Pushing wood when face jointing

Aaron Beaver

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Location
Missouri
I had a wide piece of wood I was face jointing this evening, and after a couple of passes and it starting to get flat I had a really hard time pushing it through. It seemed as though it was being sucked down when it got to the outfeed side, and I moved my pressure to that side.

I was using a pair of Grr-rippers to push it through using the hand over hand method on the outfeed side, which I had to apply a quite a bit of down force to get it to move. Could it just be the weight of the wood, its about 12" wide and about 7 feet long, about 7/8" thick when I started.

Any special push stick or something I could try to make pushing it through easier or is that just the way it is with wood that wide?

Thaks
 
I've generally only had that problem when the blades were really dull, like, ummm, now :rofl: seems like I never change them often enough. Try a touch test on the blades (jointer off, naturally) comparing the center with the ends of the blades.

Only other suggestion I've got is give the beds a nice waxing, that helps more than you might think.
 
I am not proud of those Icky Plastic rubber footed Pushers, seem too Dainty for my pleasures... I have always made Push block which were a flat board to which a handle was attached (similar to a concrete Trowel) and a cleat was glued into a dado across the bottom rear.

Of late I have fashioned a push block in the same manner and used a piece of old Mouse Pad as a rubber pad under the pusher. I do use the Plastic gismos as a hold down with my lead hand (years ago I used my hand only) Then I was in a discount tool store and spyed a Grout float which is a large version of those cheap plastic pushers. alluminum plate with a spungy rubber face and a massive handle that can handle the load. I use it for the front hold down but still use the wood pusher with a cleat to push from the rear. (wish I had pictures but.....?)

I remember a bunch of decades ago when I had a student use his thumb to push a board across the joiner, before I could get to him he did the deed and removed 1/16" of his thumb tip. :thumb: (Wasn't he lucky I had just replace those blades with nice sharp ones?) Whew!!! Was I ever ready to call the nurse, but a band aid and a good lesson learned...Wonder if he has a flat thumb to this day? Ever see a young man faint? :eek: They fall hard like a wet limp rag.

Waxed bed will help as well. Also, if the board is cupped, often a suction cup effect takes place when you begin to flatten the underside, Somebody makes a dry lube that is good for making the table seem slimmy. But a good coat of Paste wax should help.
 
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As the board becomes flatter, more wood is contacting the table, hence more resistance is met, even on a well waxed table. Let the knives do the work, don't offer any downward force at all and push the board with a push stick, like you would when ripping on a table saw. I go counter to the way most folks operate a jointer and I never end up on the outfeed table. My boards end up quite flat with less effort. I will post a project tonight in the flatwork section where you can see how I push through on the jointer with my handy jointer pusher.
 
Thanks Sam, I thought I was told or read somewhere that you were supposed to start applying pressure on the outfeed side once it had 6-12" of material on it. That is why I was doing that, but I will switch when I start doing my next piece and see how that goes.

Thanks for all the tips guys.
 
Thanks Sam, I thought I was told or read somewhere that you were supposed to start applying pressure on the outfeed side once it had 6-12" of material on it. That is why I was doing that, but I will switch when I start doing my next piece and see how that goes.

Thanks for all the tips guys.


This is how we were taught back in the dark ages. And I follow through with that system w/o any problems and My flats are great. Positive pressure on the outfeed maintains a single plane (level surface) and keeps from creating a rocker effect. The outfeed table is a stationary surface exactly the height of the cutters so it stands to reason that if you maintain surface contact with the outfeed then the result will be an even surface. I would not suggest letting a piece ride across on its own acord being held by a stick.

If you are sticking to the table then it is from the less than ideal pushers that is requireing too much down pressure to control forward motion. Get thyself a pusher with a cleat that will firmly grip the wood and push with less effort, use the plastic toys they sell to guide the leading edge and hold it down to the outfeed whilst a real pusher controls the feed.

Sorry Sam but I can't agree with your method. But if it works for you and you are happy then by all means continue and enjoy the pleasures of your work.
 
If you are sticking to the table then it is from the less than ideal pushers that is requireing too much down pressure to control forward motion. Get thyself a pusher with a cleat that will firmly grip the wood and push with less effort, use the plastic toys they sell to guide the leading edge and hold it down to the outfeed whilst a real pusher controls the feed.

The cleat works well Bill, (in most cases), but in Aaron's case, the cleat may not be the answer, Unless he's got arms that are a lot longer than mine, :dunno: since the wood he is pushing through is 7' long.
 
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Got to ask Aaron, when was the last time you checked your jointer for flatness and for the two tables being coplanar?

Mine was out just a touch, when I finally broke down and bought a decent straight edge, I figured this out :eek: :doh:

Now that my two tables are coplanar, I can do what Sam says, well I would, but I'm not that brave :rolleyes: :D I still keep one hand on the push pad on the outfeed table, but I'm putting very little pressure on it at all, more of a steering motion, to keep things going straight.

Cheers!
 
Is there a particular reason why you are face jointing a piece of wood 7ft long?

Unless you need that length for your project you will find it a lot easier to cut your pieces slightly over the length you actually need before face jointing. The same goes for edge jointing.

