Is a Planer Good Enough for Joining Wood? from Woodnet

A woodworker asked if he could get by using his Makita portable planer to turn 1' x 8" roughs (which he called S2S … or two sides finished) into the 3/4" wood he needed for a project. Since he didn't have a jointer, he wondered if the planer alone could provide a "good enough" surface and dimension the wood?

Agreeing that the jointer is not a necessity, several posters encouraged him to go ahead with the planer. A few of them suggested ripping the edge by using a straight edge with a router table or table saw. One also noted that the S2S wood should already be close to 3/4" thickness. Another woodworker warned that a planer by its nature leaves tiny scallops that needed to be sanded out … and a couple of passes with an orbital sander would do the trick.

A couple of posters suggested forgoing the S2S stock and carefully selecting 4/4 (1" thick) rough stock … being sure to avoid grossly warped or cupped boards. If the boards looked dirty or gritty, one of them recommended running a belt sander over them to remove grit and save planer knives.

Admitting that he had a "production" mentality, a jointer advocate bucked the tide and declared the jointer as one of the first and most important tools in the shop. In his opinion, table saw joints were mechanically okay, but less visually appealing than with a good jointer. Another woodworker agreed, noting that ripping a good edge on longer boards with a table saw or router table jig could cause you to "tear your hair"! Far better to find a fellow woodworker who owns a jointer and then get clean and keen "glueable" edges.

As a third alternative, a recent convert to a #7 jointer plane described the fun of putting a smooth edge on almost everything. And to clarify terminology, a poster explained the different standard terms that a woodworker might encounter at the lumberyard:

Table of Contents
Most Valued New Too
Is a Planer Good Enough for Joining Wood?
Larger Crosscut Capacity
Scrapers
Matching Color in a Project