Bmth Builder Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Hey I was wondering, when does a peice of wood get too thin to put through a thicknesser before tearing out etc? I imagine it depends on figured on non figured wood (quilted maple etc tears out easier?) I want to thickness a peice of wenge it is about 7 or 8 mm already but I need to even it out to 6 mm... Is a drum sander the only option or will it be alright through my thicknesser? Cheers Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJE-Guitars Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 7mm is no problem over a jointer or through a thicknesser! In terms of tearout . . . well take it down slowly say 0.3mm at a time and make sure you blades are sharp and you shouldn't have any problems with tearout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Hey I was wondering, when does a piece of wood get too thin to put through a thickness before tearing out etc? I imagine it depends on figured on non figured wood (quilted maple etc tears out easier?) I want to thickness a piece of wenge it is about 7 or 8 mm already but I need to even it out to 6 mm... Is a drum sander the only option or will it be alright through my thickness? Your right it really depends on the wood you are running through the planer and its grain pattern. If you have a planer you can also wet the wood a bit which will soften the grain and help prevent tearout. This may not work on an oily wood, and should be tested on the same board prior to the final pass. But as you are going from 8 to 6mm you dont have much to work with. You can also run a hand plane over the surface if it tears out on the hand plane the wood will most likely tear out in your planer. I have both machines and always pull out the drum sander. A sander is not effected by grain patterns. The worst thing on a sander is burn marks from a clogged sanding belt. Change the belt if it gets clogged and the next pass will remove the burn line. On light woods like maple it may take several passes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJE-Guitars Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Funnily enough after posting on this thread I ended up doing basically the same thing last night on my jointer! It was B&W Ebony being levelled up (the fretboard for my 8 string) - it was 7mm to start and I levelled it up down to 6mm. Basically as I said above I just took it slow and steady and took about 8 passes with my jointer table set for on its stop for 0.1mm removal. I just used fence to keep it straight and pushing blocks to firstly keep my fingers away from the blades and secondly allow me to keep an even pressure on the wood. Pushing blocks are must with when working with thinner stock. Like all Ebony trying to take more than 0.1 - 0.2 mm and your jointer blades will be blunt before you know it and be destroying the wood with it. Some fiddling and around with glue, clamps and caulks later and it was perfectly attached to the neck with no glue lines or visible joints. So it must work! I would love a drum sander I have to say mainly for there ability to do a one piece top or body - but getting them over here is another story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 I can get my finger boards down to 6mm (1/4") through my planer with no problem. Even though they are hard exotics, they are all pretty much straight grained, no flame or quilting. I've taked plain maple down to about 1/8" by sticking it to a 3/4" mdf board. But again that was taking light passes, and I knew the risk. If it blew up I did not care, but figured I would try before buying a piece of veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Most planers will go down to 1/8", take light passes when getting this thin though. also using a sled and GOOD double stick tape, thinner is possible, but again this requires very very light passes and if the planer has a finishing speed then use that setting as well. A drum sander would be preferable for anything under 1/8" MK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Most planers will go down to 1/8" I have taken acoustic sides down to size on the drum sander .095". It is well below the minimum recommended thickness (like a spec would stop me). That said the worst that could happen would be sandpaper to sandpaper contact (delta) ruining the carrier belt. I would be a bit hesitant to get my grizzle 15" monster planer that low without a backing board for fear of flying planer blade pieces. I suspect it may go down to 1/8" but I dont think I would feel warm and fuzzy. Like starting the thing while lying on the floor type of fear. To the original post I think wenge is a bit chippy using a router but I havent used the one board sitting in my shop. It was for a custom bass and wenge neck but my friend had some money issues so it may be going in my next guitar. If someone has planed wenge it might help our poster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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