In furniture making I don't often need stock over 4ft in length and so rarely need to joint a full length, about the only exception being the face frames and door stiles of full height wardrobes.

Anybody ever tried a power feed on a jointer when face jointing?

Just a thought...
 
Anybody ever tried a power feed on a jointer when face jointing?

Just a thought...

I have never used a power feeder, but it seems it would push the wood down on the table defeating the jointers purpose? Wait, maybe if you used it on the outfeed side. That might work.

Duncan, sometimes I will run a full board across the jointer just to see the what the wood grain is like. I use a lot of rough stock. If it has a lot of bow in it I cut it down first to save wood.

Sometimes, but not often, I will edge join an board so that I can then rip it on the tablesaw.
 
I have never used a power feeder, but it seems it would push the wood down on the table defeating the jointers purpose? Wait, maybe if you used it on the outfeed side. That might work.

That's what I was thinking.

Duncan, sometimes I will run a full board across the jointer just to see the what the wood grain is like. I use a lot of rough stock. If it has a lot of bow in it I cut it down first to save wood..

Yeah, I do the same - but I would put it through the thicknesser rather than across the planer.

Sometimes, but not often, I will edge join an board so that I can then rip it on the tablesaw.

I find it quicker to get a straight edge on a rough board by attaching a straight piece of ply or MDF to the board with an edge overhanging and then running the whole thing through the table saw.

For years I've been meaning to make a neat sled with a toggle clamp at each end for doing this job but you know what - I've just never had the time!:)
 
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I find it quicker to get a straight edge on a rough board by attaching a straight piece of ply or MDF to the board with an edge overhanging and then running the whole thing through the table saw.

For years I've been meaning to make a neat sled with a toggle clamp at each end for doing this job but you know what - I've just never had the time!:)

I use the same method, Duncan, :thumb:, Annnnnnd......, like you, I always intended to make a nice sled, but it seems that in my case, the only time I think about it is when I need to use it.:rolleyes Honestly though, it is just as fast to lay the board on a piece of 8" wide MDF that I always keep for that purpose, align the cut line I want on the board with the edge of the MDF, and throw a drywall screw into it at each end and rip away.::D:D:D
 
I use Duncan's method as well for the initial straight edge cut despite having a pair of 'Joint-r-clamps' that I never got around to taking out of the package.
 
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I use Duncan's method as well for the initial straight edge cut despite having a pair of 'Joint-r-clamps' that I never got around to taking out of the package.

I have seen those Joint-r-clamps at the store and almost picked them up a few times, just never have.

I like Duncan's idea with the clams on a piece of mdf or ply, couple of slots in it for different width boards and you should be good. Might have to consider making something like that after I finish this project.
 
before i straightlined on the slider i kept a piece of 6" wide mdf with a cleat full length on one side and across one end, just lay it on top of the board that needs straightened, push the assembly against the fence and rip....no clamps or screws required.
 
before i straightlined on the slider i kept a piece of 6" wide mdf with a cleat full length on one side and across one end, just lay it on top of the board that needs straightened, push the assembly against the fence and rip....no clamps or screws required.


You clever sod!!:)

I just made one - took me all of 97 seconds.

Works like a dream.

Thanks Tod:thumb:
 
Sorry Sam but I can't agree with your method. But if it works for you and you are happy then by all means continue and enjoy the pleasures of your work.

No need to apologize, in the least. I have yet to meet another woodworker who does it the way I do it, so I must be doing something wrong. :p Results are all the really matter, not how you get them.

I also don't think I look for a jointer to do what alot of folks seem to worry about, which is shoot for a finished quality side or edge right off the jointer. For me it is about establishing reference surfaces that lead to the board you are looking for ultimately, but can be handled better later on in the process by other machines. For instance, face jointing -- I don't try to achieve a perfectly flat board -- all I do is joint it enough to give me two rails (I always surface cup side down) two rails running the length of the board on either side (they don't have to be that wide, 1" is enough). I don't care how it looks coming off the jointer -- tearout, inconsistant mill pattern due to varied feed rate, a little bump or burn, etc. Once those rails are established they can ride on the planer table, the planer can take over, and do a far more consistant job than I'll ever hope to achieve hand feeding on the jointer. Same is true for edge jointing, though I seldom do this on the jointer with a slider handy, and in the days before the slider I had a jig exactly as Tod described. All my edges (and most final dimensioning) happen on the planer again, usually gang feeding up to six pieces at a time, as before giving me much more consistent results than tying to rip all those individual pieces just right, as each one is exactly the same width and saw marks are a non issue on the planer.

By just establishing a point of reference it also saves you alot of energy since you have far fewer passes necessary on a tool that can be labor intensive.

As for power feeders on a jointer -- they do make them, but they are specialty items. I have seen them with a pin wheel type of roller, the pins dig into the wood abit and pull the board along without much downward pressure, and I have seen a shark's tooth like roller that does the same basic thing. I know Comatic makes one, not sure who any other manufacturers might be. But again, these roller designs are to minimize downward pressure. If you let the board float, and just guide it, and your jointer is tuned, the machine will do its job without too much effort, really doesn't matter whether you focus on the infeed table or pay more attention to the outfeed table.
:wave:
 
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