Planer Question

Paul Douglass

Member
Messages
4,984
Location
S E Washington State
I have a Delta 13" planer. It will thickness plane down to 1/8". I have some strips of wood that are just a hair over 1/8" that I would like to plan to a little under 1/8", just enough to get the band saw marks out of them. Is there a safe way to do this on a planer? Seems like years ago I read somewhere that you could make a sled for this purpose. I couldn't find anything on this forum about that type of sled. I don't want to wreck my planer. Any ideas?
 
Paul I take a piece of melamine and double stick tape the pieces onto the melamine carrier board ,and carefully remove them with a stiff putty knife. It works pretty well as long as you don't go too thin.
 
As Charles said but also install a cleat at the back that protrudes less than the thickness of the workpieces but enough to keep them from being shot out the back should the tape not hold.
 
What has sometimes happened to me with thin stock is the leading edge will lift into the cutters, and it really makes a mess of the stock. The tape should help, but trying it out is probably the only way to see.
 
I have used a through the planer board that allows thinner stock treatment but, cannot find a picture of it. It helped but, the same design that effectively discharges chips would sometimes elevate the material at an inopportune moment :eek:.

I found that double stick taping the material to a carrier board worked well and the stock didn't get elevated at the wrong time :rolleyes:. This can be problematic for material that isn't as strong as the tape as it will destruct when the tape is (tried to be) removed.

I know your strips are already cut but, what I find most successful (although this may not be applicable to your application) is to plane, sand or otherwise smooth the show edge while the stock is still part of a larger board. Then rip the piece off and attach it with the saw marks out (like in an edge banding for shelves) . Then smooth the exposed surface.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the input. What I am making or trying to make is a ukulele neck. The idea was and may still be, to make the blank for it by gluing stips of wood, around 1/8" thick together so when the neck is made the strips of wood run vertical to the ukulele body. My son sent me a picture of a guitar that had a neck built like that and it really looks nice. I have since lost the picture. In my enthusiasm, I cut my strips thinner than I intended and I cut them on the bandsaw.

I decided I will set that aside for now, and finish the other neck I have started. When I screw up I find it best to walk away for a little bit and them come back to it.
 
if you know anyone with a drum sander or a wide belt sander that may be a safer bet. you can take much lighter passes and be less apt to have the boards blow up
 
Top