Replies

1. 
   theslave | Jun 23, 2006 11:54pm | #1

   thanks...

    

   can i just ask you a foolish question since i am a newbie...

    

   if one is planing wood what is the minimum length of wood that can be planed without kickback or my wood being gouged.  i remember i put in a piece of purpleheart (a bowlblank) that was about 2x5x5 inches and it got completely ruined.

    

   thanks

1. 
   pzgren | Jun 24, 2006 01:22am | #2

   <<if one is planing wood what is the minimum length of wood that can be planed without kickback or my wood being gouged.  i remember i put in a piece of purpleheart (a bowlblank) that was about 2x5x5 inches and it got completely ruined.>>

     If you use a hand plane, for all practical purposes, there is no minimum. A small piece such as the size you mentioned in your post would have been a perfect candidate for a hand plane. A #3 or #4 (or #4-1/2) will handle just about any size piece of wood. If you do a lot of smaller work like inlays and small boxes, then you might look into a #2 or even a #1, although that is getting fairly specialized. A standard angle (adjustable mouth) block plane also works very well for smaller work.

   Cheers!

   James

2. 
   dgreen | Jun 24, 2006 01:27am | #3

   What model planer?
   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb

1. 
   theslave | Jun 24, 2006 05:52pm | #12

   i believe its a 15 inch craftsman planer

1. 
   dgreen | Jun 24, 2006 05:59pm | #13

   Can you find me a model #?
   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb

2. 
   dgreen | Jun 24, 2006 02:36am | #4

   Better than feeding wood in till something bad happens is to find out for sure. A piece of wood coming apart in chunks is bad berries for a light planer and not good practice on a heavy one. Risk of injury goes up for you and the planer. I was going to tell him nothing shorter than the distance between the feed rollers but thought better of it and decided to get his model # and a link to where I found the spec..

    

   In regards to planing epoxy I had never thought of using a plane. I have some epoxy inlay coming up and will give it a try too. I never did like epoxy on my sandpaper.

   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
1. 
   John_D | Jun 24, 2006 02:40am | #5

   I was going to reply and say it should be in his owner's manual, then I looked in my owner's manual (Delta 22-580).  No actual spec for minimum stock length.

   So I go by the distance between the feed rollers too.  And I always keep the kickback area clear.My goal is for my work to outlast me.  Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.

1. 
   dgreen | Jun 24, 2006 02:59am | #6

   10 inches minimum unbutted on yours . Here's a link to it

   .http://www.deltamachinery.com/index.asp?e=136&p=950
   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb

1. 
   John_D | Jun 24, 2006 03:26am | #7

   Thanks for finding that.  Here's what's funny.  I went to that exact same page, didn't read the "additional specifications" and instead clicked on Owner's Manual, to see the booklet I got with the machine.  Page 4, rule 17 of that owner's manual says "DO NOT FEED A SHORT, THIN OR NARROW WORKPIECE INTO THE MACHINE.  Your hands can be drawn into the knives and/or the workpiece can be thrown at high speeds.  See the 'OPERATION' section of this instruction manual for details."

   So I read the entire OPERATION section, and there were of course no details.  And nowhere in the manual does the word "unbutted" appear (I used search, also looked for "minimum" and "length" in additional searches).

   So oddly enough, the "additional specifications" on the web page are the only place to see that 10" minimum length for the 22-580.  The machine's manual doesn't say it.

   Want to know another funny thing?  That 10" is about the distance between the feed rollers.My goal is for my work to outlast me.  Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.

1. 
   dgreen | Jun 24, 2006 03:33am | #8

   Kind of what I figured. I noticed than on all the different brands of planers we sold the min. lgth. was always about the same as the feed roller distance was. I'm just more comfortable giving the makers spec. if I can find it. Found the same to be true of wide drum sanders too. 
   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb

3. 
   dgreen | Jun 24, 2006 05:09am | #9

   I just picked up an RC-33, I already have a 15" Taiwan planer that I'm really happy with. I knew the history on the Delta and they were asking a price I just could'nt let a nice machine like that go by for. Dad's going to get custody of the Delta. I agonized over which one to keep.

    

   Thin pieces aren't so bad but I sure would avoid shattering pieces on purpose. Mine's blown up a piece or so also which is why I got the 26" drum sander. I like figured wood and no matter how sharp I kept the knives or skewed the feed it would eat some  (always the piece I liked the best and had the least of).

   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
4. 
   DougF | Jun 24, 2006 04:26pm | #10

   I recently used epoxy as an inlay and it cleans up quite well with a handplane ans scraper.  It also sands quite well altyhough I would seal the wood first.  I'm curious, what wood are you using and how did you prevent the epoxy from bleeding into the wood pores?

1. 
   theslave | Jun 24, 2006 05:43pm | #11

   i used pine wood, and you are correct there was minimal bleeding.  i have scraped with a simple razor blade and i sanded down with an orbital sander ... which clearly took away the epoxy finish/gloss.  However, someone told me to mix 1 part white glue with 2 parts water and apply it onto the wood before inlaying...

    

   will see how it goes...  any tips , suggestions appreciated...

5. 
   theslave | Jun 25, 2006 12:01am | #14

   we'll see how it goes.  my first piece was ruined due to my over anxiousness...  to take off the excess epoxy after using the blade i had jumped to the belt sander and took off too much... and not had to recut the inlay and will try to to infill epoxy again...

    

   just can't come to tossing out the "sample" attempt...

    

   thanks guys for ur help

6. 
   mike4244 | Jun 25, 2006 08:06pm | #15

   Use a card scraper to flush up the epoxy with the pine.

   mike

1. 
   theslave | Jun 25, 2006 08:33pm | #16

   pls mind my ignorance... what would be the difference bewteen a razor blade and a card scraper?

    

   thanks

1. 
   DougF | Jun 26, 2006 04:22pm | #17

   A scraper has a honed, turned edge burr that slices.  Drawing a razor blade across the surface only scrathes the material.  The scraper is more efficient and leaves a cleaner cut.

1. 
   theslave | Jun 26, 2006 04:46pm | #18

   thank you very much

7. 
   OzzieBob | Jun 26, 2006 05:03pm | #19

   Suggestion to all those who use epoxy: Avoid acetone or lacquer thinners. Very toxic and just not needed. I build glued-plywood lapstrake boats and use lots of epoxy-lots and lots of it. I use what in Australia is called methylated spirits (or 'metho' and some people actually drink it -ugh). I think in the US it is called denatured alcohol. Available here in every hardware store. Works a treat on epoxy and is comparatively non-toxic (95% ethanol) and cheap too.