Jointer.

[Rolf]

You are right Bill there are always multiple ways to do things that is the fun part of woodworking or any project for that matter.  Buying new tools is another great fun thing for me anyway. 

 

I have to make a dining room table insert quarter sawn white oak. 4 foot long by 18" wide. I will probably joint them after verifying that my jointer is still true 90 deg.

Another option is a track saw for longer pieces. ( I won a Festool TS 55 at our local show last year) I used it for the first time the other day I am very impressed to say the least!

[SCROLLSAW703]

There are some woodworkers who use a jointer for every project.  I've been making sawdust for almost 40 years.  I've made furniture, cabinets, etc and I've glued up my share of wide panels.  I've never owned a jointer and at this stage of my life, don't ever see myself getting one.  I understand their purpose and I do use a lot of roughsawn lumber, but I've been able to manage just fine without one.

 

If you want to make 16" by 16" panels, I think you can readily get glue ready edges if you have a good table saw and rip blade.  I use a Freud 24tooth glue line rip blade and it leaves edges plenty smooth and crisp enough to go right to glue up.  Long boards can be a challenge, but I have a jig for straightening edges of roughsawn boards that are longer than my table saw fence.  Works pretty well.  For 16" long boards, your TS fence alone should suffice, as long as it's aligned properly.  Use cauls when gluing the panels, it will help a lot with alignment.  Scrape the glue squeeze out with an old chisel or putty knife before it fully hardens.  If there is some slight misalignment of the boards, a few swipes with a sharp hand plane and some judicious sanding will take care of it.

 

I don't ever want to talk anyone out of buying tools, but there are numerous ways to skin the proverbial cat. 

in some ways i agree with whats been said, in other ways, you have to learn to use the jointer properly. It needs to have the fence properly squared, &  the surface level. I have a delta 6" bench top jointer, have had for years. I use it on every glue up. I have it bolted to a tool stand.

 

I've found, with experience, if I'm doing a large glue up, wider pieces create more headaches in the the end. Yes, a well tuned ts will do basically the same job on your edges, but there is nothing better than a good, tight fit edge to edge when you do the glue up. You can run your edges over the jointer, & if its tuned right, know your edges are square. On the the other hand, if you're space limited, tune your ts within a gnats ass of perfect, & you'll get the same results. I wouldn't use a rip blade, though. I use a 60 tooth blade in my ts for everything but ripping. Depending on your fence, blade, & surface of the saw, you can get basically the same results as a jointer. But I still prefer the jointer over the saw. jmo.

[jamminjack]

Hey there

 

I have a 80 tooth carbide tip blade in my table saw.  Won't use anything less.  I have a old Delta table top model joiner, have had it for over

30 years, still works wonderfully.  And my Delta planner to do my finish planning.  The combination use of the above tools has given me very

nice results over the years.  But you do have to take the time to make sure your tools are set up correctly.  It is definitely worth the time to zero

in your table saw, joiner, and planner.  My latest project was to make a extension bed and sliding table for my band saw to be used for re-sawing.

I am so glad I took the time to zero in that project.  My re-sawing now is a pleasure to do. The commercial sled version was well over 300.00   Not in

my price range. $ 20.00 worth of material and several hrs of labor.  But to get back to your question, a joiner and a planer I feel are good investments,

if your wallet can stand it.  Biscuits I feel are not really necessary if you prepare your wood joints properly. 

 

Good luck with your new toy.  And just remember we are all just one tool away from greatness....

[Sparkey]

Got my jointer today. Got it put together and cleaned up. I ran some scrap 2 by 4 through it and am very happy. Pretty quiet and the wood comes out very straight and smooth.

[tonylumps]

Probably the reason they are so quiet Rusty is because of the blade set up.

[hawkeye10]

Got my jointer today. Got it put together and cleaned up. I ran some scrap 2 by 4 through it and am very happy. Pretty quiet and the wood comes out very straight and smooth.

Rusty glad you got it. They gave one away on the "Router Forum" a while back and there was a lot of information about it. All good! If you haven't got a good rip blade for your table saw do your self a favor and get one. I got one about a month ago and I couldn't believe the difference. I got the Freud blade.