help with biscuit jointing

[ecolojim]

Oh gurus of timber

 

Im a bit new to the art of making my milled timber into pretty things, but Ive found some nice boards out of some oak ive milled, and want to make two of them into a top for a coffee table for my missus' birthday on friday. The two boards are as i want them now except for biscuit jointing them together.

 

What im really having issues with is getting them cut perfectly straight so that they will marry without a gap. Ive tried on my table saw, close but no cigar, and likewise with a skilsaw along a straight edge.

 

If theres a trick to it please tell me! theres only so many more times i can tke a blade width off the board without chopping it in for firewood!

 

A very frustrated Jim

[cordwood]

The easiest way would be with an electric planer or a router with a straight edge and a long straight bit.

[Chris Sheppard]

The easiest way would be with an electric planer or a router with a straight edge and a long straight bit.

 

I'd go with planer too

[bella wood]

HELLO,,,

youll need to get the old hand plane out,, lay them together and mark the sticky out bits ,then plane a little off ,, try them back together and keep going till your happy ,,

 

there is a cheat i sometimes use ,, when sort of happy with the joint you can use a small v groove in between the 2 boards to make the joint stand out ,,

[agg221]

Another trick - clamp the boards together as you want them:

 

put battens across them first, above and below, and g-clamp them firmly but not hard, every couple of feet. This is to stop the boards twisting. You want at least 3 pairs.

 

Then use a sash-cramp in the middle to pull them in together from the sides, again firmly but not hard - you don't want to edge-bend the wood. The g-clamped battens stop the boards from just twisting away and making a v-gap. If they're done up too hard though, they stop the sash-cramp from pulling the boards in together.

 

Once the whole thing is solid, run a handsaw up the joint line to the sash-cramp, from both ends. When you reach a set of battens, unclamp them and move them down into the bit you've cut. With the sash-cramp on the underside you can get right up so the cuts meet, but don't cross the cuts.

 

The saw kerf is a perfect width, even when it's not dead straight, so when you're done the boards just pull in and fit perfectly.

 

Other option is planing as above - I use coloured chalk on one side when doing this, so you can see the bits to plane off the other side.

 

Alec

[tommer9]

Take them to a joinery shop, offer them a small fee and get them to put them on the surface planer. Buy a biscuit jointer for about £35 and some biscuis, job done to perfection.

[ecolojim]

Take them to a joinery shop, offer them a small fee and get them to put them on the surface planer. Buy a biscuit jointer for about £35 and some biscuis, job done to perfection.

 

Thats not sounding like such a terrible idea if i could find somewhere suitable...

 

I could take the two pieces to work, get them to put them through the planer thicknesser as well but tbh im quite liking the slight uneven surface. it works with the style im trying to achieve.

 

Am off work until tuesday, so for the time being I shall continue with the electric planer taking a tiny bit of at a time. Never really had much faith in it as a tool up to press, but it's certainly getting me ever closer with each pass. only taking .025mm off at a time

[tommer9]

Is it the edges or the top surfaces you want flat? If it is the two meeting edges (which i think it is) that you require straightening then its a surface planer you need, not a thicknesser. It should only take 1/4 hour or so to do this. When you have jointed the timber you can then finish the surface.

If you use a hand or electric hand plane then you can fill any remaining gaps with a mixture of glue and sawdust made from the timber itself from sanding it. You can get away with using Woodglue (PVA) but there are also proprietry glues available for this purpose. When dry and sanded you it is almost imperceptable.

[bella wood]

Youll wreck it using electric planer ,, there only any use for rough timber removal ,,

[ecolojim]

Is it the edges or the top surfaces you want flat? If it is the two meeting edges (which i think it is) that you require straightening then its a surface planer you need, not a thicknesser. It should only take 1/4 hour or so to do this. When you have jointed the timber you can then finish the surface.

If you use a hand or electric hand plane then you can fill any remaining gaps with a mixture of glue and sawdust made from the timber itself from sanding it. You can get away with using Woodglue (PVA) but there are also proprietry glues available for this purpose. When dry and sanded you it is almost imperceptable.

 

yeah it's the meeting edges mate. I should have been clearer, I was only meaning if i got the chaps there to do it, the temptation would have been to get them to finish the top for me as well. Id milled to 1 1/4 inch in order to give me some leeway.

 

Yeah since im off work until wednesday Ive got some time to put into it, and the planing with the electric seems to be working quite well now. Im down to probably half a mm gap in a couple of places and most of it flush now. It's far from the best piece of timber Im using, and kinda experimental, so the old glue and sawdust regime may be the answer. Going for rustic, not italian dining table anyhoo!

 

Youll wreck it using electric planer ,, there only any use for rough timber removal ,,

 

I will? It's brand new and seems to be doing a pretty flawless job so far. Will get the hand one out in a bit when I find it. New workshop, no storage, stuff everywhere!

 

then again, surely a surface planer is electric?

 

 

thanks very much for the help so far guys! it's much appreciated!