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Milling Machines:
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To get the results you need, one machine on its own can’t complete the job. Each machine serves a separate function. The jointer is used to plane a rough, often times a crooked, warped, or bowed board flat on only one side and edge. (There are reasons both sides can’t be planed on a jointer or planer, which I will try to explain below when I get into more detail on each machine.) The planer is used to take the board that has been flattened by the jointer and plane the opposite side to the thickness you need.
Although both machines have other functions they can be used for, this is their main one; milling rough stock.
Why Do I Need Milling Machines?
You can often go to your local Home Depot or Lowe’s and find hardwood stock that is already milled flat to the size you need. So, why would you even need to waste your time and money buying a jointer and planer to do something that has already been done for you?The biggest reason is price. Although you may be a strong believer in the saying “time is money” it really doesn’t take that long to mill your own lumber. I believe (along with every wood shop I’ve worked in) that the money you’ll save milling your own rough stock out ways the time saved buying wood that has been milled for you.
The price of lumber is, in most cases, sold by the board foot (BF). A board foot is 144 cubic inches of wood. A piece of wood that is 1” thick, 12” wide, and 12” long is considered 1 board foot.
I did a quick search on the Internet for prices of rough sawn red oak to compare to the price of the milled wood found at the Home Depot. Here is what I found.
Furniture grade, rough sawn red oak at one site cost $1.85 a board foot.
I looked at the home depot and found a red oak board that was 3/4” x 6” x 48” priced at $10.97. If you multiply those dimensions together you get 216 cubic inches. Take that 216 and divide it by 144 and you get 1.5 board feet. Take the price of $10.97 and divide it by 1.5 and you’ll have the price per board foot you’re paying. I’ll make it easy for you, it comes to about $7.31 a board foot.
You could say that these milling machines will easily pay for themselves.
If I’ve sold you on why they are necessary, then you can read on to find out how they work and what to look for when buying them.
Jointer
As I said above, the jointer’s main function is to plane one side and one edge of a rough sawn board flat so it can be ran through the planer. This is accomplished by the way the machine is set up.The jointer consists of two tables, an infeed and an outfeed table, that are mounted to a base. The base has a motor in it that, with belts and pulleys, are used to spin a cylinder with blades mounted to it between the two tables. There is also a fence for edge jointing.
The infeed table is parallel to the outfeed table, but can be adjusted up and down depending on the amount of stock you want to take off you board. The outfeed table should be fixed into place and lined up perfectly with the blades. When a rough sawn board’s face is ran across these two tables through the blade the end result is a flat face on one side.
The reason you can’t flatten both sides of a board with a jointer is because rough sawn lumber is usually warped, crooked, or bowed. Put simply, it has a “hump” on one side and this hump needs to be facing up to flatten the board properly. If the hump is put against the table and ran through it will be nearly impossible to hold it without it rolling from side to side. This will result in a board that may look flat, but is actually just a clean version of the warped board you had before.
Jointers are designated by the width of their blade and come in two types; benchtop and stationary. Benchtop jointers usually have a 4” and sometimes a 6” blade but are only suitable for small hobby shops, where only short pieces of wood will be needed to be milled. Stationary jointers come in a wide variety of sizes of blades from 6” up to the industrial sized 24” jointer. 6” or 8” jointers are most commonly found in home wood shops and can handle most of the work demanded of your shop. You may decide on a 12” jointer if you think it will be necessary and your budget can handle it.
For more details on how to choose a jointer for your shop click here.
Planers
After your board has been properly ran across the jointer and has a good, flat face, you’ll have to use a planer to finish the job of flattening the rest of it out. The planer is also used to plane your board to the desired thickness, which is why it is sometimes known as a thickness planer or thicknesser.A planer may not look similar to a jointer, but the operations are similar. The planer consists of an infeed table that the flat face of your board sets on. An infeed roller is used to “grab” your board and feed it into the cutterhead blade that is similar to the cutterhead blade on a jointer. The big difference is instead of being below the board, like a jointer, it is over it and planes the top of your board. An outfeed roller is used to keep pressure on the board and pull it the rest of the way out of the machine on the outfeed table. Although I have given you a simplified version of how it works the planer is in fact a complex machine. I’ll go into more detail on the next page.
Keep in mind, the planer cuts a parallel face to the surface that is on the table. So, if your board is still warped on the bottom, it is still going to come out warped on top. This is why a planer alone cannot be used for milling rough stock wood.
Planers are also designated by their blade length and come in two types; benchtop and stationary. Benchtop planers range from 10” to 12” while stationary planers can be found up to 24”. The reason planers generally have wider blades is so you can edge glue multiple boards together after jointing them and run the glued up piece through the planer to give you a wider piece that is exactly the same thickness all the way across.
Unless you have a need for a monster sized planer a 12" to 15" one should do you just fine.
For more details on how to choose a planer for your shop click here.
Compare
Compare prices and specs at these online stores.Rockler.com
(For a free catalog from Rockler.com click here)
Hechinger.com
Your Picks
I can only review and give a my suggestion based on what I think the common home workshop needs are. Here is your chance to disagree with me and share your picks according to your own needs
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