Thinking about getting a planer...

[CaseyForrest]

Thanks for the info WS, that does help my decision.

 

[Adkpk]

I use a 12" delta. For edges I use a snap line and my circular saw. Very profesonal. If I need more done to a board I drop by my brother's. If I leave something in his shop for long enough he will at some point do more to it than I could ever image.

 

[woodshop]

For those interested in that "sled" idea that was mentioned earlier, here is one of many designs, and a little info on exactly what it does.

http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/2006/10/27/ws/

I like sawyer robs hot glue strips to side of board idea... can't wait to try that. Sounds like a quick and dirty solution that would work if the glue held, and you didn't take huge passes.

 

[CaseyForrest]

OK, well, I didnt take the plunge. I got to thinking in the store, after wondering how and where Im going to store a planer when Im not using it.....I decided to just get some 40 and 60 grit paper, and keep using the sander I have now.

I did, however, figure out a solution to my initial issue of not being able to clearly see the grain....Ill just take pictures of the wood as I mill it, and number each piece. Cheaper and easier than planing and sanding.

I want to throw out a HUGE thanks to all of you that offered up ideas, and thoughts.

Also, Im all for a Wood Working forum, or possibly an extension of the Milling forum.

 

[stonykill]

I HAVE OWNED 2 PLANERS. THE 1ST WAS A BELSAW 12 INCH, 220 VOLT, SERIOUS MACHINE. I REPLACED IT WITH A BENCH TOP RIGID AS THE BELSAW NEEDED A TOTAL OVERHAUL. I HAVE PLANED THOUSANDS OF FEET OF LUMBER WITH THE RIGID. IN SOFTWOOD I CAN PLANE TO 12 INCH WIDE WITH LITTLE SLOWDOWN. BIRCH AND MAPLE IS SLOW GOING AT 12 INCHES WIDE. THE PLANER WILL ONLY ALLOW A 1/4 TURN OF THE WHEEL A PASS. TO KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE, THE BELSAW WAS NOT MUCH BETTER ON THE SAME SIZE BOARDS OF HARDWOOD. THE TROUBLE WITH THE BENCHTOPS IN MY OPINION IS AS SOMEONE ELSE STATED, THE BLADES ARE TROW AWAYS, AFTER FLIPPING IT ONCE.
I EDGE MY OTHER 2 SIDES WITH A ROUTER AND A STRAIGHT PIECE OF ANGLE IRON. I CLAMP THE ANGLE IRON TO THE BOARD TO BE TRIMMED, USE A STRAIGHT BIT ON MY ROUTER, AND RUN THE ROUTER UP AGAINST THE ANGLE. FOR ME THIS GETS STRAIGHTER EDGES THAN MY JOINTER EVER GOT, SO GOOD I SOLD THE JOINER, AS MY SHOP IS TO SMALL AND CLUTTERED TO BEGIN WITH. :rockn:

 

[trimmmed]

This is a damn good thread, alot of good ideas! Nice job guys

 

[woodshop]

I CLAMP THE ANGLE IRON TO THE BOARD TO BE TRIMMED, USE A STRAIGHT BIT ON MY ROUTER, AND RUN THE ROUTER UP AGAINST THE ANGLE. FOR ME THIS GETS STRAIGHTER EDGES THAN MY JOINTER EVER GOT

Stony please don't take offense, but if a router/strait bit run along a strait edge got you straiter edges than your jointer, there was something misaligned or defective on your jointer. Maybe the outfeed not alligned with the knives? That would give you an untrue edge among other things.

 

[stonykill]

Stony please don't take offense, but if a router/strait bit run along a strait edge got you straiter edges than your jointer, there was something misaligned or defective on your jointer. Maybe the outfeed not alligned with the knives? That would give you an untrue edge among other things.

none taken, but I find it difficult to feed a 10 foot long board thru a jointer and keep it perfectly straight the entire way. also I find my way faster, one pass and I'm done.I always look for the fastest way, its the only way to make a living.:rockn:

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I find it difficult to feed a 10 foot long board thru a jointer and keep it perfectly straight the entire way.

Most folks don't have a big enough jointer to joint long boards. I can do a 10 footer with my 8" Rockwell, but i have to be carefull on long boards...

Rob

 

[wdchuck]

Planer in my playroom is the DeWalt 12" , had it 10 years now, there's a local guy that sharpens my blades, I keep two sets, one to use while the other is getting sharpened or I use the duller one when 'first passing' rough stock of unknown origin, crating grade. The only time I had to repair this planer was after trying to clean paint off some very old millwork, (recycle,reuse), I didn't know what would happen at the time, burned the belt, $12 later, all set.

I couldn't guess on how many board/linear feet of hard/soft lumber have been through it, no complaints.

I have edged lumber with this planer, just send multiple boards through pressed together, at the same time, works well.


I like the idea of using the angle iron and the router, edging with a circular saw is pure entertainment for onlookers, more waves than the ocean. My jointer is only a 4" BT Delta, should have bought a floor type aircraft carrier instead.

Ya knowww, they have these smaller drum sanders that would do what you want, and much quicker too, available at home centers everywhere.

