Replies

1. 
   4DThinker | Jun 04, 2003 08:21am | #1

   Drum sanding is your best bet.  Every time I've had birdseye, fiddleback, curly, or any other in-and-out grain to surface the best way was to surface plane down to an 1/8th or 3/16th from final thickness, and then have a local shop with a surface sander take it the rest of the way down.  If you can find an overhead belt sander at a local place, they can swap out belts much quicker than a spiral wound drum sander, and thus can do most of your thicknessing with a coarse grit, then do the last few passes with a medium to fine one, leaving you very little sanding to do.

   4DThinker

2. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 04, 2003 04:08pm | #2

   When I didn't have access to a wide belt sander I used to thickness my figured wood down by spraying a mist of water on the surface being planed.  With the damp surface and very shallow cuts I had little or no problems with tear out.

   Scott C. Frankland

1. 
   jimmyk | Jun 04, 2003 04:12pm | #3

   Wow! That's a great idea!!!!

2. 
   woodman300 | Jun 04, 2003 06:05pm | #4

   Forgive me if this sounds stupid, but if you wet the surface of the wood, what happens to the planer knives? I assume you have to get inside and wipe everything down afterward?

1. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 05, 2003 12:07am | #5

   You are not going for soaking wet just a damp surface.  I use a hair spray bottle with a very fine mist though I have seen people using a ringed out rag and wipe over the figured areas to dampen them.  I have never had a problem with rust on the inside of my planer by using this method as there real is not enough water, the shavings almost feel dry when cut.  Scott C. Frankland

2. 
   fdampier5 | Jun 05, 2003 04:20am | #6

   I've planned a lot of wet or damp wood.. working with my schedule you pretty much have to.. what I do is when I'm done to ensure that everything is nice and dry is I run a dry board thru afterwards.. 20,000 plus bd.ft. and everything is nice and shiny still..

3. 
   ChasStanford | Jun 05, 2003 02:19pm | #7

   When you're finished just let the planer run for another minute or so.  Everything will be nice and dry.

1. 
   woodman300 | Jun 05, 2003 08:18pm | #8

   To all who replied, thanks. My curiosity made me ask, I don't even have a planer although I am thinking about getting one.

1. 
   fdampier5 | Jun 06, 2003 01:37am | #9

   get one!

     to me it's the first power tool to buy.. there's something magical about putting an ugly rough board in ione side and find this miracle of grain and color come out the other..

     Besides if you buy wood rough and green you can save so much that the planner and several other tools become "free".

          A four hundred dollar portable planner and a three hundred dollar jointer and you can make ten thousand dollars worth of wood out of a thousand..

2. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 07, 2003 02:46am | #12

   A planner is wore the money.  I have saved enough in lumber to pay for my 15" planner.Scott C. Frankland

   "This all could have been prevented if there parents had just used birth control"

4. 
   johnhenry922 | Jun 06, 2003 05:04am | #10

   I used my 13" planer to level out the surface of a roughly circular red cedar burl. I sprayed it down lightly and ran it through the planer, leaving a nearly perfect surface.

   The action of the blades will cause most of the water to evaporate and if you are worried, follow the misted piece of wood with a pass over a dry one.Next time you wave at me, use ALL your fingers. ;)

1. 
   woodman300 | Jun 07, 2003 12:16am | #11

   Hey john, I look at the various lines people use at the end of their posts and I really like yours.