Squaring legs with hand tools

[PeteQuad]

So, I have 4 legs made out of jatoba, and they are nice and flat and straight. They are ~1 3/4" thick, made of 2 pieces (about 1 3/4" x 7/8" each) glued together. I just realized that the sides are not square to each other.

Does anyone have advice on the best way to fix this with hand tools?

Thanks!
Peter

 

[DaveO]

The best thing (that I know) to do would be to take a marking gage and using your best face mark parallel lines on each side. Then using various planes at your disposal plane the opposite face down to the lines. You will lose some stock in the process. But if they aren't too bad out of square using hand-tools will minimize the loss.
MTCW,
Dave

 

[PeteQuad]

Thanks Dave, that sounds like the way to go. What a mess, I thought I was done planing this stuff - it's eating up my blades!

 

[Trent Mason]

I was about to say, "just send it through the planer a few times." :slap: I've worked with jatoba a lot lately and it is very hard wood. Good luck planing. Let us know how it goes. :icon_thum

Cheers, ccasion1

Trent

 

[PeteQuad]

Sending them through the planer is how they got to be unsquare in the first place . Well, actually it's because I didn't do a good enough job jointing them by hand first (I don't have a jointer), so I ended up with a rhombus. The planer won't help me much with this shape.

3 of them are only a degree or so off, but the 4th is worse, and of course I'll have to make them all the same thickness so... :confused_

Oh well, it's a good thing I like being in the shop :gar-Bi.

 

[4yanks]

After you joint 1 edge you can clamp a piece of straight stock with a rabbet to the side of your plane to square up an adjoining edge to establish a 90 degree angle. Then do as DaveO suggests to bring the other to edges into alignment. The rabbet in your fence should be of sufficient depth to make sure you get a full width cut with the iron. In other words deep enough to bury the iron without losing too much width of cut. Hope this helps.

 

[PeteQuad]

Thanks, that's a great idea. Do I put the plane in the rabbet, or does the rabbet hang over the edge of the wood?

 

[James Davis]

To help visualise what 4yanks was saying.

 

[PeteQuad]

Thanks James, that helps

 

[DavidF]

Is there one of us near you who does have a jointer?I'll be around this weekend if I am close

 

[PeteQuad]

It's OK, I have to learn somehow. I don't really intend to get a jointer.

In the future, I may be able to square this somewhat with my guide rail system. Either way, I like the hand planing, so don't mind too much - this jatoba stuff is very hard though!

 

[DavidF]

It's OK, I have to learn somehow. I don't really intend to get a jointer.

In the future, I may be able to square this somewhat with my guide rail system. Either way, I like the hand planing, so don't mind too much - this jatoba stuff is very hard though!

In that case the guide clamped to the side of the plane is the way to go.

 

[Gofor]

Is there a reason you cannot use the table saw? One surface laid flat with the blade at 90 degrees should give two squared surfaces, and just rotate the last cut one to the table. May need an angle jig if they are tapered, though.

I realize this is not hand tools, but may be teh easiest fix for the expensive wood.

Go

 

[PeteQuad]

I don't have a table saw either. Yes, I know I'm strange .

I have the EZ system, and I am in the middle of an upgrade which will allow me to do what you said with that - basically upgrading to a bigger bridge, you can see the new upgrade here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXV2XJTwn9Y

Actually, I realize that I only need to square one corner, and then I should be able to plane it into a square using the power planer. Also, 3 of them are only 1 degree off square, so I am tempted to just angle the rails which will attach to them. The 4th is 2.5 degrees off which may be too much.

I'm in no rush though, this project will likely take me months. I really appreciate all the insight and advice here.

 

[McRabbet]

Watched the video -- I hope you don't make the mistake he makes at 7:35! Could be an expensive goof and appears all too easy if you don't think ahead. He also got his saw cord tied up once. Think I'll stick to a cabinet saw...

 

[PeteQuad]

I have already made that mistake many times. My cabinet (mine has drawers and doors and stuff under it) has cuts through it, but it is a tool, not a piece of furniture, so I don't mind . It's not an expensive mistake, since the plywood only cost me ~$20 a sheet and the aluminum I cut through cost around the same, and I keep cutting throught the same pieces over and over .