Alternative Solution
I needed to glue some oak lumber to make a landing for stairs. I no longer own a jointer so I checked on purchasing another one and discovered the prices have increased more than I anticipated. More significantly, my utility building is full and I don't have a place to store another tool.
Temporarily fastening the pieces together. (Larger version)
As as alternative I purchased a straight 1/2 by 1 & 1/4 router bit. Rather than routing the pieces separately I decided to do both at the same time. My logic for doing them together was that a minor variance on one piece would result in a mirror image on the other piece which would, hopefully, result in a good joint on the first pass.
A passing shower prevented me from actually routing the assembly for a couple hours. I moved lumber and tools inside and waited. (Larger version)
I placed both pieces face down, aligned the ends, spaced them the width of the shaft of the bit and fastened them together with two pieces of scrap lumber. Next, I turned the assembled piece face up, clamped a level to the assembly and routed the joint. I was pleased with the finished joint.
A finished product. (Larger version)
Within two years I hope to erect a workshop and buy a jointer. Until then, this solution works fine.
Temporarily fastening the pieces together. (Larger version)
As as alternative I purchased a straight 1/2 by 1 & 1/4 router bit. Rather than routing the pieces separately I decided to do both at the same time. My logic for doing them together was that a minor variance on one piece would result in a mirror image on the other piece which would, hopefully, result in a good joint on the first pass.
A passing shower prevented me from actually routing the assembly for a couple hours. I moved lumber and tools inside and waited. (Larger version)
I placed both pieces face down, aligned the ends, spaced them the width of the shaft of the bit and fastened them together with two pieces of scrap lumber. Next, I turned the assembled piece face up, clamped a level to the assembly and routed the joint. I was pleased with the finished joint.
A finished product. (Larger version)
Within two years I hope to erect a workshop and buy a jointer. Until then, this solution works fine.
posted by Paul at 6:25 PM
3 Comments:
Clever. But what is a jointer?
Buff, this should be fun trying to describe this. Let me give it a try and then post a link to an article with a photo.
A jointer is an electric woodworking tool used to produce smooth straight surfaces so lumber can be glued together to produce an invisible union without gaps. The jointer has a steel table top that is split into two halves with rotating cutters between the halves. One half of the table can be adjusted vertically to vary the amount of wood to be removed. On the back edge of the table is a fence that can be adjusted to vary the angle of the cut. The piece of lumber is slid across the lower table into the cutters which are level with the higher table.
If you can see what I've described, I'd be amazed.
Here's a link to Wikipedia that has a better explanation with illustrations.
A clever solution. The joint looks perfect to me.
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