Jointer long boards

Re: Jointer long boards

It would take a lot of supports on the in feed and out feed sides. Absolutely not good on a short 6" jointer. The edge will not be perfect.

Re: Jointer long boards

What is the board for? It may not be necessary to have the entire length coplanar (just square).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Do you have a jointer plane?

I've used jointer planes to flatten, straighten and smooth long boards and beams. It takes a little time, but it's a great workout, and the results are superior to the somewhat rippled surface produced by a jointer.

Ellis Walentine

I have done it

.....and on a 6" jointer.  We got an order for a 2 x 8 oak hand rail 16' long.  It took two people and a good sense of balance , but we were successful without much effort. 

Others would plane it with a power, or not power, hand plane. 

What I have found is that knowing something can be done overcomes the reluctance to just get in and do it. 

Alternate way

Many years ago, when I had a little Inca jointer, I made an outfeed table for it, and I was able to joint 13' bar rails perfectly. If you can rig up something like that, it's easy to straighten a long board.

Ellis

Re: Jointer long boards

It will be a sandblased sign blank. 6' x 16'

Re: Jointer long boards

Invite a friend over for some beers ......to be drunk after the planing is done

After the planing is done?? Where is the fun in that? A few beers and the job won't seem so bad. 

Re: Jointer long boards

Then the edges do not need to meet the requirements of NASA. Reasonably coplanar is enough. Set up a couple of supports for the outfeed.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Jointer long boards

I'm sorry about your friends injuries. The attempted humor did not get translated. 

Re: Jointer long boards

I don't understand the problem, unless you don't have a clear, straight 32'+ run in your shop, with a place to position your jointer with >16' in front of and >16' behind the cutter head. In-feed and out-feed supports would certainly help you feel more comfortable with the operation.

If you are familiar with the Next Level Carpentry YouTube channel, you should find his "G®OAT" out-feed stand to help a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdH18asehhk

If you don't want to go to the trouble to build Matt's "Cadillac" version, you could build something like this:

https://www.trueblade.com/blogs/news/building-a-wooden-groat-outfeed-roller-stand

Re: Jointer long boards

You may want to consider tongue and groove to mate the boards to avoid deformation. You could screw the heck out of it, too. 

Re: Jointer long boards

I have access to an 8" Powermatic jointer with 44" infeed table.  I have successfully jointed long pieces of hardwood lumber on it -- up to 10' or 12' in length.

Use a hand plane (a #7 works well if you have one) and a straightedge to ensure the edge of the board is not concave.  If the tail end of the board's edge reaches below the table while hanging "out the back" it'll raise the middle of the board when it comes up and onto the infeed table.

So use the hand plane to get the edge reasonably straight (the period of the "sine wave" of the concave sections should be shorter that the length of your infeed table) and you'll get a good result.  Almost NASA quality. :o)