I'm here because 24 hours ago I had a 30 second conversation about a jointer with my phone in my shirt pocket. Surprise surprise, it appeared in my suggested videos.
@NinjaRider777R It may not have been your cable company. Most phones have been found to still be actively listening to you even when they are powered off. Have you ever noticed that if you power off your phone for a day or two that the battery's charge will appear to have been somewhat depleted despite the phone being off? Why would there be significant battery depletion if the phone is powered off and in theory not utilizing the battery's charge?
@@AntiNoob79 Its common knowledge that off isn't off. Its just what use to be sleep mode. If you didn't know it you do now. The only true off is unplugged and batteries out and even then you have to wait for the capacitors to drain. Nothing you have has a proper "power switch" that completely cuts the circuit from the power supply anymore.
This is probably the most thorough tutorial I've seen on using a jointer... not only did you discuss what it does but you also discussed the biggest question in most people's mind about the relationship of planers to jointers. And to top it all you included proper technique. A+
He was very right about the jointer being the "therapist", if you will, of the shop tools. You CAN get by without one, but the building process is much more enjoyable when you have one. For whatever reason it seems to be one of the later tools I see a lot of woodworkers purchase when in reality, it should be one of the first. Considering the vast majority of wood is in "rough" form (it's very expensive otherwise) it becomes important to "true" up one side as that becomes your reference. Any imperfections in that initial reference side will manifest as ANGER throughout the rest of the project.
i belive the main reason is the price they are expensive for a good one you can find a bench top one relatively cheap but when youre buying a tool that is essentially the heart of the shop you want something good. and for that reason i believe people get it later on myself included. theres a lot of things you can do on a table saw with the right sled
Before today, and getting here from the Jamie Perkins accident, I didn't even know a jointer existed. But I enjoyed this video so much I subscribed. This guy is so natural I just gotta see what else he's got.
Matt. I really enjoyed your video on the Jointer. It was very well presented and easy to follow. Your explanations were well thought out, and very informative. I am in the process of building my dream shop on paper and a Jointer will most certainly be on my list of wood working machines to have in my shop. Looking forward to watching more of your videos and increasing my knowledge about wood working. Respectfully Maurice Pettiford Budapest Hungary.
I was looking at the Hammer by Felder and if I had it to start all over I'd consider a machine like that the only think it wont do is butter my toast. But you get a Jointer, planer, table saw Router, sliding table saw, Shaper all kinds of stuff in one machine. Buy each one of them tools separate its going to cost a lot this thing was 12k and takes up a lot less room. you can automatically eliminate 6 or 7 tools in your shop , that's a lot of floor space. You can use for other stuff.
Great video. I recently bought a jointer and had a hard time getting the boards flat. But now I know it's because I was applying too much pressure. Thank you!
Hey Matt, this is a wonderful video. You took the time for each "what happens when" scenario to explain each instance of what is going on. I really appreciate the effort and patience it took in order to put this video together and has helped me understand a fundamental of craftsmanship that has escaped me for some time.
"Hey wife . . . I was just watching this youtube video and it looks like I'm gonna need to buy another tool. It'll probably cost about a month's worth of income, but it will make nice smooth boards. Just saying." "Hey hubbie . . . yer gonna have to deal with crooked projects. Just saying."
Nah find a used one on craigslist. Jointers are the treadmill of tools. People buy them, and then the wife says she wants to [gasp] "park a car in the garage".
Did you know that in the UK a jointer is called a planer and a planer is called a thicknesser? The infeed and outfeed table of a jointer aren't coplanar, or in the _same plane,_ they form _parallel planes._ To be the same plane they'd have to be the same height. A jillion years ago we couldn't use any of the power tools in junior high (middle school), until we were able to make a board square on all sides and flat with hand tools. I think it might help people understand the power tools. We were kids and everybody got it pretty quickly, so it isn't that hard. The people that got it quicker helped the ones that struggled more. Sometimes another student might have a different way of explaining from the teacher that another kid might click with.
