What should I use?

[epiphoneprs]

Ok woodworking brainiacs. I need some help.
   I have been sawing and finishing mantels for several clients lately.  All of my surfacing is done by hand with a palm sander (I guess it's an orbital sander?). I would like to know what I could use to 1.speed up my work and 2. make it easier.
   I'm new to this but I figure there's got to be a better way of doing things.
   Standard measurements on my mantels are 4" thick by 10-12" wide by 6' long.

  Thanks for your input.

[low_48]

I always start sanding something from the thickness planer with 120 grit on a 3x21 belt sander. That takes off all the mill marks, and any minor chipout. Then it's 150, 180, and 220 on a random orbit sander. If you don't have enough air capacity to run a Dynabrade air random orbit, I love the Bosch 3727 with a 6" pad. This thing works so quickly and with fast pad speed. On red oak, you may end with 180 grit on the Bosch.

[tyb525]

You can get a handheld power planer fairly cheap, carefully make a few light passes to get the roughness off, then sand to remove any lines left from the planer.

[Ianab]

How flat are the pieces? Or more to the point, how flat and true to you need them?

This is what I use for oversize pieces. It's a big Makita router mounted on the sawmill frame. So to runs on rails, and has height and side to side movement.

Then you just run up and down the workpiece. Everything over height gets shaved off by the router, give it a light sand and it's good to go, and perfectly flat.

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



You can build a simpler version with wood rails and a plywood bridge between them.

Ian

[Holmes]

Maybe you could try scraping instead of sanding. A good scraper can get you a beautiful surface to finish,and it can also smooth out your finish.

[epiphoneprs]

Is there a planer that I can use that can handle the dimensions I am working with. If so, how much for a good used one? Thanks.

[metalspinner]

Ohhh, All of your surfacing is done by hand.

With the weight of the pieces, the benchtop units would probably leave you disappointed.  You would also be right at their maximum capacity which would mean your depth of cut needs to be rather shallow. Not to mention the extra passes through the planer and more trips around the machine with your heavy piece of wood.

A stationary unit in the 15" range would be the smallest I would recommend.  You can go the extra mile on those and get a spiral head.  If you search just a bit on the forum, you would discover that anyone who has moved to the spiral head couldn't imagine being without it.

For the best finish, you will need adequate dust collection, too.  It's kind of a slippery slope, eh? :D

If your patient, Craigslist can turn one up every now and then.  Around here it's usually a hobbiest that has moved onto something else.

I've seen a few pop up on the Forum's For Sale list, too.

[tyb525]

Those will get real heavy real fast, if you try to run them through a planer. I tried doing that with oak 3x8's, didn't even finish one, I had to get a handheld. If you do go that route, you will need to set up a roller table system to roll them around instead of trying to carry them.

[Texas Ranger]

I paid $300 for a 15 inch Delta, and added $50 or so in bringing it up to snuff.  No spiral head, yet, cost beyond my use.

[epiphoneprs]

Thanks Guys.
Ianab, your setup is awesome and very impressive. I don't know if I can wrap my brain around it though.
metalspinner, I probably should have said MOST. ;D Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like I'll be spending alot of money.
Holmes, Could you point me to a thread that shows a scraper in action. I'd like to see one.
low_48, thanks for the good info.
Texas Ranger, I'd like to find a deal like that.
tyb525,That handheld planer sounds like something I could do for now. But, I think if things get busy I will need to get a good stationary planer with some roller tables.

I'm not on here extremely frequently so if you guys see something come up or if you know of someone that is trying to get rid of a good planer please let me know. Again, thanks for the input. You guys are great.

[Lud]

Mantles should have some character.  Not just be dimensional lumber.  Nor should they be too rough.  The hand held planer can be had cheaply at a Harbour Freight and will knock off the mill marks quickly. I use a PorterCable  sander with 60 or 80 grits. You could round over some corners at this point with a router.  Jump to 120 and 150 before switching to a smaller, ex., DeWalt , handheld sander for 220 and 320.  That will usually be good enough. Back down to 220 for some hand sanding with the grain ,  a bit of 320 and then 400 to finish.  This would be a sensible sequence and goes pretty fast.

I've just done a mantle and added a bead to the front edge to visually enhance the piece.   It really draws the eye.





Be sure to sign your work in an inconspicuous spot.

[Magicman]

That's a nice touch on that mantel.  Is that Poplar?