If you’re planing thin stock (wood less than three-eighths of an inch thick), you will need to use a carrier board. A piece of three-quarter-inch plywood will do; make it the width of the planer and slightly longer than the stock to be trimmed.
How thick do you plane your stock?
I plane stock to just under 1/8" thick all the time. If you plane with the grain, you should be able to plane 1/4" all day long without it tearing up. It is also important to plane right away after you resaw.
Can you run thin stock through the planer?
Thankfully, with a little additional support, we can safely run thin stock through the planer for veneer, bent lamination, or anything else requiring surfaced material under 1/4″. All it takes is a shop-made sled consisting of a piece of 3/4″ plywood (or any sheetgood), and a couple thin pieces of solid stock that act as a stop.
How to plan thin material successfully?
Here is the key to planing thin material successfully: An auxiliary planer bed board. A bed board will improve things 100 percent and almost eliminate the snipe that occurs when planing thin stock.
What is the best tool for surfacing thin stock and planing?
Without a doubt, the best tool for surfacing thin stock and planing thin strips is a drum sander. But given the fact that even the smallest and most basic units cost over $700, it’s not a tool everyone can justify having in their shops. Thankfully, there’s a great alternative: the planer.
How thin can you plane a board?
You can plane a panel down to about 1/8 of an inch thick using a sled like this. That's all it takes to make thin panel safely at your power planer.
How can I reduce my thickness without planer?
6:479:08But if you don't have a planer you probably don't have one of these but maybe a friend does and thatMoreBut if you don't have a planer you probably don't have one of these but maybe a friend does and that would be a wide belt sander or a drum sander. They work basically the same way.
Can you plane a small piece of wood?
0:282:39So I take carpet tape and just put two pieces on each of the zebra wood and I just and then I'mMoreSo I take carpet tape and just put two pieces on each of the zebra wood and I just and then I'm gonna take it down to a board. And then run it through the planer.
What is the minimum length of stock for planing?
Never plane material which is shorter than 12" (304.8 mm).
Can a router be used as a planer?
Making your own planer from a router is easy, and it works with any router you have. Once the router sled is made you can use it for all kinds of projects, and converting the router into a planer any time you need it takes less than a minute.
Do I really need a thickness planer?
If you really want to get into woodworking, a thickness planer is worth the cost. Once you have it, you'll never regret the expenditure, because you'll be in control of your stock thickness like never before.
How do you flatten thin strips of wood?
0:243:06To something that isn't that can keep it flat no matter how thin it gets I like to use melamineMoreTo something that isn't that can keep it flat no matter how thin it gets I like to use melamine board for planar sleds. Because it's easier to get the tape adhesive off and you're done using it.
How do you hand a plane a small piece of wood?
0:221:15Your small piece of wood in the vise or on the tabletop to use the hand plane. Well let's reverseMoreYour small piece of wood in the vise or on the tabletop to use the hand plane. Well let's reverse the process mount your hand plane upside down in the vise. And then very carefully.
Can you edge joint with a planer?
0:215:52It isn't designed to make boards flat. Look at this rough sawn board it certainly isn't flat.MoreIt isn't designed to make boards flat. Look at this rough sawn board it certainly isn't flat. Running it through the planer will smooth both surfaces. But it's not gonna make the board flat.
What type of stock should never be ran through a planer?
Never Plane stock that has loose knots. Never plane lumber that is coated with a finish, such a lacquer or paint.
What thickness should you set the planer to for the first cut of a single board?
Rip the boards to about 1-5/8 in. This will allow you to remove the saw marks and still have about a 1-1/2 in. thickness. Set the planer to remove about 1/32 in.
Is it better to plane long or short boards?
longer than the final length. Do so even if knots, checks or cracks are part of the waste at the ends. That'll allow you to remove any checks on the ends of the boards or snipe (gouges) left over from the planer. Don't work with long boards unless they're called for; it's much easier to flatten short boards.
How to plan wood thinner than machine capacity?
Do the following. Take two pieces of wood with an identical thickness, spread a band of glue between them at one end, and clamp them together. When the glue has dried, plane one face of the glued-together board, then plane the other.
Is planing wood a basic operation?
Planing wood is a basic woodworking operation, yet many woodworkers are stumped by producing thin stock with a planer. Of the machine's two thickness capacities (maximum and minimum), the former rarely creates difficulties, while the latter often does. There's a simple solution to planing wood thinner than the machine's capacity. Do the following.
