Anybody seen the Lucas Planing disc in action?

[urbanlumberinc]

Sam from Bailey's sent me a flyer on the new Lucas planing disc.  Looks like a beefed up sawblade you run horizontal.  I was wondering if any of you guys from down undah  has run one or seen one in action?

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Hey, Urban.

Haven't used one, but I have run a six tooth blade with strobes on my 10" Peterson.
The strobe blades are brazed into the expansion slots of the blade.  The planing action is
limited by the location of those cutters, but they do work - as long as they are sharp.

The planer blades are too pricey for me.   I think I would just have a shop make one.
Peterson's price is up there!  Can your saw shop sharpen one of those babies?

Phil L.

[LOGDOG]

How much do they want for it?

LOGDOG

[urbanlumberinc]

$800 or somewhere there about. 

[solodan]

What is the finish like, and how does it compare to the wood wiz attachment.

[urbanlumberinc]

The lowdown I got from Sam is that it'll leave a finish basically similar to the one left by the normal sawblade when taking small (less than 2") horizontal cuts.  The main drawback is the need to readjust the horizontal plane of the blade to run perfectly flat, whereas the sawblade should have a slight tilt. 

[LOGDOG]

I'd save your money. Can't see spending $800.00 to end up with a similar finishlike my saw gave me to begin with for free. As far as the tilt thing on the saw, if your just kissing the face anyway, level your saw out and go slow. You'll see a little drop in your rpm's when the back of the blade is working to but you'll be fine.

Seems to me someone (maybe Lucas) makes a jig for a router to sit in that mounts on the carriage? It could be used for leveling/smoothing large slabs. Maybe give that a look.

What is it you're looking to plane?

LOGDOG

[JimBuis]

If you are wanting to do this on an occasional basis, the router approach would work.  I did that a couple of times when I needed to make a couple of dowels four inches in diameter and three feet long.  I turned them on the lathe, but needed to get them true enough to use as the basis for building a thickness sander.  The router did the trick for me.  It did not take long to setup and enabled me to true them up enough you'd think I was a master turner.

Jim

[Ianab]

This is my contraption for surfacing slabs. Big Makita router bolted in a plywood box that sits in the mill frame. It works fine, but I imagine the planer blades on the mill would be a lot faster. Finish with the router is pretty good, still needs a bit of sanding to take out the swirlies from the router bit, but at least it's nice and flat.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=11464.0



Cheers

Ian

[jack]

OK...
Call me goofy, but im going to take a LUCAS blade, and have the blade restorer folks grind the edge of it and make it sharp,  then i will try it as a surfacing blade.
I will post later when its accomplished.

Jack

[Lucas_Mill_Pty_Ltd]

The Lucas Mill Planning disc was developed in conjunction with Les Owen, the owner and inventor of the Wood Wizz. It is not a modified saw blade.

The 8 inch model uses 10 speed steel replaceable cutters, as used on the wood wizz, where as the 6 inch uses 8. These cutters are 4 sided to allow turning for extended use. They are help in by allen key head dome head screws.

You bolt Planing Disc on in the same way you would the circular blade. The sawguard must be in place to allow the engine to start.

Fine-tune the disc on your mill by turning the adjustment bolt no more than a full turn.

The planing disc can cut a depth of 4mm and a width of 50-60mm for each pass.

The finish achieved with the Lucas Mill Planing Disc will not require much more than a light sanding for staining, oiling etc.

This product was released only in August, with great results already achieved by many customers. This has created more versatility for the owner/operator for value adding to their timber.

The planing disc backed with a 2 year warranty.

If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact Peter/Matt and Lucas Mill.

[Fletch]

I`ve been planing and thicknessing aust hardwood slabs up to 10 ft x 5 ft for 13 years now with an ordinary Ecosaw blade. As long as you keep the blade sharp and take your time you can produce a very sandable finish. Ecosaw and D&L Doublecut also offer a sanding head that fits on the mill to pollish the slabs with. It takes about a six hours to take a rough sawn 8ft x 4 ft seasoned  hardwood slab to ready for the finish.

[Ironwood]

Any more info on the planing disc? I couldn't find iti listed anywhere.


                           Reid

[Squirrell_Boy]

Good Day Urbanlumberinc,

I recently purchased a Lucas 830 and got the planing disc with the accessories i ordered as i like to cut wide slabs, crotches, and other unusual stuff. It is great IMO.

The disc is quite heavy and the blades are easy to put on and razor sharp. Do not handle the disc with the blades on without a good pair of gloves. Don't ask me how i know. It is easy to take the disc on and off and the adjustment is minimal. Just mark the spot where you like it  and return to the normal postion for the circular afterwards.

I have used it to plane the freshly cut surface of a log before slabbing the next piece and also pieces that are already dry. Make sure you secure whatever you are planing very well. I choose to run water like for the circular while planing. Carefully measure, level or use whatever procedure you choose to minimize waste. It will hog a deep cut if you aren't careful. Take shallow cuts at first to determine high and low spots or with the machine not running take measurements over the slab by moving the disc over the slab at various spots before proceding. The measuring does actually save time. After that lather, rinse and repeat until you be happy.

I only cut about two and half inches across with each pass. Do not accidently try to swing the planing disc to vertical and come back at the end of a pass. Don't ask me how i know.

800$? Depends what you like to do and what you are after. YMMV. I haven't seen too many planers that will do 40 + inches, let alone be portable. I imagine a monster planer like that would be as big as a good sized garage and use enough electricity to light a small city.

I have planed 20 + pieces so far. I plan to plane many more.

So many large diameter logs, so little time...

[Ironwood]

Any pictures? Reid

[Squirrell_Boy]

Good Day Reid,

Yes i do have some pictures of it in use, but not actual close ups of the disc itself. I will take some. Right now i am on my brother's computer at his shop and the pictures are on my home computer. I will post them when i get home later.

[Squirrell_Boy]

Sorry, I am having trouble posting pictures in spite of following the directions. I will try again later. I took pictures of the planing disc itself last night. I will try to post them soon.

[Ironwood]

If your "down under" you just need to follow the instructions BACKWARD!  ;D


            Reid

[Squirrell_Boy]

Holy smokes Ironwood,

I think i finally was able to post a picture of the planing disc.

I may not be from down under, but i am a bit backwards and out there as they say.
Actually i am just about a mile from the Mississippi Bridge as Chuck Berry would say. I guess you are supposed to follow the instructions all the way through. Hmmm...I was trying to blame the computer.

[beenthere]

Good job on figurin out the photo posting.

Good pic too.   Thanks

Which bridge?   

[Squirrell_Boy]

The somewhat infamous I-74 bridge between Moline, IL and Bettendorf, IA.

That's funny i could have sworn it was my sole purpose in life to serve as a warning to others! !