I've got a steady supply of hardwood flooring that I'd like to be able to
use for something besides, well... flooring. I'm trying to find out which
tool would be more suitable for cutting the backs of the boards down flat.
The wood I'll be using will be between 2.25" & 5.25" (predominately 2.25")
wide by .75" thick with various lengths - red oak mostly but also white
oak, maple & pine . If anybody has an opinion I'd be grateful, and opinions
on models would be appreciated as well (space & price are big concerns I'm
afraid).
Tia
Adam
I'm confused. Could you post a link to an example of a '"suitcase"
thickness planer,' and an example of a "surface planer?" Thanks.
As far as I know, all you can plane are surfaces, and that will always
change the thickness, normal to the surface planed. Therefore all
planers will thickness-plane surfaces.
I can't imagine one folding up like a suitcase.
I'm lost.
-Mike
Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 00:42:40 GMT, Adam
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >I've got a steady supply of hardwood flooring that I'd like to be able to
> >use for something besides, well... flooring. I'm trying to find out which
> >tool would be more suitable for cutting the backs of the boards down flat.
>
> A "suitcase" thickness planer. Look for model recommendations, because
> there are big variations in quality. You might want a chip collector
> too.
>
> You're feeding it stock that's already pretty flat, so passing it
> through twice will clean up both surfaces and get it to thickness. You
> don't need a jointer or surface planer here - you can manage most
> stock without, unless it's twisted.
>
> Expect heavy knife wear - flooring is hard on them and contains lots
> of trodden-in grit (and nails !). If you're doing a big batch, run it
> through first on your "old" blades, then stop and put a new set of
> blades on.
On 17 Sep 2004 10:46:34 -0700, [email protected] (Mike Reed)
wrote:
>I'm confused. Could you post a link to an example of a '"suitcase"
>thickness planer,' and an example of a "surface planer?" Thanks.
This is a regular trans-Atlantic terminology problem.
Surface planers have a flat table with a cutter in it. They make one
surface flat. Turn the wood over and they'll make the other side
flat too, but it could quite easily end up wedge-shaped. Their
adjustment is for cut depth, and you don't often change this.
Add a fence to a suface planer and you have a jointer.
Thickness planers have a cutter mounted _above_ a flat table. They
make things a uniform thickness and remove wedging. If you feed them
something that's already approximately flat (relative to the size of
their table) then they'll make a flat surface on the other side to
match. Their adjustment is for final thickness, and you adjust this on
every pass.
In the USA, thickness planers are usually just called "planers".
Cheap thicknessers are called "suitcase" or "lunchbox" thicknessers.
They're a plastic casing, with an internal framework of varying
quality. The tables are thin metal sheet extensions that fold down
from the case. So long as your thicknesser has a "head lock", it
ought to do reasonable quality work. The cutters are mounted on a
movable head that moves up and down over a fixed table. Motors have
brushes (aka "universal" motors) and are noisy.
More substantial thicknessers are cast iron and ride on four steel
posts, hence the name "four post thicknesser". Some "four posts" only
have two posts. The cutter head is fixed and driven by belts from a
large induction motor, so it's much quieter. The table moves instead.
Really big thicknessers go back to moving the cutter head. A _really_
big thicknesser may even have four or five independent heads. It can
surface and thickness all four sides in one pass, and then put a
shaped moulding onto it.
--
Smert' spamionam
Adam <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> I've got a steady supply of hardwood flooring that I'd like to be able
> to use for something besides, well... flooring. I'm trying to find out
> which tool would be more suitable for cutting the backs of the boards
> down flat. The wood I'll be using will be between 2.25" & 5.25"
> (predominately 2.25") wide by .75" thick with various lengths - red
> oak mostly but also white oak, maple & pine . If anybody has an
> opinion I'd be grateful, and opinions on models would be appreciated
> as well (space & price are big concerns I'm afraid).
>
> Tia
>
> Adam
>
Well, a jointer establishes a flat face, and a planer uses one flat face to
establish a second flat face, parallel to the first.
Be sure you get enough machine to handle the volume you expect. Factor in
the cost of resharpening/replacing the planer knives. A Google search on
planers here on the Wreck will yield the groups' opinions, offered freely
and frequently.
Is this material you are expecting prefinished? Removing that finish is
really hard on knives, and abrasives. It's meant to last for years under
heavy foot traffic. Not all free wood is free, in other words.
Patriarch
On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 00:42:40 GMT, Adam
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I've got a steady supply of hardwood flooring that I'd like to be able to
>use for something besides, well... flooring. I'm trying to find out which
>tool would be more suitable for cutting the backs of the boards down flat.
>The wood I'll be using will be between 2.25" & 5.25" (predominately 2.25")
>wide by .75" thick with various lengths - red oak mostly but also white
>oak, maple & pine . If anybody has an opinion I'd be grateful, and opinions
>on models would be appreciated as well (space & price are big concerns I'm
>afraid).
>
>Tia
>
>Adam
smallish pieces are good for smallish projects. boxes come to mind. I
think I'd be shopping for a thickness sander or the parts to build
one.
On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 00:42:40 GMT, Adam
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I've got a steady supply of hardwood flooring that I'd like to be able to
>use for something besides, well... flooring. I'm trying to find out which
>tool would be more suitable for cutting the backs of the boards down flat.
A "suitcase" thickness planer. Look for model recommendations, because
there are big variations in quality. You might want a chip collector
too.
You're feeding it stock that's already pretty flat, so passing it
through twice will clean up both surfaces and get it to thickness. You
don't need a jointer or surface planer here - you can manage most
stock without, unless it's twisted.
Expect heavy knife wear - flooring is hard on them and contains lots
of trodden-in grit (and nails !). If you're doing a big batch, run it
through first on your "old" blades, then stop and put a new set of
blades on.
--
Smert' spamionam