On Fri, 8 Dec 2006 11:10:17 -0600, "Swingman" wrote:

The only way _I_ can guarantee that opposite edges are parallel is to rip an
opposite edge on a "properly tuned" table saw ... even the best set up
jointer simply will not guarantee that, IME.

The edges of your material should come off the joiner just as square
or out of square as they are ripped. The fence on the joiner is
inconsequential when cleaning up ripped edges. You could in fact
remove the fence entirely though it's not recommended. If your
tables are flat and parallel and blades are installed on the proper
plane you should be able to repeat the square ness of your rips very
accurately. If you rip your stock at 2 degrees out of square you
should be able to run it across your joiner (not using your fence) and
it will still be 2 degrees out of square. All your trying to do is
keep your stock flat on the tables.

Besides, parallel edges/faces are not in the job description for a jointer.


That's why you rip them first.

And my Freud Glue-Line rip blade will consistently leave as good as edge as
is necessary for any woodworking endeavor, if for some reason I feel my
Forrest WWII won't suffice.

But, if you wipe a wet finger across that edge you will find the
remnants of hairline kerf marks. At some point in your building
process I'm sure you address those.

Your mileage may obviously vary ...

Obviously, it does.:-)

I might suggest that not that long ago, before we had the quality of
blades we have today, every rail and stile made was either run through
a joiner to remove kerf marks or attacked by a hand plane.

Another thing to note is that in any cabinet manufacturing facility
that I've been through, sawed edges are addressed in some similar
manner. While rails and stiles are cut with a computerized saw, the
material edges are cleaned up in some way prior to assembly by either
a big automated joiner or planer or some type of sander. A sawed edge
is never the final edge.

IMO the joiner is used less and less because people are afraid to use
it, don't know how to use it and/or don't know how to set one up.
While today's blades may (for some) eliminate the need to join edges,
the process has been done since the first block plane and then when
some guy figured out how to get the blade from his plane spinning fast
enough, it was done with a joiner.
Some of us are still doing it.

Mike O.