sdshirtman Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 I'm preparing for my 2nd and 3rd builds. I've already purchased two nice pieces of book matched flamed maple. They've been sitting in the garage and have slightly cupped over the last 6 mo since I've had them. I own a 12' planer but have read a lot about how planing figured wood could result in tear it out and ruin the pieces. I've been thinking of building a router jig to plane the tops of these but it seems redundant when I already own a planer. Can anyone give me some advice on how to proceed with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessejames Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Although I do plan on buying a spiral head planer soon. When I get warped boards I stack the boards leave them in an even lower humidity environment with lots of weight on them. I give that a week, then move it to my 50% room with a little less weight on them for about 2 weeks. What that doesn't handle I just go over on with my DA sander with 60 grit followed by a straight edge. Yout stuff looks like it isnt warped much, just sand it some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdshirtman Posted May 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Although I do plan on buying a spiral head planer soon. When I get warped boards I stack the boards leave them in an even lower humidity environment with lots of weight on them. I give that a week, then move it to my 50% room with a little less weight on them for about 2 weeks. What that doesn't handle I just go over on with my DA sander with 60 grit followed by a straight edge. Yout stuff looks like it isnt warped much, just sand it some. Its been sitting for about 6 mo with spacers in between. These are 3/4" boards. I'll try to get some better pics up soon. I dont really have an option of putting them in a controlled humidity environment right now. I'm still wondering through, If I run these through a standard planer do I risk tear out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Although I do plan on buying a spiral head planer soon. When I get warped boards I stack the boards leave them in an even lower humidity environment with lots of weight on them. I give that a week, then move it to my 50% room with a little less weight on them for about 2 weeks. What that doesn't handle I just go over on with my DA sander with 60 grit followed by a straight edge. Yout stuff looks like it isnt warped much, just sand it some. Its been sitting for about 6 mo with spacers in between. These are 3/4" boards. I'll try to get some better pics up soon. I dont really have an option of putting them in a controlled humidity environment right now. I'm still wondering through, If I run these through a standard planer do I risk tear out? The short answer is yes. It is not certain but it is a risk. You can reduce the risk by making sure your blades are very sharp and more importantly taking very small depths of cut per pass. Those that have the ability use a thickness sander instead of a planer. I glue sheets of 60 grit onto a flat table and get a workout. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 I've had LUCK with figured wood so far that it hasn't torn out on me too badly. VERY sharp blades are key as well as LIGHT cutting depth. If you can adjust the feed rate, use the slowest setting. I try to get the side I want to have showing flat and as soon as it is I take the rest of the thickness off the back side. That way if it does tear out, it is on the glued face anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalhead28 Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 It's definitely a risk. I use a drum sander now, but I used to have pretty good luck dampening the wood before sending it through the planer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Ditto on the drum sander. It takes longer, but the results are very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahnj1 Posted May 18, 2011 Report Share Posted May 18, 2011 I planed my 4A maple top on my 320$ 13" ryobi planer, and it went through flawlessly....on both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted May 18, 2011 Report Share Posted May 18, 2011 Drum sander is the way to go. Flame maple is especially sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdshirtman Posted May 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 Thanks for the replies. My planer doesn't have an adjustable feed rate. Its all or nothing so thats out. If I had my choice I'd use a drum sander but I dont own one. I have all the parts and pieces for my router jig so thats probably the route I'm going to have to take. It can also double for routing my top. Any suggestions on what type of router bit to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaintNick Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 I'm sorry to take this off topic a bit but do you have any plans for that router jig? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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