So, I am going to be building an endgrain cutting board with a herringbone pattern. The problem is I am not using any accent colors in the pattern, so there is no way to glue, cut, rotate, and reglue strips for said pattern.
So, I want a full pattern, not one that is more like chevrons. So, any tips when using a planer to get the 1:2 ratio exact? How close should I be on that ratio?
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You will need to be close to spot on I would think. The glue lines will usually equal each other out.
It might be difficult to achieve this on the planer alone - Unless you are very, very good at setup there is a good chance that there will be tiny differences in size, depending on which side you put the piece through. I would probably use the table saw for this job, if you have one. if not, make sure that all your bits go through the planer at the same spot on the blades.
Using a planer alone is a tough thing to try. To me, you'll need to joint one face first and then use the planer to get the second face parallel to it. Then you can take it down to thickness. Get to your thickness with your stock wide and long before breaking it down to overwide strips.
Once in strips you can joint one edge of each and feed them through the planer all together to bring them to width.
If you go too far just turn them to face again and use the planer to chase it back and forth until you have your 1:2 perfect. If you feed them together you should keep the planer blades level.
Mill some scrap stock at the same time to be about 2 feet longer and you can use it to avoid snipe if your planer is prone to it.
Let us know how the glue-up goes, that's the real challenge! The scrap stock will be good for your testing also.
So, it is just a matter of sneaking up to the appropriate dimension. Realistically, is there a minimum depth of cut I can expect to make with a planer? I am doing this at my local makerspace and have a band saw, table saw, planer, and jointer available.
This is what I was thinking. Use the planer to make sure I am working with flat and parallel faces, joint both edges, cut a strip a bit over intended length, joint saw cut edge, repeat through the board, then I was debating on gluing the strips together with some hot glue just on the ends and run them through the planer all at once. Or would I be better off setting up a temporary fence on the infeed table and run through all separate in the same spot? With running the board through the jointer after every saw cut, I should only have one face for each strip that needs ran through the planer.
You are close, but you have to start at the jointer for the face also. Think jointer for flat, and planer for parallel. If you use only the planer you will have a parallel faced board with any twists or bows still there.
Once you have one face flat you use the planer to get the second face parallel to it, then you can joint both edges, rip a strip from both edges, rejoint both edges and repeat, working in towards the center of the board. This will leave you with uniform strips dressed on both faces and one edge. Use the planer to bring them to final size.
Tough to say what a min cut is on your planer, but I would gang up the strips and run them together..no need for hot glue, the feed roller shound grab them fine. Ask the MS shop manager for guidance, he'll know the best approach for his gear.
BTW: Thanks for the info on the toner, probly saved me a mess.
So, if I have to start at the jointer, I am assuming I am limited in initial board width by the size of the jointer.
Yup.
If the lumber is too wide to joint on your jointer, and the planer is a lot wider then a planer sled might just just do the jointing if you hot glue shims under the lumber that is not in contact with the sled as the planer tries to squeeze the bowed board flat only while inside the planer. A lot of work to build a flat sled. If you are in Kansas City join Kansas City Woodworkers Guild and use their 17 inch jointer
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