Hi, Matthew. Thanks for giving us this great explanation. Is your Grizzly jointer model G0609X: www.grizzly.com/products/12-Jointer-w-Spiral-Cutterhead/G0609X
Yeah I’d say parallel planes too. Two planes that are parallel but offset from one another. Same level would be the same plane and that’s not what he means here. To be fair, he did say co-planar which I would interpret as being on the same level but I think he used that incorrectly.
@@link_7164 You're right. Parallel planes, not the same plane. Co-planar means "in the same plane" - it's most often used for a set of points, with more than 3 points - so the two tables of this thing are not co-planar (unless you adjust them to zero offset).
Fantastic explanation! Been interested in wood working since I was watching New Yankee Workshop with my dad as a child, and I never could understand why one would need a jointer if they had a thickness planer. People would always say... one makes things flat, while the other just makes it thinner. I always thought... "Well, okay. But... how?" Now I understand perfectly! Of course! A planner just pinches the board in one narrow area as it pulls it through. A jointer lets the board ride more softly over spinning knives. So the jointer shaves off wood where the board is higher or lower. The thickness planner just shaves off X amount of wood, all along the board, maintaining the same warped profile... warped or flat. Thanks Matt! You really have no idea how awesome your explanation was.
Why don’t boards just come planed and jointed? I can’t imagine a project where you’d WANT a board that’s bowed or twisted. I understand wood bends and warps in transit, but as tools like these aren’t reasonable to have in a standard home workshop you’d think at least they’d offer it as a service at Home Depot or Lowe’s.
Mostly happens during the curing process. The moisture content varies drastically at places like homedepot. Next time your getting lumber take a second and you will notice the weight difference in a bundle of boards
@@crustyoldfart Planes can be referred to as parallel in 3D space as well. Co-linear means on the same line, just as co-planar means on the same plane. The "in-feed" and "out-feed" should not be co-planar or the jointer would not be effective. However it is critical that the in-feed and out-feed tables be absolutely parallel planes.
@@JeffreyWigington You are of course absolutely correct to point this out. My comment came out not quite as originally intended. I was actually intending to amplify the comment by Jaze who in his turn was making a distinction between parallelism and coplanarity. My first point about a plane is that it is sufficiently defined by three non-colinear points. By extension two parallel planes require six points arranged in two sets. The six points can be determined by first choosing three points randomly, a fourth point is constrained to be not coplanar with the first three ; the fifth and sixth points points must be such that for each its perpendicular distance from the first plane is the same as that of the fourth point. While on the subject of planers we can further assert that the cutting head must revolve about an axis which lies in a third plane which is coplanar with the first two parallel planes. I'm sure that it would also be possible to extend the discussion beyond the axioms of Euclidean geometry by drawing attention to his parallel postulate, but I think that here would be a good place to stop ! ?
Sweet!. Watching this made me feel like being in school again. About the 2 planes of the jointer. They are parrallel. Few important notes: You only flaten and square 1 angle/corner on the jointer. (jointer -> planer -> table saw) You always check the grain of the wood. Just like a handplaner, you don't go across or against the grain. (Sometimes you have no choice though...) And you want the hollow side of the board (when cupped) on the jointer surface. Otherwise it won't get flat (and square). Subbed!
Matthew Cremona Hi Matt, very good video! I have a solution to Dema's comment. You send me the jointer you showed in the video and that will free up space in your shop for a much bigger one. :) lol
Another thing is if you don't use a jointer on a warped board,then send it through a non shop planer you'll get significantly more board snipe on the ends,from Hercules to Dewalt the small ones don't have the ability to hold the majority of the board flat so it will lift on and off of the ends as they pass through
The jointer's outfeed and infeed beds are in parallel planes. This is true geometrically because planes have infinite extents. They are not the same plane. Minor grammatical quibble. Adjusting these beds to being "co planar" so to speak, or the two planes to be parallel is a nightmare as we know. It should be made easier. Good explanation of the difference between the two machines and developing the inferences we need in order to understand how to use the two machines. In fact the two planes of a jointer are NOT coplanar mathematically. I don't care if the company making them says so. I don't care if 10,000 expert woodworkers say they are. They are not mathematicians. The infeed and outfeed are (normally) in two distinct non intersecting planes. Coplanarity is a word. It just does not apply to jointers.
