Looking for someone with wide planer in north central FL

Ocklawahaboy · April 15, 2013, 09:32:25 AM

I have an elderly friend that has some 22" wide old growth cypress boards she's been wanting planed for years. They have sentimental value to her. Problem is that the widest planer for hire we know of around here is 18". I'd love it if someone within an hour or two drive of Ocala FL that could plane these for her.
Any ideas?

PC-Urban-Sawyer · April 15, 2013, 10:38:47 AM

Idea 1: Call around to cabinet shops and see if anybody had a wide sander setup wide enough to handle the job.

Idea 2: Make a router sled jig and use a router to "smooth" it out, then follow up with random orbit sander, start coarse (80 grit or coarser...) and work your way up to 150 - 220 depending on final finish requirements.

Good Luck!

Be Careful!

Herb

beenthere · April 15, 2013, 11:26:43 AM

Nice boards. What is the lady planning to use the planed cypress for?

Ocklawahaboy · April 15, 2013, 01:29:45 PM

Quote from: beenthere on April 15, 2013, 11:26:43 AM
Nice boards. What is the lady planning to use the planed cypress for?

She props them up around the house and looks at them. Occasionally they become a room divider or something. As near as I can remember her family owned a spot on the ocklawaha called "log landing". Its on few maps. They had a large cypress there and had it milled right before the land was condemned as part of the cross fl barge canal project. It was their boat launch, hunting and fishing spot and those boards are her connection to it. The location is now part of the canal.

Fla._Deadheader · April 15, 2013, 04:59:23 PM

I worked in a furniture factory for a few weeks, one time, and they had 24" & 30" wide belt sanders. The guy at Tom's Cypress up your way, has or had a long belt sander, that you used your hand inside an asbestos type mitten, to sand table cookies with. Most furniture factories would have these too, I would think.

That infamous canal to nowhere. What a joke, just like Rodman Reservoir.

ellmoe · April 15, 2013, 09:57:54 PM

I may be purchasing a wide planer in a month or two. I've got to digest a couple of other purchases first. I'll let you know when I do it.
Mark

Ocklawahaboy · April 16, 2013, 09:35:08 AM

Quote from: ellmoe on April 15, 2013, 09:57:54 PM
I may be purchasing a wide planer in a month or two. I've got to digest a couple of other purchases first. I'll let you know when I do it.
Mark

You're right down the road. Thanks for the heads up.

dchiapin · April 17, 2013, 11:32:16 AM

I'm just up the road in Melrose.
I have a 20" Powermatic planer, so just a little too narrow for her needs.
My wife used to live in Orange Springs and her best friends owned the ferry there, the Orange Springs ferry is gone because of the reservoir.

Charlie Mac · April 18, 2013, 04:40:04 AM

OK, here's my first post. introduction to follow.
I can't help but feel there's got to be someone around with a few hand planes that knows how to use them. Quicker, quieter, and a glasslike surface. Barring nasty grain changes,making the two faces parallel, thicknessing down, or getting rid of wind might be a little more involved. Just to flatten, smooth, and polish should be a piece of cake. This would be my first choice.

-Regards, Charlie

Ianab · April 18, 2013, 05:12:59 AM

Welcome to the forum Charlie.

I agree that a hand plane and a bit of skill will get the job done very nicely. Having neither a hand plane, or the skill to drive one, I use a router on those big slabs. You can build a dedicated router bridge, but I use my mill frame and rails, with the router bolted to a cradle on the carriage.

Details here.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,11464.0.html

It's something you can fabricate with a couple of straight boars and some plywood. One job like that would pay for the cost of it.

Peterson and Lucas also sell a Planer Blade that bolts in place of the saw blade and gives you a ~20 hp rotary planer. But you needs a mill and they aren't cheap. I don't do enough to justify one, but my router jig works well enough. The finish isn't as good a a hand plane would leave, but it's ready for some sanding. It also works with crazy grain, end grain, burls etc.

Ian

Ocklawahaboy · April 18, 2013, 05:22:44 PM

I've never thought of using a router for that purpose. Its probably more than I want to get into too. I'm happy to load her boards onto the trailer and drive them somewhere for half a day but what would amount to me expiramenting on them probably isn't going to go over well. Thanks for the insight into tool use though. Maybe Red Green was right, "any tool can be the right tool"

Ianab · April 18, 2013, 06:24:19 PM

Fair enough about not using those sentimental pieces as guinea pigs ;)

A quick look on Youtube bought up this commercial version from Australia, the Woodwizz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuQglnq2gHQ

And then up pops member Weisyboy using a planer blade on a Lucas mill to achieve the same thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itgnta-Qurc

But a home made router bridge need not be as fancy as those.

My motto is there is usually more than one way to get a woodworking job done, which is along the same lines as "any tool can be the right tool" :D

So a huge planer, a wide belt sander, a hand plane or a router can all get the job done. Which one is the "right" one more depends on which one you actually have at the time ;)

Ian

pigman · April 18, 2013, 10:36:05 PM

I think Ian has pork on his mind. First he is talking about straight boars and then he mentions guinea pigs.

Smokydave · June 01, 2013, 03:45:25 PM

Quote from: Ocklawahaboy on April 15, 2013, 09:32:25 AM
I have an elderly friend that has some 22" wide old growth cypress boards she's been wanting planed for years. They have sentimental value to her. Problem is that the widest planer for hire we know of around here is 18". I'd love it if someone within an hour or two drive of Ocala FL that could plane these for her.
Any ideas?

Wish you were in NC I would be happy to plane boards for her I have a 24 inch Woodmaster