Turning your rough boards into lovely smooth ones

[se7enthdevil]

here's one

 

wilson PAK 12" x 7" planer thicknesser single phase | eBay

[Peat]

Some good responses already.

 

I don't think you would recoup your investment in time in sanding or planning yourself.

 

If you need some planed for personal use then try a timber merchant or joiner and pay their hourly rate for machining.

 

Alex

 

Customer was going sand by hand!? So I said "no you won't" and I'm sanding it for an hourly rate so no skin off my nose.

 

se7enthdevil, my only experience of using an electric planer left a very rough surface, I imagine it'd be hard to get an even finish on a wide board? Seems like you must be able to get a good finish if you're moving straight to 100 grit.

 

I don't have a bandsaw/table saw to rip logs so I'm thinking of cutting square edged boards with the alaskan/mini mill, then putting them through my mates thicknesser.

 

I'm based in the woods with a 2kw generator so won't be investing in any big electric kit.

[Big Beech]

Why not use one of those big floor planers\ sanders?

 

If needed I've got a friend who has a 24" planer, but that ain't much help for my 900mm beech boards!!

[se7enthdevil]

sounds like your planer was either blunt bladed or perhaps you were going against the grain?

 

using one is really just to remove high points like i did with this table top.

 

all boards had cupped by 1/4" and using the electric hand plane and eventually the belt sander with 100 -180 belts got it almost dead flat.

 

they are 2x 12" boards sandwiching a 14" one.

Edited February 23, 2015 by se7enthdevil

[Woodworks]

"So i'm wondering what techniques people on here use? Do some of you then rip up your through and through boards and put them through a thicknesser?"

 

Exactly this.

 

Often get faults close to the centre anyway so can cut these out in the process.

[Rob D]

Tend to always quarter saw these days - big boards are a lot of hassal to move, stick and dry. Tensions build up and cause more drying defects. And often you end up having to rip them into smaller boards anyway.

 

 

A planer thicknesser is the best way to get a rough board smooth. But usually these are max 24" although they do go much bigger this is usually the largest you'll find locally.

 

 

[wills-mill]

Why not use one of those big floor planers\ sanders?

 

If needed I've got a friend who has a 24" planer, but that ain't much help for my 900mm beech boards!!

 

Just as a really unsubtle plug- I've got a 30in Wadkin thicknesser that needs a new home. It's blimmin enormous. And really near Horsham

 

On the single phase/ three phase issue, I think it's probably cheaper and better to get hold of sturdy three phase machines and spend out for a rotary converter (240sp to 415 tp)- rather than trying to run things on single phase motors or buying cheesy new lightweight machines.

 

The other critter that is getting very popular is fitting a digital device called a VFD (variable frequency drive). This will convert 240 to 415v for an individual motor (fine for a lathe, table saw, some planers) and as a bonus gives external control over motor speeds which is great for pillar drills, lathes, routers. VFDs also usually have the facility for soft starting and braking, so that the machine comes up to speed gently without massive instant power drain, and also will stop within the recommended 10 seconds.

 

Sorry Peat, that's not much help to you and your generator....

[Peat]

Yes Steve, it was my old bosses planer and going by the level of maintanance on all his other power tools I think it was probably blunt. My dad his a electric planer he doesn't use and he offered it to me last time I was there but I turned it down due to my previous experience. Maybe i'll pick it up and give it a go next time i'm there. You certainly got lovely results there Steve.

 

I've got a tool called a turbo plane that fits on an angle grinder and can apparently be used to flatten surfaces.

 

 

But wow. Its so aggressive, with curved blades sticking a few mil out of the disk. I don't know how I ever hoped to use it for planing. Very easy to get wrong. I imagine it'd be really useful for sculpting... but not on planks.

 

Cheers

Pete

[devon TWiG]

I notice a lot of people on here get very excited about BIG , W- I- D- E boards , but I have very rarely seen anything made from big wide boards ,( look at almost anything in the category of fine furniture) , mainly due to the problems identified in this thread , also wide boards have a greater tendency to warp twist etc and it is a lot more work than necessary . If you could get a wide long board in a planer / thicknesser , then it is possible by the time the wood is "trued " there is F all left !! Also it is more important than ever to ensure the wood is as dry as its final destination ( household humidity ) I have recently planed some fairly wide boards , firstly I chose the least warped to begin with , then as mentioned used an electric hand planer to remove high spots and get it mostly flat and even , then I used a series of hand planes , a large wooden one ( very old ) and then a smoothing plane before sanding , it is quite a bit of work , but my preferred method is as suggested , cut in to boards that will fit through a planer thicknesser . Terry .

[Ian Leach]

I have found a local place that uses the plainer/thicknesser 30" I think, and charges me £5 a board sometimes less.