surface prep and clean up).

[rodger.]

Just to add to my previous post...

A power jointer is not that expensive if you compare it to premium hand planes. I use a delta 6" jointer, and have been very happy with it for years. I paid, I think, about 700 cdn for it new. I paid 450 cdn for ONE hand plane!

I would go with an 8" if money and space allows, however. It's annoying to buy a 6 1/4" board and have to use a workaround to get it flat and ready to plane.

[Freddie]

If youre doing this strictly as a hobby, then you decide how you want to mill your lumber. I mostly build for customers, i hardly have time for the leisure projects, and you wont catch me fiddling with the hand planes too much when its a customer job as far as milling. Thats just silly

[Guest]

Are you face jointing or edge jointing?

 

If face jointing, look for youtube videos on skip planing and on building a planer sled.  It goes without saying but buy the flattest stock you can.  Also, rough cut to length and width before planing (leave a few extra inches in length and an extra 1/2" or 1" in width).   This is not intuitive to people, but the object of milling is to mill as little as possible.  If your board is cupped you might have to mill half of it away to make it flat.  Rip it in half and voila!, it become almost flat on it its own.    You can get by for a long time without a jointer if you start with relatively flat stock and approach your milling with a plan.   That being said, I have a jointer and now I enjoy milling.    

 

For edge jointing you can use a table saw sled, an edge guide with a router, or a router table with an offset outfeed fence.  Again, you can google all of these and find videos.  

[Boatworks Today]

If milling is a very occassional thing, stick with the hand planes.  If it's more routine (or you just don't feel the love of working the plane) then definitely get a jointer!  You'll have no regrets .  8" would be ideal, but I find that I can get away with a 6" 95% of the time.  The other 5% is when you break out the hand tools IMO .  

[andrew-in-austin]

Thanks for all of the replies.  Looks like I have to figure out how often I really need to do this, and if the cost of a good 8" jointer is worth the money invested.  I guess I'll keep my eye open for an 8" or larger one on criagslist.

[TerryMcK]

A lunchbox planer would be a good idea to get too as well as the jointer.

[RichardA]

I don't own a cow

   I couldn't feed one if I had one! So it would be rib eye!

[Llama]

Almost everything I make is for customers. I don't have a jointer. I want one, but with the strong possibility of moving out of state in the near future, I'll wait. Nothing wrong with hand planes. But you will need a stout and very flat bench.

[wdwerker]

Re." But you will need a stout and very flat bench."

With some drawers under it ?

[Llama]

Re." But you will need a stout and very flat bench."

With some drawers under it ?

You'll have to wait to see

[Byrdie]

   I couldn't feed one if I had one! So it would be rib eye!

Still need to feed a cow to get rib eye ... at least one worth eating.

[Barron]

I have a 6" Craftsman jointer that works for less then 6" stock. It does save time, but when I have to flatten wider stock I use a jack plane. I don't find it takes very long, especially once I quit trying to get the board flat and smooth. I just get it flat enough to stop rocking, then run it through the planner. Once the top is smooth, I flip it over and get the other side smooth. I learned the time saving tip from listening to Wood Talk.

[Andrew Pritchard]

I have a 6" Craftsman jointer that works for less then 6" stock. It does save time, but when I have to flatten wider stock I use a jack plane. I don't find it takes very long, especially once I quit trying to get the board flat and smooth. I just get it flat enough to stop rocking, then run it through the planner. Once the top is smooth, I flip it over and get the other side smooth. I learned the time saving tip from listening to Wood Talk.

 

I also have a 6" Craftsman. It saves a massive amount of time. If I'm working on stock wider than 6", then I'll take the guard off and very very carefully run the stock over the jointer which will create a flat reference surface. Then I use carpet tape to stick the work down to a 6" wide piece of flat MDF or plywood and run the opposite side through the planer, which gives you a completed flat reference surface side. Remove the plywood, flip the piece over and finish surfacing the board.

 

Let it sit for a week and check to see if it's moved. If it has, do it over again.