Straightening rough cut lumber

sawdustdan · Post by **sawdustdan** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:03 pm

Hello,

I bought some rough cut ash for a project. I forgot to have them give me a straight cut on one side, so I don't have a clean edge to butt up against the table saw fence.

What is the easiest way to get a straight cut on an 8'-long board? I've done it in the past with a larger table saw, but I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish it on the smaller table of the Shopsmith.

Any pointers would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Dan

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:19 pm

Tack on a straight board on top of the rough cut one and use that against your fence.

keakap · Post by **keakap** » Sat Nov 17, 2012 5:16 pm

know anybody who'd loan you a nice big ol' jointer plane for a few days?

berry · Post by **berry** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:47 am

Another approach is to use a 'carrier' board. Here's a pic of one I used some years ago. I've since re-made it using T-trac and hold downs.

[ATTACH]19101[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]19102[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]19103[/ATTACH]

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:50 am

Another method would be to use a straight edge and a hand-held circular saw to clean up the wavy edge. If your project calls for shorter pieces of lumber than the 8' you have, you could cross cut the boards into shorter lengths first and then remove the wavy edges on the Shopsmith or with a circular saw.