@738polarbear Not so great explanation when he's talking nonsense and also showing with his hands @ 4:15 about the cut depth being determined by the infeed table set lower (on a different plane) that the outfeed table, which is impossible for coplanar tables ! @Joe Ciccone is right in his comment @ 4:18 he also totally shows parallel planes not coplanar .
This isn't news for me but i wish i had this to watch when it was! You did an excellent job, the two glue ups especially tells the tale! I actually ran that experiment many times when i was starting out!!!! lol
You answered my question about using a hand plane first and then running it through the planner so heres my question-does it have to be a #4 or could i use a#5 jack plane?which wood be more sufficien? I just picked up a Stanley # 5 Jack from rockler other day. I have yet to use it .needs to be sharpened. But as always great informative vid. Looking forward to the next vid..have agood one matt!
There is something I'd like to add to Matthews excellent video. One of the key things when learning to use a jointer is understanding the sounds of the process. It's very difficult to explain in words, but sound tells you a heck of a lot. For example, if you're getting tear out as a result of reversing grain in a board, or because you're taking too much material in one pass, you can hear it. That also tells you if you're planing with the grain (correct) or against (almost always incorrect). When dealing with a board which is bowed, curved lengthways, as Matthew is in the video, the sound the planer makes will tell you if you're removing the bow or not. With a bowed board, you'll hear the planer knives engaging as the front portion of the board crosses the cutter block, it will then disengage for a time and the sound will change, before re-engaging the tail end, where the sound changes back again. If you had been applying too much pressure, then the sound would have remained consistent throughout. With practice, you can learn to match the sound with what the knives are actually cutting and where. If you really want to see the results and practice, you can spread chalk on the face of the timber being planed, then it's easy to see what material is being removed each pass. It's really quite cool to see. A little tip: Never apply pressure to the board directly above the cutter block. There is no situation where this is correct technique. Take light passes of less than 1mm a time, rarely is it a good idea to go above this if you want a decent finish. A jointer is a tool like any other and takes a lot of practice to use well. It's quite a dangerous tool so do triple check your setup and keep the blade guard in the right location. You really dont want a planer knife flying at you at 300 mph as you'll end up with no head, which isn't ideal.
Excellent advice, my friend. What we woodworkers use to practice our trade is a large amount of very dangerous power tools. Jointer Planers, Table saws, Band Saws, Radial Arm Saws, Chop Saws, Router Tables, Sanders of various types, Wood Lathes, etc. are all very dangerous tools. Number one rule about learning to use any of them is learn all the safety rules first. Then learn how to operate it. Safety rules for each tool should include what each one is not to be used to do,the proper amount of clearance from the blades or abrasives of all your body parts, the purpose and proper use of all safety equipment that is needed for a particular tool, The proper conduct of other people that are in the work environment (like never do or say anything that can distract the tool operator from what he or she is doing). I've been in the woodworking business for 45 years, and I still have all of my fingers. This is because I always make safety the most important part of any job I do. I've seen first hand what not practicing safety can do.
@@ryszardjacekrusniak7993 Indeed, you are quite correct. Loose clothing and long hair not properly restrained can lead to serious injury or even death; not just in woodworking, but also in many other trades in which heavy power equipment is used. As the supervisor of a cabinet shop I once worked in, if any of my team were not adhering to even the tiniest safety rule, I'd reprimand them, on their first offense, on their second offense they were suspended without pay, and on their third offense I would terminate their employment with the company we worked for. No exceptions would be tolerated. As a result, my shop got the highest safety ratings in the company on a consistent basis.
Very good, clear explanation. The micro camera placed inside the machines was a great idea. Despite seeing several other vids that attempted to explain jointers, now for the first time, I understand how they work.
