Gene T Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 When cutting a scarf joint does it matter if you stand the board on edge or lay it flat to make the cut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Hi Gene - Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of ways to cut scarfs. In my mind the first thing to think about is whether you're scarfing plywood or lumber. I've scarfed lumber using a saw or a router, but the only way I've scarfed plywood is by laying several sheets on top of each-other with the ends staggered and using a belt sander to turn the stepped sheets into a nice inclined plane. Some people use jigs to hold plywood while they scarf it with a saw. So what sort of wood are you scarfing and what tool do you plan to use? The subject of scarfing comes up fairly regularly so a search of the forum might yield some good information. I'll make a quick search too and if I see anything good I'll post a link here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Here's a good one for scarfing narrower boards. It's similar to the router jig I used. If you make one of these you should be very careful about the alignment of the two wedges. It would be good to make some test pieces to see if the jig is set up nice and square before you permanently glue the wedges. http://messing-about.com/forums/topic/7825-scarfing-jig/?hl=scarf#entry67158 I don't see any posts about the belt sander method I used for wide plywood panels but maybe you'll have better luck than me. It seems there's no standard spelling for scarf so it would be good to get creative with the spelling when you search (scarph, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harland Deacon Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 I assume when cutting the scarf joint I can put it level on the table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 I use a hand plane then belt sander for plywood with the same set up as Ken describes. In this run I am doing 8 sheets at once yeilding 4 16' sheets. hand planned to remove most of the unwanted material belt sanded to completion 4 pairs of sheets glued stacked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 If using epoxy and the scarf area will be painted, you can use an overly aggressive Beaver or even a hatchet to cut them out. Under putty and paint, who's to know. The only time it's important is if the finish will be bright. In this case a "nibbed" scarf is the ticket, so you can hold a square edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 "Nibbed" scarf? I see how this would be done in individual boards but not in plywood sheets. Even in boards the nibbed scarf looks difficult for an amateur to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Any type of "detailed" scarf is harder to make, but this is only done for a reason. A scarf simply makes a shorter length of wood act like it's a continuous, longer piece. For bright finishes, you do need a crisp edge or it looks like crap, so the nib is one way. I've found cutting the nip part a pain in the butt, but the bulk of the scarf can be hacked in with any method. Again, only concentrate on the visible contact point, such as the butt joint on the surface and any other visible edges. These need only be a 1/16" - 1/8" wide, with the rest of the scarf carved out with a butter knife and a hatchet. This leave only alignment and well mated glue line to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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