straighten tapered board

as long as one edge is straight,, rip it ....

Michael Stadulis, in Gloucester County, NJ

>....to width. The jointer or a jointer plane will only give you a straight edge to use as a reference edge when you rip it.

Mike

Re: straighten tapered board

del schisler

>a jointer will only give you a streight edge It will not size to width What you can do is joint one edge and than run that snooth side against the fence and rip the board Measure the shortest widith and set fence And rip You will of course end up with that size That is how to size the board to width

A few points

Jim Reed @ tallahassee

>Since you mention learning, I assume you are somewhat new to ww. Here are a few points. The board is 8 ft long because that is a standard. At most sawmills the goal for hardwood boards is 12 feet long and as wide as they can get them. For length, sometimes the log does not cooperate and they cut at 8 ft and 6 ft. Therefore 12,8 and 6 are common marketed sizes. Since your board is 8 ft, it may have come from the mill that way. We also know that the mill likes width, but trees grow more like a cone than a cylinder so boards may get narrower as we get toward the top of the tree. Sawmills usually sell lumber with one straight edge and one natural edge. Over time, that straight edge may vary. When project time comes, the first job is to make the straight edge really straight and square. This is where your jointer plane comes in. Once that edge is true you can use it as a reference to cut the board at 90 degrees or as a reference to mark and cut the opposite side parallel. Sorry for the long winded reply. Good luck with your woodworking.

Helpful to know what tools you have

Stephen Kirk in Quakertown, PA

>There a lots of ways to straighten a board, but your tools at hand are the important part.

If you work with hand tools, straightening a 1/2" off an end with a plane would take a while. You are better off snapping a straight line and cutting with a hand saw, then finish with a plane.

If you have a table saw and at least one edge is straight, put that against your rip fence and ofter the cut, both sides should be parallel. You do have a splitter in place, right! If you don't have a straight edge, you can alway attach something straight to one edge of the board and then run that against the fence.

Band saw - if you've got one straight edge, run that against the fence. If not, you could attach something straight to the board and run that along the fence. Or, you couuld snap a straight line and saw it freehand.

That's a few quick ways, there are plenty more that industrious people have thought up.

Re: straighten tapered board *LINK*

Don Evans

>As others have said, you can clamp another board or something straight to one side and run it on the table saw.

If this link works, here is a picture of this on the woodcraft site, following the link for a picture worth more than words.

Don

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=3203


Clamp set for straighting a board on tablesaw

Re: straighten tapered board

bohunk

>Thanks to all you guys! I have a lot better understanding now, and I am in the process of ordering the Joint'R Clamp Kit right now. what an awesome tool that is!