DIY Network

Joining Wood Seamlessly Learn how to join multiple pieces of wood sans one seam for the contemporary bench. From "Freeform Furniture" episode DFFF-208

Host Amy Devers begins the contemporary bench project by milling up the wood with a joiner and planer. Before she does anything she needs to smooth out, flatten and square up each one of these surfaces.

She uses a combination square to make sure the surface is perfectly square and flat. When she's ready to do the edges, she slides all the boards across the planer bed again. Finally, when the wood is all surfaced, Amy takes it and clamps it together to make sure it will fit without any seams.

advertisement

	The room before—before
	The room after—after
	Amy Dever's contemporary creation looks great under any lighting conditions.
	This unique bench is the definitive definition of freeform furniture.
	The project begins with Amy sawing and assembling the poplar wood.
	Figure A
	Figure B

Materials:

solid poplar
water-based casein paint
lacquer
rectangular steel tube
chrome plated
nine separate pieces lumber
pre-surface lumber
glue
clamp
scrap pieces of plywood as cauls
bar clamps
biscuits
pencil
yellow wood glue
plastic credit cards
glue scraper
decorative pieces
cauls
flush trim bit
chamfer bit
dusk mat
sanding block
high-pressure air hose
soft bristled brush
water
lacquer
satin spray lacquer
respirator
mild steel tubes
screws

Tools:

joiner
planer
combination square
table saw
biscuit joiner
square ruler
crosscut sled
random orbital sander
router
abrasive cut off wheel
disc sander
vice clamp
TIG welder
awl
mallet
power drill

Joining Wood Seamlessly

1. The surfaces need to be smoothed out, flattened and squared up—it is known as surfacing wood. If you don't have a joiner or planer, it is possible to buy pre-surface lumber. If you have the machines, you can save money by doing it yourself.

2. Start by pushing one face of the board over the knives. To avoid a tear out, make sure to cut with the grain, not against it (figure A).

3. Set the fence of the joiner to 90 degrees, flip the board onto its side, and joint that edge until it's square to the face.

4. Repeat this process on all three poplar boards.

5. When you finish, use a combination square to make sure the surface is perfectly square and flat (figure B).

6. To surface the other side, or the other face of the lumber, you need to send it through the planer to create a uniform thickness.

7. As you feed the wood over the rollers on the bottom of the planer, the blades on the top shave off about 1/16" at a time. Send the boards through as many times as needed to achieve the thickness you need. Once both faces are clean, you need to get them down to the appropriate width.

8. You could rip them down on a table saw, but they are a little thick. The table saw can handle it, but because there is so much wood there may be a tendency to bind. Since the wood is thick, you can actually flip it up on end and send it through the planer and mill it down little by little until you get the width you want.

9. You need to clean up the edges, so slide all the boards across the planer bed again just like you did with the faces.

RESOURCES :

Festool
Website: www.festoolusa.com

Stanley Tools Product Group
Website: www.stanleytools.com

Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, Inc.
Website: www.lie-nielsen.com

Power Tools
Porter Cable Power Tools
Website: www.deltaportercable.com

Gladiator GarageWorks
Website: gladiatorgarageworks.com

Hand Tools
Garrett Wade Co., Inc.
Website: www.garrettwade.com

The Peck Tool Company
Website: www.pecktool.com

Biesemeyer
Website: www.biesemeyer.com

Saw Blades
Forrest Manufacturing Company
Website: www.vacupress.com

Jogensen Adjustable Clamp Company
Website: www.adjustableclamp.com

Adhesives, Abrasives and Safety Equipment
The 3M Company
Website: www.3m.com

Klein Tools
Website: www.kleintools.com

Power Tool Accessories
Woodcraft
Website: www.woodcraft.com

Ulmia GmbH
Website: www.ulmia.de

Shop Equipment
Eagle Manufacturing Company
Website: www.eagle-mfg.com

Delta Power Tools
Website: www.deltaportercable.com

WMH Tool Group
Website: www.whmtoolgroup.com

MacBeath Hardwood
Website: www.macbeath.com