You'd think it would be the other way around. That a planer would make a perfectly flat plane, and a jointer would make a parallel surface that could be easily joined.
I always love your videos, i like how much detail you go into. I do have a question if you dont mind. I just got my first jointer and im having trouble flattening stock on it. I just some set up and put some cuts through on a piece of already fairly flat pine and the test piece came out perfectly flat after only minor tweaking. I then tried to flatten some pretty warped walnut (rough sawn, twisted, bowed and cupped) about as rough as it gets. And i just cant get them flat. they're tapered width-wise and still rock back and forth. Some of them are worse even-having a convex hump length-wise. What am I doing wrong? and how can I recover these boards?
correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the one just lower on the same plane? they're are both on X plane, for example, just because the one is lower, doesn't mean its on XY plane.
Alexander B. If it's lower, then by definition it is a different plane. The tables of a jointer, unless they are set at the exact same height (which would be pointless), are on two separate but parallel planes.
You can watch this video or you could've simply time traVEL to public school in Michigan in 1976. Where students aged 12-18 went to Wood Shop Class to learn such remedial things..
Wisconsin, 1991, had a wood shop, a nice one, a machine shop, a basic one that prepared you to enter the 1940's shop running in the 1960's, and an auto shop that was ok if you were interested in learning. Not sure if ANY of that still exists. Up until two years ago there were machining jobs open all over southern WI for ten straight years.
this was a super informative video,on why to use a jointer,and planer..in the proper sequance,etc..very easy to understand in his explanation,and it made every aspect easy to understand..excellent video; wish i would of watched this video before..makes all the other videos,a waste of time..this guy is a great teacher of basic wood working skills
your welcome matt..after watching your video,i took a piece of claro walnut,to my friend,who has a jointer,and i asked him to run it over his machine,to take out the slight bow,in my wood.the first thing i noticed,was how hard he was pressing on the wood,as it went over the cutters..i mentioned that in your video,how you explained the correct way to do it,so when i asked him,to not put so much pressure downward,he said he has to do that because the wood was bouncing on the cutter as it went across..he said the wood is very hard,so that is why he does it that way...i asked him if maybe the cutter was sticking up too high,and if he could lower it,maybe it would not bounce so much,,he just kinda looked at me,and said,that he has been doing it the same way for years..anyway,i finally left,with the wood still not correct. i make small walnut ammo boxes,and if the box sides,and ends and corners are not parallel,square,and 90 degree's ,in other words,a perfect dimensionally correct box,it is a waste of time,to start drilling the holes,for the shells,in a box,that is out of wack...it was frustrating watch,to say the least..do you think it would of helped the wood to stop bouncing across the cutters,if they were lowered? it seemed like he was just taking off too much,with each pass..i think if he would of just done it,like you described,as far as just enough downward pressure to keep the wood on the table,and use more pushing motion to move the wood across the cutters...please let me know what you think,would of helped ...,,by the way,the piece of walnut is apprx 8-9 inches long,and apprx 2.5 inches thick...thanks again, i appreciate your videos..jb
It's possible that the cut depth was too great but what initially came to mind is the knives could have been dull. The work pieces really shouldn't be jumping around.
This is an excellent video! I had the exact question that you answered which is : "what is it about the mechanics of a planer that prevents it from creating a flat surface" and you were able to answer it by describing the mechanics behind both the jointer and planer as well as demonstrating it by running warped wood through both the planer and jointer. Thank you very much!
Really great explanation and demo. You would make an amazing teacher, you seem so calm, your words are well thought out, and you obviously have great knowledge on the subject!
I went through a similar thing with my mitre saw yesterday. Wasn’t cutting square or at 90*, I hadn’t noticed until I was using oak. A few minutes of adjusting made all the difference to the work and the enjoyment.😊👍🏻 Do you ever go back to hand planing your timber, there is even more enjoyment doing that then with a power tool. I’m new to your channel so if you have posted a video like that I haven’t seen it yet.
Matt...As a newbie to woodworking I want to thank you for clarifying the difference between a jointer and a planer! I really liked how you explained everything.
