Cutting to length and planing

[TB Roye]

Quick question. LOML has given me a week off from honey do's. I am starting to build a display case using rough lumber from the Lumber Liquidators woodworks pack of a few years ago. I have jointed a face and edge. Now before planing to final thickness should I rip to width and cut to length? The pieces are about 8ft long and I need pieces 74" long other pieces will be shorter. These are rails and stiles for a door and side panels, that will hold glass.

Tom

[LCHIEN]

My opinion: Plane joint and surface first.
Then cut to length. Planing icidents like sniping are more likely to occur than cross-cutting incidents. Cross cutting last will allow you to adjust for any snipe or end tearout that you need to work around.

[SARGE..g-47]

Afternoon TB...

I do it just like Loring stated. I will on add that I do leave a little extra lenght just for those occasions that I might get snipe on the trailind edge. If you size the stock about "3-4" longer, any snipe that could occur is taken care of in the finish size cuts.

Some will say that it waste the extra 4" of wood. I was taught to do it by an English professional WW that now teaches WW at a college in England. Better to waste 4" on the git-go than waste an entire piece and have to go back and prepare if from scratch. That is a a lesson in frustration. It's also a time killer and especially in a commercial envirment where dead-lines have to be meet. Hence..... we all got our theories of the ultimate plan. :>)

Regards...

[Kristofor]

Since you need pieces over 6 feet long I'd have gone to near final length to start (Sarge's idea of +4" for snipe or whatnot).

However, I say that because I have the relatively small 6" Ridgid jointer, and while 6' long material is doable (hundreds of passes on 2x4's for my workbench) with infeed and outfeed support I find it easier in general to work with shorter pieces. Additionally the longer the wood the more you need to take off to make it flat if there's a slight bow/twist.

Having already jointed I don't know if it would matter to me at that point as planing (for me at least) is much easier on longer wood (again with proper support).

[JR]

Yeah, I'd plane it first, too.

You want everything milled to the same dimension. You can certainly do that after cutting to length, but as Sarge pointed out mistakes can happen. If your "go-to" pile is already dimensioned properly you don't have to worry about replicating the thckness of the mistake piece.

JR

[TB Roye]

Thanks guys. Thought that was the way but wanted to make sure. That is what I am doing now. Beautiful day will quit at noon to watch the Bush race and then company for dinner.

Tom