rough sawn lumber

[ww_wannabe]

I'm a newbie just trying to get started and need a little advice. I have access to some rough sawn lumber and would like to use this for my early projects while I'm learning the ropes.

My question is, what do I need to sqaure up my lumber? I know the planer (TP1300 is on the wishlist) is necessary. What else might I need? I'm a NY watcher and have seen Norm use the joiner for the first pass (along the width of the board) but a lot of the wood I have is pretty wide and I wouldn't be able to use the joiner for a cut across its width. How do you get the first side flat if it's wider than the joiner or you don't have a joiner (yet). Can the planer do this for you?

I know this is probably common knowledge but I appreciate your paitence with a newbie.

Thanks in advance!!!

[snelson]

Edge the board on the jointer to get the edge square. Rip to the desired width on table saw plane to thickness.

[K.M. Delano]

First you mant to establish a flat face. Two ways to do this, ok, three ways.

First would be with hand planes!

Get a good flat face using either a jointer (the "best" way) or the thickness planer. Since I have a jointer, this is what I use. After I establish a flat face, I plane down to the desired thickness. Then I establish a flat edge with the jointer.

[ww_wannabe]

Thanks, I know just enough to be dangerous at this point. I appreciate all the advice I can get. =)

[Jeff P]

Ideally, you need have a good reference face and edge before running the board through the saw to rip it to width. Otherwise, you risk the board binding against the blade causing kickback. If your jointer is not wide enough for the plank you can resort to hand tools. In the past for planks wider than my jointer, I've just jointed the edge to get a good edge and ripped it to a jointable width. I'll only do that if the board is somewhat flat. Before you run the board through the planer however, you need to ensure you have a flat side as the planer will make the other side parallel. You can always glue the narrower planks together once you have planed them and edge jointed them. They will be more stable that way anyways, especially if you alternate the grain.