The infeed and outfeed tables are only considered parallel. Two parallel surfaces are not coplanar (do not share the same plane) when they are offset in height, they only share an angular orientation.
Great video and well explained. I think increasingly though hobbyists are choosing to use MFC, Plywood or MDF to build furniture. None of those materials require a jointer or planer. Many of the Ikea hacks posted on the Internet were done with nothing more than a drill and a circular saw. Working with solid hardwoods is great. But in many countries it is very expensive to buy.
Coplaner means they're in the same plane but joyner table beds are not coplanar unless you adjust them to be so otherwise when you're making a cut they will be parallel not coplanar.
Hey Matthew Cremona Love the vids and your work, dont have a jointer myself but looking into handtools. Just wanted to help out your definition at 4:00 about "Coplanar" (meaning in the exact same plane). I believe the 2 tables of a jointer are parallel but not coplanar. the difference is the few mm for blade (cutting) depth. Does that make sense? or am i off on how jointers work? Thanks for sharing so generously and love how you generous and humble you are. Thanks again!
+Majid Al Qassimi is correct. Further, many jointers use a parallelogram design to ensure the surface(s) remain parallel, but they are most definitely not co-planar.
No Matthew Cremona Thank you! You are one of the most down to earth guys on youtube and watching your vids and laughs, im just glad you are sharing so much! cheers and keep it up!
When people put a bead of glue on a board, I always see them spread it. Is it necessary? What if you just run a line of glue, as you did at 11:00 and clamp the boards together without spreading the glue, would that cause any problems? Wouldn't the glue spread on its own from pressure between the boards?
He did demonstrate. The ten thousand words were so that people understand exactly how and why it works the way it does. I've seen a lot of people pushing down very hard on Jointers in youtube videos. Just watching him do it, most people would not know that he was not pushing down hard on the board.
Nice informative video I learned a few news things thanks! I was reading comments below and everyone is an expert. Jesus, keep your "you forgot this, or that " to yourself. Make your on video! I rather enjoyed this one the way it is. Thanks again for your time and effort to give free advice!
Actually the jointer tables are NOT on the same plane. This is why it works to flatten boards. They are on 2 different plates which are perfect;y parallel
Hey Matthew. I'm really happy to see your video and wanted to say thank you. I've been taking woodwork courses for the past 4 months. Lately I've been surfing video to see if I could spot mistakes in their woodworking video and yours is (IMO) perfect. I really appreciate that you take time to explain everything and the why of it. My teacher did the same and now I'm starting to build furniture with high quality build. Jointer is the key to all this. Thx again for your, in detail, explanation.
Thank you for the video!! Wish I would have found this sooner, I've been debating for a few months now on what to get first, planer or joiner! Just starting my woodworking career off, but on a limited budget so this helps not only to explain things but to give me direction. Thank you!!!
One thing I didn't really think about initially after working with rough cut lumber is it doesn't take too long to change shape after you plane and joint. You want to use it rather soon afterwards
This is the absolute best video I have found explaining this stuff. I am new to woodworking but not using tools in general, but the jointer/planer thing confused me and this video went above and beyond breaking everything down. I appreciate it.
This is not a jointer. It is a planer. It planes wood. It does not matter which way up the wood is, the process is the same- the wood is being planed. What would you call it at 90deg? 89deg? 91deg? A jointer makes joints. The clue is in the name. What you call a planer is a thicknesser. It is cutting wood to a specified thickness. How hard is this?
I was recently cut on my table saw. Now I'm pretty terrified of tools. I am wondering if it's safe to use a jointer. I have the opportunity to buy a nice one, but it looks incredibly dangerous? Are they dangerous?
That's interesting. I was wondering about that as well, because I've only seen a jointer being used to straighten lumber on the rib side and planer - on the flat side, and so naturally, I thought that's what they're for.
The fact that the table surfaces are NOT coplanar but are actually parallel and offset by a fixed distance is a critical point that makes this explanation completely wrong about how the joiner works.
