Comment

Comment by Mark Lindsay on January 25, 2013 at 8:34pm

I use both quite a bit. I use the jointer to flatten 1 face of the board I'm working, then use the planer to bring it down to thickness. I use a lot of reclaimed wood for a number of projects, and the planer/jointer combination sure makes quick work of surfacing the lumber. Pull apart a pallet or two and you've got all kinds of neck stock in the 2X4s as well as thinner boards for bridge basses and such.

I too resaw lumber for fretboards and the like, and it's nice to slice a board down the middle to 5/16", then plane it down to 1/4" with consistency.

On my last build, I used a full box insert to fill the bottom 7/16" of its depth. I cut a piece of 1/2" birch cabinet grade plywood to fit the box, then planed it down to thickness and glued it right in. There's no way I would have even considered using a box insert if I had to plane it down by hand.

Comment by Dan Sleep on January 24, 2013 at 4:29am

I use my 13 inch wide bench top planer all the time. I resaw fretboards to the right thickness with a jig I made for the table saw, then use the planer to get rid of the saw marks and get them down to the proper thickness.

Comment by Bad Wolf on January 24, 2013 at 4:11am

just to be clear, a jointer is used to flatten edges, a planer is used to make opposite edges parallel. i know in the UK the names used are sometimes different for the respective tools so it can be confusing.

at lowes this is a jointer http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/885911/885911177603lg.jpg

and this would be a planer http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/028875/028875207348lg.jpg

 

and yes while you can make a board flat with a planer it requires special sled jigs, i still think a jointer is the best tool for that job. makes glue ups and flattening fret boards really easy

a planer would be used for getting stock down to a certain thickness but i usually just resaw on my bandsaw or tablesaw

 

that all said if you can find either at auction for a low price, i say go for it!. just be sure you can buy blades for whatever model it is you find

Comment by Larry Chapman on January 24, 2013 at 3:32am

I think my experience would turn out like yours, Bad Wolf. I'd love having a planer for about 2 days and then it would collect dust. I could buy a good used joiner just over $50 at auction and could accomplish dual purposes from it. For example I could take a 3" piece of scrap and plane it down to 1/4" thickness using a joiner and if I needed a straight edge I could accomplish that as well. Even then I probably wouldn't use it that often. 

Comment by Bad Wolf on January 24, 2013 at 2:22am

a jointer is handy to have if you have some wood that isnt flat. there are other ways to accomplish it but i think the jointer is the easiest way.

 

i never use my planer

 

 

Comment by jabes on January 23, 2013 at 6:15am

that's the right course....