Hello,

I have a 6" jointer and 1 12.5" thicknesser. Recently bought some 14
inch wide mahogany I want to use for door panels. I would truly prefer
to NOT cut them in half so I can joint and thickness the surfaces.

I also have some 8 inch wide oak I would like to use as rails and stiles
for the doors, and I would prefer to flatten this as a single piece
before I run them thought the thicknesser.

So I am looking for suggestions on how to obtain a flat surface on the wood.

Should I plane only 6 inches flat on the jointer and hand plane the rest?

Should I consider planing 6 inches with the grain and the rest against
the grain taking very light cuts on the jointer? I am pretty reluctant
to try this one!

Or should I do it all by hand? (I have a #7, #6, and #4 but no jack
plane.) If I do it by hand what is the proper method for obtaining a
flat surface? Should I plane in an "X" pattern and then reverse
direction? Good exercise but tedious and I am not convinced that I would
get it right.

Are there other power tools that could provide a flat reference surface?
Someone I spoke to suggest ed a sled, and a router, but I have no idea
how to construct it.

And before someone says, "buy an 8" jointer" I already tried that with
SWMBO and was soundly vetoed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Dean Hummel