portable planers

[turningfool]

i have some quilted maple slabs that i would like to smooth out somewhat.and am wondering if anyone else here has encountered any problems planing figured wood such as this,and to ask the experienced power tool people here about the pros and cons of portable planers..as in ,do

they have variable feed rates for starters

[Burlkraft]

I would use a drum sander on those baby's  ;)  ;)

[Ed]

I've got an older DeWalt, IIRC model dw732. It's single speed & 2 knife cutterhead. Not a bad machine for light/medium planing tasks, but it has it's downfalls.
The feedrate is way to fast for some wood types, ash & cherry seem to chip-out the worst for me. Cut depths on hardwood need to be kept light.
If I bought another one it would be a 3 knife head & 2 speed for sure.
FYI, Byrd now makes a spiral cutterhead for the larger DeWalt 735.

Ed

[turningfool]

checked out drum sanders,and they are a little beyond my means at present..great little machines tho..

[Burlkraft]

Do you have a Woodcraft store near you  ???

The store we have here has a shop and give classes. They have a Performax 22-44 that you can rent time if you need.

The other thing is to check in on your local high school shop class....If they still have them  : :

They sometimes have equipment like that.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, I wouldn't try planing that. It's better to sand it. I think there would be a lot of tear out with a planer. Your not going to get it smooth that's for sure.

[thedeeredude]

Steel city tools just came out with a 13" portable planer with helical cutterhead.  You can see a picture at woodcraft's website.

[tyb525]

I'd go with a drum sander. It looks like those are <12".

As always, I'll mention a Grizzly machine, their "Baby" 12" Drum sander. http://grizzly.com/products/12-Baby-Drum-Sander/G0459
Note they have free shipping right now.

Shop Fox has a 12" drum sander also, http://www.mytoolplace.com/Shop-Fox-12-Drum-Sander---W1740-P606C52.aspx?AFID=01, althought it is $100 more, and is looks to be a copy of the Grizzly, like most Shop Fox machines seem to be.

Jet 10-20 Mini Benchtop Drum Sander http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00020BNAO/?tag=arizonaspecialty/?tag=arizonaspecialty (although this one is quite a bit more expensive)

Here's some tutorials on building your own:
http://www.mimf.com/archives/thickness_sander2.htm
http://dougberch.com/2007/09/20/a-simple-shop-made-thickness-sander/

[Left Coast Chris]

I bought a used older Performax 16-32 for $200.  If you do use a drum sander be sure the infeed roller stand is set at the exact height of the bed of the sander.

[pasbuild]

Any small time cabinet shops in the neighborhood? If ya leave them with them I'm sure they could through them in the rotation.

[turningfool]

theres a woodcraft store nearby..i'll check them out..thanks for the input guys

[fbelknap]

That sure is purty.  I have a DW 735 and I doubt if I would risk running that through it, it has two speeds and three knives but I can't tell much difference between the fast and slow speed.  It will get some tear out in cherry if the grain is crazy.
Fred

[howellhandmade]

I have the Delta 13" 2-speed planer.  It's not bad in figured woods, given slow feed, light cut, and correct grain direction.  Even if the grain seems to go every direction, there's usually one way that's better than the other.  The worst is maple with really tight little birdseyes, which tend to pop out.  I'd be more inclined to use a planer for dimensioning than a sander, and for finish I'd rather scrape curly maple than sand for smoothness and clarity.  Hard to look at those slabs without seeing guitar bodies.

[turningfool]

checked out the 12" grizzly sander..its tempting..and as long as i am here i will ask an unrelated question pertaining to these quilted billets...what suggestions does anyone have any suggestion on how to bring the figure out more such as a wetting agent of sorts?

[howellhandmade]

checked out the 12" grizzly sander..its tempting..and as long as i am here i will ask an unrelated question pertaining to these quilted billets...what suggestions does anyone have any suggestion on how to bring the figure out more such as a wetting agent of sorts?

