Finishing white oak

[Big86inthestixx]

I have been a AS member for a while, Recently i made a CSM and well i am looking for the best way to smoothe the board face down. If it was smaller then 13" i can use my planer. But since my most recent pieces are going to be roughly 24-30" Widths and roughly 5-6' lengths, is there an easier way than hand planing and sanding? Dont get me wrong planing and sanding is working well but i figured you experts may have a better way.
Thanks for the help guys.

 

[glennschumann]

One option that is less expensive than a 30" planer is to find a power hand planer. Makita has several models, the smallest being 3 1/4" (Model number N1900B). I think they range up to 12" (That seems like an awful lot to toss around). There are plenty of other mfrs as well. I believe that George Nakashima used a planer like this for his large slabs. Another option that you may not have thought of is renting a floor sander. If you have a bunch of planks to smooth, an afternoon with a floor sander may do what you need, fairly quickly, and with little dust.

These power tools may take the drudgery out of the leveling / thicknessing process, yet leave room for hand work for more refined results if that is what you are looking for.

Hope that helps.

 

[Big86inthestixx]

Floor sander, great idea i got buddie that has a big floor sander im going to give that a try. Thanks for the ideas. I had been using a hand planer, think its a portacable... worked descent but the sander brought the wood grain out much better.
thanks again

 

[buzz sawyer]

It might take a while but you could build a frame around it to use for a guide for a big router jig.

 

[Slvrmple72]

buzz has the right idea. Set up two rails and build a box jig that rides on the rails and makes the height for your router adjustable. Get a surfacing bit as big as you can for the power of your router. You just want to skim the rough surface to get it as uniform as possible before sanding. Watch it around knots it gets a little exciting so make sure the rails are fixed as well as the slab. Tool box liner ( rubber matting stuff ) is cheap and has enough tack to hold the wood still. After routing you won't need to sand as much to finish it.