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Edge joining doesn't quite look right again!

1398 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by PurpLev, Jul 16, 2009

Bret

Discussion Starter · Jul 15, 2009 (Edited by Moderator)

I'm making two more of the quilt rack I recently completed (and of which I posted pictures recently), and wouldn't you know it, again one of my sides didn't quite fit along the edge joint the way I would have hoped. There are some slight gaps and irregularities that didn't appear when I was test-fitting it on my workbench.

What am I missing? I edge jointed one edge (where the boards would be joined), then jointed a face on each, then planed the opposite face just barely. I then cut dadoes into each board to form mortises when the glue-up was complete. I them put the jointed edges together, inspected, and marked for dowels. Drilled for dowels and glued the boards together (without gluing the dowels in place-they're just basically holding things in place).

I don't have a jointer plane, just a shoulder plane and a bench plane. Should I have planed the edge before cutting the mortise? I didn't sand for worry of making things even more irregular. Would sanding have helped?

I've got two more similar joints to do and don't want the same problems on these!

Thanks.

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a1Jim

· #2 · Jul 15, 2009

Hey Bret
If you don't have a jointer you can use your router table or table saw like one. Check it out one line . If you are going to use a plane hold a straight edge on each piece to help check for flatness. Then hold your pieces together and check for light between the pieces.

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Bret

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 15, 2009

I do have a jointer and a Pinnacle precision straightedge. It all looked good until the glueup. I didn't crank down on the pieces too hard for fear of introducing a warp or twist. Could the pressure have been too light?

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mattd

· #4 · Jul 15, 2009

One thing you mentioned is that you edge jointed before jointing a face. If you started with rough lumber, or lumber that is not perfectly flat, and ran that face along your jointer fence, could this explain the irregularities in your edges? Typically, you would flatten one face before edge jointing so you have a good reference against the fence.

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mattd

· #5 · Jul 15, 2009

Another thought is that your jointer blades are out of alignment. The edges of your jointer blades should be exactly inline with the outfeed table. Alignment problems can cause curved or rippled/scalloped edges. It's a fairly easy adjustment, at least following the instructions with my jointer.

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Bret

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 16, 2009

I'll give the blades a look. I did joint the pieces with alternate faces against the fence so that any angle the jointer might introduce would be negated by the alternation. But if I have a more fundamental problem with the jointer (which was set up by another woodworker, from whom I purchased it and moved it the 10 minutes from his workshop to mine, but anything could have happened during that trip or the removal/reattachment of the table from the base).

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Kindlingmaker

· #7 · Jul 16, 2009

Bret, I am the worse person in the world when it comes to a jointer so what I do is stack the wood I am going to joint toether and run them a the same time through the table saw. I place two small staight boards across my joint with wax paper between them and the boards I am glueing up the clamp as normal and then clamp down the culls so the glue up stays flat. So far this method has worked for me until I get some devine guidance over my jointer, which really hates me, I think. ; )

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PurpLev

· #8 · Jul 16, 2009 (Edited by Moderator)

Faces - Edges - Ends

to properly joint an edge on a board - you want to have a flat face that you can register against the fence - otherwise, there's a change for error.

other than that - check your jointer alignment and blades - might have gone out of tune. (the worst machine to tune…. ugh…)

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