Joining top wood

[frianbisher]

Hi,

I just received some nice flamed maple to glue onto the alder body blank I bought and need some ideas. As I expected, the two top pieces won't be able to be joined together without some work. In the past I would just hit them with a belt sander so they will glue up nicely but I don't have one and I don't know anyone who does.

Any ideas about how I can do this on the cheap? Maybe glue sandpaper to something long and straight and do it by hand? I haven't built anything for a year and I'm a bit rusty and tool-less.

Thanks

[curbowkid]

If you have a router you could use a straight piece of wood as a fence and srraighten it out

[ctmullins]

How far off are they? If not too far, fold a piece of coarse grit sandpaper in half and put it in between the pieces - then you can sand them against each other.

[frianbisher]

Originally Posted by ctmullins

How far off are they? If not too far, fold a piece of coarse grit sandpaper in half and put it in between the pieces - then you can sand them against each other.

I like this idea....the gap is about 3/32nd so it might take a while though.

[Beej]

I think I picked up the idea on this forum, but I just did this today. I clamped the two top pieces to a flat piece of sacrificial plywood, and then ran straight down the middle seam with a 1/4" flat bit in a router, and it gave me a perfectly clean and straight matched surface on both sides. Only works if you're willing to lose at least 1/8" of top width...

[Konquest]

Match both sides in the bookmatched pattern, and clamp it on a dead flat surface and use a bearing guided bit to trim it flush. Then with the top still clamped after the routing stage, hit it with some sandpaper on a solid backing. While you are doing this, save for a jointer. Owning a jointer and lunchbox planer opens up a whole new world of woodworking...