For finishing?  The more penetration you get, the more pronounced the light bending and the more the grain will pop.  So, a first coat of oil of some kind -- everybody has their favorites.  I use Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil for lots of stuff.  It dries slowly enough to give great penetration but dries hard enough and fast enough that you can sand and put other finishes over it.

Light color can also make the grain more pronounced by increasing contrast.  Too dark or too much obscures it, but a light touch can do wonders.  I prefer aniline dye for this sort of thing, particles are very small.  "Stain" has ground-up pigment with comparatively large particles, doesn't penetrate as well. 

Jack

[Long Look]

I routinely plane stuff like that by wetting the board down with a lot of water before planing, running the slowest possible rate of feed, making sure I have very sharp blades in the planer, taking a very small bite, and feeding the board at an angle to the head wherever possible.  All of these will reduce the amount of chip out dramatically but no guarantees it will avoid all of it.  As others have said, a power sander works well and you can probably get time at a cabinet shop cheap these days given the economy.

[turningfool]

thank you for the finishes suggestions,but am going to throw a few of these (i have 24 billets)on ebay and want something to make the wavy grain stand out to prespective buyers(for pictures) versus a permanent finish..ended up buying a DeWalt orbital to do the sanding,seems to work well..only wish the grits came in finer than 220

[Dodgy Loner]

You should definitely be able to get sandpaper for your orbital sander (is it a random orbit sander?) that's coarser than 220.  I never use anything finer than 180 grit on mine.  60 or 80 grit is usually the coarsest you can buy, depending on the supplier.

Most ebay sellers use mineral spirits or water to make the grain "pop".  I found that the mineral spirits evaporates almost too quickly to get a picture.

[Ed]

Here.....http://www.woodworkingshop.com/cgi-bin/93E1AF50/mac/subgrp.mac/subGroupSelection?lenGrpDsc=5DISCSABRASIVE%20DISCS-%20ALL%20SIZES  ;)

Ed

[turningfool]

i do have coarser grits,but wish they went finer to say 360.will try the mineral oil method first as i dont want the re-introduce water into them as they are at 12% now

[Dodgy Loner]

Oops, I misread your post.  I thought you were looking for coarser grits.  What's your reasoning for wanting to use a random-orbit sander with grit that fine?  Most woodworkers stop with the powered sander at 150 grit and hand-sand with 180 or 220 grit for the final polish.  Since you're sanding with the grain, the sanding lines are not visible.  It's very different from sanding a turning, which does not allow you to sand with the grain.  I think you'll want to use mineral spirits rather than mineral oil, since the mineral oil will not dry.

[turningfool]

mis read your post too apparently..mineral spirits it is..ty..and will try hand sanding after 150 grit..ty for the tips..and you're right..being a woodturner sanding is simple compared to a stationary object(whereas i am the staionary object while turning :D.).will post more pics after i try hand sanding and mineral spirits

[howellhandmade]

i do have coarser grits,but wish they went finer to say 360.will try the mineral oil method first as i dont want the re-introduce water into them as they are at 12% now

Sorry, misunderstood your purpose in making the grain more visible.  If you just wipe them down with a wet rag and snap a shot, the water will evaporate before it has a chance to mess up your 12%.  It took a long time for the water to get out of the middle.  If you wipe them down with mineral oil, sure the grain sure will pop but the oil will stay there, and maybe the guy who buys it doesn't *want* mineral oil.  Might not be a big deal, but this looks like pricey wood.  You can sand them as fine as you want and the grain won't pop.  In fact, the dust from sanding will clog the wood's grain and reduce the light transmission.

Jack

[SwampDonkey]

They'll have to be buffed to bring out the grain. I knew an old timer that built all kinds of stuff from curly maple and birch and birds eye. He polished it like glass. I can't tell you the process. One visit I saw rough lumber, the next visit I see a blanket chest.  ;D Gave everything away. :

[turningfool]

now that we are totally off the opening subject of portable planers...lol..here we go..these are a few of the maple billets after sanding,and adding hi-lites to the figure