question for the group - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

patsfan · 06-11-2006, 12:35 PM

I know this is probabley the wrong area to post this question but I know I will get the most responses here. If you could only buy one which would it be and WHY? a jointer or a surface planer? All responses are greatly appreciated.
Mike

GrayBeard Phil · 06-11-2006, 02:14 PM

Mike:

Typically, for Scroll Saw work, you will get more use from a surface planner.

If you buy your lumber at the nominal (for USA) thickness of 3/4 inch (aka "1 by") the advanced woodworker will re-saw the lumber with a bandsaw and surface plane it to be 2 boards of 1/4 inch. ( the other 1/4 inch goes to bandsaw kerf and surface planner waste.)

A surface planner does not produce a perfectly flat surface parallel to the opposite surface, close but no cigar. Nor can it give you an accurate 90 degree square board edge to surface angle.

If you are doing mostly traditional woodworking hobby work, cabinet making, you will find the need to square the edges to the top surface. Also you will need to have a "flat" edge. Only a jointer can give you this. However, a jointer is not a good tool for producing a specific thickness of lumber. You can do it, but it is not the best tool for thicknessing.

By the way: There is a now a tool called a thickness sander. Made just to get 1/4 inch wood down to 3/16 or 1/8 inch thick. Very few of the hobby (less than $300.00 USD) surface planners are able to surface wood below 1/4 inch with out huge tear out.

Either way, for my money anyway, the need for a Dust Collector system is 1st. Until you start working with either tool, you have no idea of the volume of waste these tools make.

Phil

lucky788scroller · 06-11-2006, 03:08 PM

A surface planer.

You can get uniform thicknesses on a surface planer, even if starting with rough timber, by making a sled under it. A jointer cant make an even thickness all the way through because you are resting one side on the table as you feed the wood. once you flip your board for the other side, that even edge is up, and not against the table. Also, wider wood can be surfaced on a planer. And yes, a sander like a performax is a priceless tool for cleaning up lumber! Dale

Brett74 · 06-12-2006, 01:05 AM

I would go for the surface planer too if i could

bearfretworks · 06-12-2006, 05:09 AM

Planer. And if you don't have one already - a DUST COLLECTOR or some other means of catching the sawdust at the source. These things make a mess.

Gill · 06-12-2006, 08:25 AM

Ditto.

Gill

Hobbyhorse · 06-12-2006, 08:35 AM

I could not get by without both of those machines. If you only have room for one why not go for a combination unit with a planer under and a jointer on top.
Rhys H.

Rolf · 06-12-2006, 12:19 PM

For scolling I would go with the surface planer. I just bought the Dewalt 13""
If you do not have a dust collector the Dewalt has such a powerful blower you could get away with connecting a hose to it venting it into a cloth covered barrel.

06-11-2006, 12:35 PM	#1
patsfan Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Woonsocket,RI. Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	question for the group I know this is probabley the wrong area to post this question but I know I will get the most responses here. If you could only buy one which would it be and WHY? a jointer or a surface planer? All responses are greatly appreciated. Mike

06-12-2006, 01:05 AM	#4
Brett74 Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 38 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I would go for the surface planer too if i could __________________ Brett Only Robinson Crusoe could get everything done by Friday!!

06-12-2006, 05:09 AM	#5
bearfretworks Retired Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Buse Township, MN Posts: 1,363 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Planer. And if you don't have one already - a DUST COLLECTOR or some other means of catching the sawdust at the source. These things make a mess. __________________ ‎"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They're easier to ignore before you see their faces. It's easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes." D. Platt

06-12-2006, 08:25 AM	#6
Gill Fallen Angel Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,558 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ditto. Gill __________________ There is no opinion, however absurd, which men will not readily embrace as soon as they can be brought to the conviction that it is readily adopted. (Schopenhauer, Die Kunst Recht zu Behalten)

06-12-2006, 12:19 PM	#8
Rolf Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bellport, LI New York Posts: 5,891 Thanks: 7 Thanked 105 Times in 96 Posts	For scolling I would go with the surface planer. I just bought the Dewalt 13"" If you do not have a dust collector the Dewalt has such a powerful blower you could get away with connecting a hose to it venting it into a cloth covered barrel. __________________ Rolf RBI G4 Hawk, Delta SS350 Philosophy "I don't know that I can't, therefore I can" Proud Member of the Long Island Woodworkers Club And the Long Island Scrollsaw Association

06-11-2006, 02:14 PM	#2
GrayBeard Phil Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Near Detroit, Michigan Posts: 1,112 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Mike: Typically, for Scroll Saw work, you will get more use from a surface planner. If you buy your lumber at the nominal (for USA) thickness of 3/4 inch (aka "1 by") the advanced woodworker will re-saw the lumber with a bandsaw and surface plane it to be 2 boards of 1/4 inch. ( the other 1/4 inch goes to bandsaw kerf and surface planner waste.) A surface planner does not produce a perfectly flat surface parallel to the opposite surface, close but no cigar. Nor can it give you an accurate 90 degree square board edge to surface angle. If you are doing mostly traditional woodworking hobby work, cabinet making, you will find the need to square the edges to the top surface. Also you will need to have a "flat" edge. Only a jointer can give you this. However, a jointer is not a good tool for producing a specific thickness of lumber. You can do it, but it is not the best tool for thicknessing. By the way: There is a now a tool called a thickness sander. Made just to get 1/4 inch wood down to 3/16 or 1/8 inch thick. Very few of the hobby (less than $300.00 USD) surface planners are able to surface wood below 1/4 inch with out huge tear out. Either way, for my money anyway, the need for a Dust Collector system is 1st. Until you start working with either tool, you have no idea of the volume of waste these tools make. Phil

06-11-2006, 03:08 PM	#3
lucky788scroller Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 6,308 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A surface planer. You can get uniform thicknesses on a surface planer, even if starting with rough timber, by making a sled under it. A jointer cant make an even thickness all the way through because you are resting one side on the table as you feed the wood. once you flip your board for the other side, that even edge is up, and not against the table. Also, wider wood can be surfaced on a planer. And yes, a sander like a performax is a priceless tool for cleaning up lumber! Dale

06-12-2006, 08:35 AM	#7
Hobbyhorse Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 816 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I could not get by without both of those machines. If you only have room for one why not go for a combination unit with a planer under and a jointer on top. Rhys H.

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