"Michael Press" wrote in message
...

At the risk of getting flamed, I want to find out if anyone is using a
jointer for thickness planing

Disclaimer - yes I know the jointer vs. planer debate is hashed out
here weekly, and the correct answer is that you need both a jointer
and a planer, so no need to flame me with those answers.

So the process would be to first do the usual -- joint a face, joint
an edge, rip the opposite edge -- then where you would use a planer,
use the jointer instead on the last face to get the board to final
width. You risk getting the faces out of parallel of course (how
often would this happen?)

I know you can use the jointer to taper a board by starting or ending
a board short of one end. So if you're thicknessing with the jointer
and the 2 faces are getting out of parallel, can't you use the
tapering technique to reduce width on the wider side? It's a hack for
sure, but seems like it might suffice.

Thanks,
Michael

.....and at the risk of flames, You can thickness on a jointer! It's been
many years but I recall an article by, I believe Tage Frid, on how to do
this with repeatable results. You also need a table saw and a jig and the
board width is obviously limited to the jointer's maximum width of cut. I'll
attempt an explanation:

1. Joint one face.
2. Joint one edge square to the jointed face.
3. Rip the board to the maximum cut width of the jointer using the jointed
face against the fence.
Optional: Ideally the rough thickness of the board is close to the desired
planed thickness. If not resaw using whatever method is available.
4. Set the table saw fence to make a cut slightly thicker than the desired
planed thickness.
5. Set the depth of cut to 3/4"
6. Place the jointed face against the table saw fence and run a long edge of
the board through the saw. Repeat for the other long edge.
7. Assuming the board was close to the desired thickness you want you now
have rabbets on both long edges.
8. Now you need a jig. The jig is composed of two pieces 1/2" X 3/4" X the
length of the infeed table + 4" or so and another 3/4"X 4" X the width of
the infeed table. The 1/2" dimension is a function of how much infeed height
adjustment you have to work with, e.g., if you only have 3/8" then use
5/16". Screw the two long pieces to the short piece such that the long
pieces lie on the infeed table, 3/4" face down, and come up just shy of the
cutter while the short piece rests against the end of the infeed table. You
are making a long U shaped jig that rests against the end of the infeed
table and fence... a clamp on the end of the jig holding it to the infeed is
probably a good idea.
9. To thickness the board the rabbets ride on the jig and the infeed height
is slowly increased on successive passes until the knives just dress the
rabbets.

Rereading this it makes perfect sense to me... but I can understand it be
being difficult to grasp the process without graphics. I suspect the article
was in FWW as flipping through Frid's "...Teaching Woodworking..." books
didn't reveal the article.

John
....has a jointer, a couple planners, and a bunch of handplanes. ;-)