Planer/Thicknesser

[Kevin Sjostrand]

This one is a 16/32 used to be made and sold by Ryobi. I have it and it works just fine. I got mine used in great condition for $150. I bought an on/off switch for it from these guys, and they now sell the same unit under the Accura name.

http://www.accuramachinetools.com/accur ... der-w.html

Not as cheap as the 10/20 that Grizzly sells, but bigger capacity.

Kevin

[btberlin]

I guess I missed replies on this topic when i made a reply, nearly 11 months ago. But, if still interested, there is a kit available from stockroomsupply.ca (canada, not .com). Here is a link to a u-tube video from another guy that built one from the stockroom supply drawings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvaxpX-CFJo

I built mine a few years ago using their basic drawing ideas. The parts I used were two steel pulleys as hubs, some 4-inch PVC pipe for the drum, pillow blocks , and a "hand selected" shaft from a bin at one of the big box stores. The pulleys and pillow blocks came from http://www.surpluscenter.com/Bearings/. The motor came from surpluscenter as well. I trued the pulleys in my lathe so they would run without any wobble, and trimmed the sheaves down so they would press into the pipe. I don't recall exactly how i trued the surface of the pipe, but, i suspect i did something simple, like run the drum and lay rasp across the slit in the platen and run it back and forth. I also made a sort of complicated jack screw arrangement to adjust the height of the drum with respect to the platen, but the U-tube video shows a simpler way of achieving the same thing. And, instead of shims for the platen height and leveling, i used some jack screws around the edges of the platen, screws with socket heads, and drilled small holes through the platen so i could reach the jack screws without lifting the platen. The system works very nicely for its intended purpose - I used it extensively a couple of years ago when i made a set of 10 maple kitchen chairs. I was able to finish sand the sides with the sander, and used the little drum hanging on the end of the shaft for fairing curves and sanding the curved edges. The roll sandpaper is held to the drum with Velcro, purchased from Home Depot. For thicknessing back and sides, the system works, but not as nicely as a right-side-up drum thickness sander. For one thing, the thin stock has to be supported by double-stick taping it to support boards, and then running the sandwich over the drum. If you don't support thin stock, because of the design of the sander, either the workpiece will back away from the drum, or you will get snipes. But, with care, and since I already had the tool, it has worked just fine to thickness cocobolo for the back of my next opus.

[Dave Sayers]

A sander thicknessing machine, at least in the UK, is very expensive, at least £1000, or $1,300.

With regard to your video bt berlin on a piece of wood that thick I think a thicknesser would be fine. Sander thicknessers, at least in the UK, are very expensive. If there is a problem with a thicknesser planing tonewood I suspect it might be because the wood is fed through the machine by rollers at a set speed.

I've successfully used a hand held electric planer to bring the wood close to the desired thickness. This is an electric hand planer which is reserved only for this purpose. The base has been checked for level and the blades are inspected before each use. The depth gauge is set practically at zero, which means it removes very little wood with each pass. Working in a pattern across the wood it is important not to press too hard and move the planer slowly. Once I have the wood close to the desired thickness I use an orbital sander for finishing, again using light pressure, and then hand sanding.

As with all things, I would suggest that you try this approach first on something less valuable, as I did.

[Zen]

In my own experience I couldn't wait to get a planer thicknesser--DE Walt- and when I did get it I hardly used it so then I couldnt wait to get a drum sanding machine--The jet 10-20. Its all about money !! Or not having it to spend.. Now the drum sander is a much used machine and saves me dozens of hours work. I had tried thicknessing a few tops with the De walt and it was ok on some woods but not on others and chewed up a top I was attempting to thickness so that put me off it . I wish now that I had a jointer--more money- as I am attempting an electric body at the moment . And, an orbital, sander would be nice ............

[Dave Sayers]

I'm not above mucking around with expensive machines so when the weather improves I might disassemble my planer thicknesser and remove the drive to the rollers. Then I can try feeding very thin wood through it very slowly indeed, while standing well off to one side. I have some 5mm sapele which will do. It's a job for 'as soon as the temperature gets above 10 degrees and a good bright day.'
I have a feeling that a very slow feed will at least enable the machine to bring the wood close to thickness.

[btberlin]

Dave - an interesting experiment, and one whose results i would like to hear. I suspect that the reason thin veneers shatter when going through a planer is that they vibrate up and down, towards and away from the blades, and the impact of a blade hitting a slightly lifted part of the veneer occurs at an unintended angle, and perhaps with more force. I have used a sled several times with the veneer taped to it, but that doesn't help at all - the tape is generally applied in several spots, leaving the veneer free to do what it does without the sled - move toward the blade from vibration.

Just a hypothesis. Like I said - i'd be interested in seeing your results.

bert

[JEmory]

I too have a Dewalt planer. To solve the thickness issue of not being able to plane less than 1/8 I cut a piece of hard maple 4 feet long by 12.5 by 3/4 inches and affixed it. I have ran about 30 boards through this and have not had an issue of tearout or snipe. I thinned the chocolate mango I am currently starting my next guitar with this and it worked perfectly. I make no more than a 1/32 pass. I do plan on buying a drum sander and just waiting on the Christmas specials, but this does work in the meantime. I am sure OSHA would not approve but they are the least of my worries.
Jason

[btberlin]

Interesting result. How did you attach the veneer to the sled? I assume double-sided tape. If so, how many pieces did you use, and where did you place them? I have tried the sled trick a few times with oak and other resawn veneers in thicknesses of about 1/8 inch, and the doggone stuff still shattered. So, your success makes me wonder how you did it exactly. Frankly, using a drum sander on coco is slow going, as the stuff is very hard. It's sort of like trying to sand aluminum. I'd rather use the DeWalt Planer, but my experiences have not been good to date.

bert

[Dave Sayers]

I still think the speed through the thicknesser needs to be reduce, bu the rollers free to hold the wood down. It's a job for after Christmas and a new left knee cap, I'm afraid.

[JEmory]

Bert I dont use the wood as a sled, I use it as an extension and riser of the planer itself. I use c-clamps and secure it to the planer and then feed the wood through as normal. I havent had an issue at all. I have thought about putting a piece of formica on the maple but I think it might feed too fast and cause some issues.