Swingman wrote:
On 11/13/2013 9:16 AM, Bill wrote:
dadiOH wrote:
Now, I just use my drum sander Handiest machine I own. But I often
don't use it until AFTER I glue up a wider panel; not for thickness at
least, I always use it enough so I can see the grain/color of the wood
which often isn't enough to get it truly flat.

I noticed that Swingman appears to use a scraper for that. But he
probably joints the wood first (or equivalently, buys it freshly
jointed). I suspect that if one is going to build "inset" cabinet doors
(like I was "dared" to try : )), then his or her stock better be
"well-dimensioned". I have no argument that a drum sander would be
handy. That is a clever use for it you found for it--of using it to
help see the wood grain.

I joint the edges of all panel boards, and run each through the planer
to the desired finished thickness, thereby insuring the two faces are
parallel, and all boards are of equal thickness.

Not only do I joint the edges, but I joint them in a very specific
pattern/order:

I alternate the faces of adjacent boards against the jointer fence.
IOW, the top face of one board in a joint goes against the fence on
the first pass, and bottom face of the adjacent board goes against the
fence on the next pass.

Doing this takes advantage of principle of complementary angles,and
negates any mechanical error in the jointer fence being perpendicular
to the jointer table, and insures that the joint between adjacent
edges is precisely 90 degrees.

Taking the time to do this, along with proper clamping techniques,
goes a long way toward having a perfectly _flat_ panel, with no gaps
at the glue joints.

Thank you very much for sharing your technique!