I can not find a good newsgroup about woodworking that is in Norwegian, so I
will try this one. Hopefully you will forgive me for my errors in spelling
and grammar.
A time ago I was lucky enough to discover an old barn some miles from home
where there was stored a lot of rough cut birch and oak. The sawmill had not
been in use for 25 years, the owner told us, so the wood had been drying for
25 years, at least. I gave a bid for the hole of the lumber and the owner
accepted.
I bought my self a planner and have recently started planning the boards.
The oak comes out with a beautiful smooth surface, but I get a tear outs
when planning the birch. It seems like when the fibres go in different
directions.
Are there any tricks or methods to avoid these tear outs? It would be a
shame if my only use of it would be as firewood.. :-(
Thanks in advance
Hallgeir Aronsen
Norway
As you get close to the thickness you desire, take the smallest amount you
are able to take. Feed at a slight angle rather than straight ahead.
As Mark said, spray with isopropyl alcohol (better) or water if the above
does not work.
Use a plane or scraper to clean up a board left slightly over thickness.
"Hallgeir Aronsen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> I bought my self a planner and have recently started planning the boards.
> The oak comes out with a beautiful smooth surface, but I get a tear outs
> when planning the birch. It seems like when the fibres go in different
> directions.
>
>
>
> Are there any tricks or methods to avoid these tear outs? It would be a
> shame if my only use of it would be as firewood.. :-(
>
"Hallgeir Aronsen" <[email protected]> wrote:
> I bought my self a planner and have recently started planning the boards.
> The oak comes out with a beautiful smooth surface, but I get a tear outs
> when planning the birch. It seems like when the fibres go in different
> directions.
>
> Are there any tricks or methods to avoid these tear outs? It would be a
> shame if my only use of it would be as firewood.. :-(
Hi Hallgeir,
Sounds like you got some great figured birch. That's beautiful wood!
There are a couple of things you can try. Other posters have also
mentioned most of these, but I'll repeat anyway:
- Make sure your planer blades are as sharp as possible.
- Try wetting the wood (with a damp cloth) just prior to feeding.
- Take very shallow cuts near the end.
- Try reversing the board and/or feeding it at a slight angle. This
may help a little but it will still be problematic if the figure is
very wild.
- A cabinet scraper (like a Stanley 80 or 112) are good for smoothing,
prior to card scraping or sanding.
Cheers,
Nate
p.s. A thickness sander is great for this, but many (most?) people
don't have one.
Greetings Hallgeir,
Sometimes it helps to slightly dampen the wood if tear out is a
problem. And don't worry about your spelling/grammar, it's better than
most of the people I talk to here in the States ;-)
Mark L.
Hallgeir Aronsen wrote:
> I can not find a good newsgroup about woodworking that is in Norwegian, so I
> will try this one. Hopefully you will forgive me for my errors in spelling
> and grammar.
>
>
>
> A time ago I was lucky enough to discover an old barn some miles from home
> where there was stored a lot of rough cut birch and oak. The sawmill had not
> been in use for 25 years, the owner told us, so the wood had been drying for
> 25 years, at least. I gave a bid for the hole of the lumber and the owner
> accepted.
>
>
>
> I bought my self a planner and have recently started planning the boards.
> The oak comes out with a beautiful smooth surface, but I get a tear outs
> when planning the birch. It seems like when the fibres go in different
> directions.
>
>
>
> Are there any tricks or methods to avoid these tear outs? It would be a
> shame if my only use of it would be as firewood.. :-(
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance
>
>
>
> Hallgeir Aronsen
>
> Norway
>
>
>
>
>
>
"Hallgeir Aronsen" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
<snip>
> A time ago I was lucky enough to discover an old barn some miles from
> home where there was stored a lot of rough cut birch and oak. The
> sawmill had not been in use for 25 years, the owner told us, so the
> wood had been drying for 25 years, at least. I gave a bid for the whole
> of the lumber and the owner accepted.
>
> I bought my self a planer and have recently started planing the
> boards. The oak comes out with a beautiful smooth surface, but I get a
> tear outs when planning the birch. It seems like when the fibres go in
> different directions.
> Are there any tricks or methods to avoid these tear outs? It would be
> a shame if my only use of it would be as firewood.. :-(
>
You are a fortunate woodworker, to find old, well-dried material.
Others have offered excellent advice. I have only to add that sharper
blades, and smaller amounts removed with each pass through the machine will
often give you with smoother boards.
I do not expect that the planer will give a final surface. Something else,
often more than one thing, will need to be done.
Have fun with your projects. And your English is much better than my
Norwegian...
Patriarch
"Hallgeir Aronsen" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Thank you all for the advices. I will test them out this weekend. In
> the future I will try too remember the difference between the hole
> and the whole. I think it will be much better deals for me if I can
> buy the whole of it, instead of the hole of it ;-)
>
We expect a report....
On 20 Sep 2004 22:26:41 +0200, "Hallgeir Aronsen"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I can not find a good newsgroup about woodworking that is in Norwegian, so I
>will try this one. Hopefully you will forgive me for my errors in spelling
>and grammar.
none so far.....
>
>
>
>A time ago I was lucky enough to discover an old barn some miles from home
>where there was stored a lot of rough cut birch and oak. The sawmill had not
>been in use for 25 years, the owner told us, so the wood had been drying for
>25 years, at least. I gave a bid for the hole of the lumber and the owner
>accepted.
the hole? wouldn't you rather have the wood?
<G>
>
>
>
>I bought my self a planner and have recently started planning the boards.
>The oak comes out with a beautiful smooth surface, but I get a tear outs
>when planning the birch. It seems like when the fibres go in different
>directions.
>
>
>
>Are there any tricks or methods to avoid these tear outs? It would be a
>shame if my only use of it would be as firewood.. :-(
you may get better results finishing up with a thickness sander.
>
>
>
>Thanks in advance
>
>
>
>Hallgeir Aronsen
>
>Norway
>
>
>
>
>
Hallgeir...
Your English is good (stop worrying). Two small details: planning
is the process of deciding what to do in the future. Planing is
the process of removing thin layers of wood.
A hole is what you make when you dig with a shovel or what you
have when a knot falls out of a board. A whole board has no knot
holes. (-:
Sometimes when you experience tear-out it helps to turn the board
around and start planing from the other end.
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto, Iowa USA