I am a novice and I am having issues running some Country Maple through my planer it is tearing out. I have run some Oak and Poplar boards through with no problems and have looked over my blades. Is this a normal thing for Maple to tear out when being planed.
Bob Bartlett
Replies
Hi Bob,
I've never heard of Country Maple. But let's assume that it's a figured maple like bigleaf maple or birdseye maple. The problem you're encountering is that the grain is running all over the place in your board. As a result when you run it through the planer, you get tear-out no matter which direction you run it.
Try this, number one, take light passes with your planer. 1/32" or less. Then just before sending the board through, wet the top surface down with a damp cloth. This will soften the fibers a bit and might help to eliminate some of that tear-out. Finally if your board is narrow enough send it through at an angle rather than straight through so you get more of a shearing action from your planer knives. Make sure those knives really are good and sharp too. They should leave no ridges behind in their wake. Good luck.
Gary
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