Saving up for a better tool never brings regret. Good luck with your (fun)research.

 

[Marc1]

.................
I agree that the shaper is the most dangerous machine in a woodshop. Very unforgiving (not that most other power tools are). Tons of power concentrated in a little shaper cutter spinning thousands of rpms. Catch a knot the wrong way, or feed the piece without any hold downs or featherboards, and you potentially have a wooden "bullet" fired from your machine at over 100 miles per hour. ............

.

Yes the Tupi, or shaper as you call it, is certainly dangerous and if we would be talking about the one I had until recently, a 70 years old 1000 pounds of cast iron, 30"x30" table 5HP 4 inch shaft and home made cutters shaped on the grinder from recycled truck springs....now that was some piece of work, it sounded like a Lycoming engine with a broken propeller.
Todays shapers have this beautiful smooth multiple cutters that cost $200 each, power feeders, anti-kickback, vacuum chip suckers... only the air condition is missing....the poor old jointer did not change a bit and is just as dangerous as it was 100 years ago.
The only possible improvement is the power-feeder. I love it. If you ever fit one, you will never again want to push and struggle stock over your jointer with the corner of your eye on the spinning cutters.

The cradle and the straight edges are both good home made solutions to straighten a board at home, but they are only OK to finish up a short piece, slowly slowly.

A drum sander would probably do a good job on rough cut boards but they don't come cheap and they need a real good vacuum system. I would still go for an old obsolete one ton 25" museum piece with the longest possible table.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

A drum sander would probably do a good job on raw sawn boards but they don't come cheap and they need a real good vacuum system. I would still go for an old obsolete one ton 25" museum piece with the longest possible table.

I have a Delta 31-250 drum sander I use for flattening occasionally but only when the board won't fit in my planer. It's difficult to use for wide boards but with some practice you can flatten boards up to 36" wide. Anything over 18" wide requires a sled and anything over 5' long is a challenge to say the least. As Marc1 said, they aren't cheap ($1000+) but mine has paid for itself several time over. Sure beats flattening by hand.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

You really don't need a "sled" to straighten boards through the planer without a jointer. It helps to have a tablesaw though

Just lay the board on a flat surface, and then saw (on the TS) two strips from a STRAIGHT board that are a little wider than your crooked board and just as long.

Lay the strips along each side of the crooked board and hot glue them to the board holding the board from rocking.

When you plane the board the feed rollers/cutter head will ride on the strips and plane them along with the high spots off the board.

Rob

Thanks Rob, I had forgotten about that trick. Used it last night.

 

[woodshop]

... but I find it difficult to feed a 10 foot long board thru a jointer and keep it perfectly straight the entire way. also I find my way faster, one pass and I'm done.I always look for the fastest way, its the only way to make a living

Good point stonykill... I too have a hard time getting a long board through my jointer. Gets unwieldy and tough to keep on the same plane from one end to the other even on my 8 inch Grizzly. In that case I agree an angle iron/router approach would work better. Then I guess the problem in my shop would be finding a perfectly strait angle iron, or any strait edge that long that was truly strait.

 

[trimmmed]

none taken, but I find it difficult to feed a 10 foot long board thru a jointer and keep it perfectly straight the entire way. also I find my way faster, one pass and I'm done.I always look for the fastest way, its the only way to make a living.:rockn:

Good point! A longer board used on a shorter bed jointer, can sometimes get smaller faster than straighter :censored:

I used a router table, straight bit with top bearing and a few templates to make the back slats and curved parts in these chairs. The jointer would have been much slower, less accurate and not so friendly on the curves

 

[CaseyForrest]

Nice chairs Dave.

 

[Marc1]

Yes a long board particularly if wide an heavy is not easy to plane on your own on the jointer ( actually called planner )
However there is no need to resort to the Router only because the thing is heavy. One or two simple roller support, leveled accurately will do the trick just fine.

I personally prefer to use a support table I built just for that purpose. It is exactly the same hight then the fixed table of the jointer. I planed a lot of very long 8"x1" boards destined for skirting boards by myself, no problem. Just keep the table extension clean and rub it with some paraffin.

Nice chairs, which timber did you use for them?

 

[woodshop]

Nice adirondack chairs trimmed... I too am curious what you made them out of. Maybe poplar since it takes paint so well? Or something a little more rot resistant like eastern white cedar?

 

[woodshop]

Yes a long board particularly if wide an heavy is not easy to plane on your own on the jointer ( actually called planner )

So marc1... down in Austrailia they call a jointer a planer? Curious what do they call a thickness planer then?

 

[Marc1]

Yes that is a funny reason for confusion sometimes particularly with shop attendants who are not woodworkers and just recite what their supplier says.

A planer is a planer, if it aids in making good joints, well then so be it

A thicknesser will do just that, thickness your timber.

If we go back to the origins of the planer (jointer) it use to be a sort of giant hand plane turned upside down and one would push the stock up and down over the blade. Now we call a hand plane a plane, so the grand dad of the planer ( jointer) was a plane.

How did the thicknesser become the planer and the planer turned into a Jointer, well...that I surely cannot answer

And so walk into a tool shop in OZ and ask for a planer and watch the faces.