Joining wood for 2 piece body blanks

I have searched and I have not really found what I was looking for. Is there a thread describing a good process for joing a two piece blank?

I have a joiner, but for some reason the boards just aren't lining up right.

Is your jointer adjusted properly? If so, are the two boards you are trying to join cut straight with 90 degree edges? I learned the hard way by not using a table saw to make my rough cuts and used a jig saw because at that time it was all I had to work with. I had a terrible time getting things to line up properly while using the jointer after that.

I have searched and I have not really found what I was looking for. Is there a thread describing a good process for joing a two piece blank?

I have a joiner, but for some reason the boards just aren't lining up right.

First it would be helpful to know exactly what is not "lining up." Without knowing for sure I suspect that the wood has not been milled "four square" with each side square to the others. (If you don't know what I'm talking about do a google search or check youtube. There's tons of info on how this is done.) If you've properly milled the lumber there should be no issue with the boards lining up when you're ready to glue them.

My best practice is to run them through the jointer together, then clamp them in a vice together and work the edges that are going to be jointed at the same time with a flat piece of aluminum and 80g sand paper. I hold it up to the light to see if I can see any through the joint. Works good for me.

I typically use a #6 plane to do the joining on a two part body. However, my understanding is that it would help to have the face on each board flat. Then (assuming your fence on the jointer is 90 degrees to the cutter) holding the face of the board flat to the fence, you should be able to get a good joint.

Check out the this short episode of the Wood Whisperer, lots of good info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ZZ0dhbJYY

Take the 2 boards and mark "A" on what will be the top of one board and "B" on what will be the top of the other board. Now run board "A" through the jointer with the "A" facing toward you. Then run board "B" through the jointer with the "B" facing the jointer fence. Now your two boards should fit together in a perfectly flat manner. This method can also be used on a table saw.

Take the 2 boards and mark "A" on what will be the top of one board and "B" on what will be the top of the other board. Now run board "A" through the jointer with the "A" facing toward you. Then run board "B" through the jointer with the "B" facing the jointer fence. Now your two boards should fit together in a perfectly flat manner. This method can also be used on a table saw.

The potential problem with only doing this is if you do not have a flat face on the board, you will not necesarily get a square edge when running it through the jointer. And even if you do, your boards will likely not have a neat flat face and back after they are glued up. That's why it's important to get a flat face with either a hand plane or a jointer if you have one that is big enough before running it through the jointer to true the edge. Once you've done this take it to the planner to get a square, parallel face. Final step is to take it to the table saw to square the other edge although this is unncessary for a guitar blank. There are other ways to do this but this is what I was taught in woodworking classes. As with all woodworking getting your wood square in the beginning saves a lot of time and trouble in the end.

Doing it my way, any offset will cancel out. Let's say the fence is actually out of square by 5 degrees. Using my method, one board will be jointed at 85 degrees and the other at 95 degrees. Add the two together and you get 180 degrees.

Since the OP inquired about joining I took for granted that the boards were already planed on the faces.

Since the OP inquired about joining I took for granted that the boards were already planed on the faces.

I'm sorry Glen if it seemed like I was dismissing what you were saying. Your advice is good and I do the same thing. I, however, was not taking for granted that his boards were already planed. If Chewie is asking a question like this I'm not sure something like this can be assumed. This is one of the reasons I said it would be good to know what exactly was going wrong.

You're right Matt.

You're right Matt.

Well, maybe I am. He might have jointed the face and my advice was totally unncessary and your idea is the perfect solution. I really should have done a better job of acknowledging your good recommendation and simply noted that I was adding to it. Let's say we were both right. :lol:

Odds are you need to spend some time getting your jointer set-up. Often times people
tend to have the blades too high or the fence not flush, etc.

Take the 2 boards and mark "A" on what will be the top of one board and "B" on what will be the top of the other board. Now run board "A" through the jointer with the "A" facing toward you. Then run board "B" through the jointer with the "B" facing the jointer fence. Now your two boards should fit together in a perfectly flat manner. This method can also be used on a table saw.

This seems like the most responsible thing to do. I am uncertain if the boards are even milled correctly. Should I run them through the table saw first?

Odds are you need to spend some time getting your jointer set-up. Often times people
tend to have the blades too high or the fence not flush, etc.

To responded to a few more posts. The boards are planed flat and are exactly the same thickness. I do think indeed to spend some time with the planer. Mostly because it was my grandfathers and he purchased some 25 years ago. It has shaped blades buti think my biggest problem is the set up of the jointer. Thank you for all of the help.