Hey all,
I have a large cross section of a willow dry and ready to be worked for a coffee table. It’s 40” in diameter and 3” thick. As flattening is my least favourite part with these slabs I plan to use a friends planer. The planer can accommodate the diameter and it has a helical cutting head.
My question pertains to the prevention of edge tearout as we are working with endgrain here. For square stuff I glue a scrap piece to the edge but the edge of this cookie is like the profile of a flower. My inclination is to use a ratchet strap to have even pressure around the whole piece. Any other ideas?
Replies
Super light passes. Run the narrow points in first..they are most likely to blow out. I would not run a rachet strap through a planer.
Wasn’t planning on planing the ratchet. It’s only 1” thick. Still I know blowout is likely, looking for ideas that might reduce the likelihood.
Yeah, I know...but the strap would have to be way up high to make a diff. Since ther's no bark, maybe back the exit cut with a few layers of heavy tape?
I've done a couple rounds, but nothing very big. I'm leery of putting anything end grain through the planer, so I just cut them as flat and parallel as I could then went to town with a 4x24 Dewalt belt sander. Use the coarsest grit you can find, but be wary of the belt over-heating. You'd be surprised how much you can accomplish in an hour.
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