Thread: Dressing rough timber

Can you be more specific on why you weren't happy with it using the planer and thicknesser. What was wrong with the timber.

They should do the job so maybe it's the way you are doing it?

Originally Posted by Gumby

Can you be more specific on why you weren't happy with it using the planer and thicknesser. What was wrong with the timber.

They should do the job so maybe it's the way you are doing it?

I suspect it may have a fair bit to do with my technique but just wanted to be sure I wasn't expecting too much.

The timber wasn't too bad. about three quarters of the way from the end it bowed upwards a bit. I struggled with that.

Using the planer I found I wasn't getting the board perfectly flat. Maybe I wasn't putting it through enough times?

The blade did need a bit of work as it left marks that I had to clean up with a hand plane. So I know that is the machine and it can be fixed.

Apart from these things I just didn't think the overall finish was as clean and attractive as it was after I gave it a tidy up with the hand plane. There was some tearout after the maching but I fixed that with the hand plane.

Sounds like it's a combination of the machine and your technique, as you said.

It should get any bowing out of the timber, regardless of the blade quality. That's a technique issue. You have to get one side flat on the planer (jointer) and then run it through the thicknesser, flat side down.

Maybe get a copy of the jointer/thicknesser basics video we have in the video section. it might explain things more easily.

Basically, the timber should finish up smooth, no ridges and perfectly square, ready for final sanding.

If you don't mind going for a short drive outta town, I am happy to dress them for you and give you a run down on the how and don't of planing & thicknessing.

Generally you should only need to go over the dressed timber with a scraper or sander to finish it off.

I know my jointer does a terrable job when blunt.

I'll give the video a go thanks Gumby.

DJ, that is a generous offer, and I won't let that pass. I'll shoot you a pm and we can tee up a time.

[quote=Gumby;525175]
Maybe get a copy of the jointer/thicknesser basics video we have in the video section. it might explain things more easily.
quote]

Had a look at the video, very helpful.

doesnt seem like a techneque problem seems like an issue with how rear table on back end is set up make sure its not angling down at the back and that the bledes are at the right height they need to be the same hight at there heighest point as the rear table not higher not lower but if the tables arnt paralelle and flat it will machine it with a bow and being that they were club machines id say machine maintenence wouldnt be at the top of the to do list...

[quote=Arch Stanton;525994]

Originally Posted by Gumby

Maybe get a copy of the jointer/thicknesser basics video we have in the video section. it might explain things more easily.
quote]

Had a look at the video, very helpful.

There's another one you should get. It was made by Zed and he shows how to set blades correctly using cheap bar magnets. It also explains how the table heights need to be set to get the jointer working as it should.

What sort of timber? If it's a very hard timber, or the knives are dull ,you can get some "blade bounce" as it's going thru the thichnesser. If the marks are across the timber then that's your problem. It could also be the speed that the timber is feeding in. If the marks are along the length of the timber then you either have chips in the knives or a build up of shavings that your dust extractor is not removing. As already posted - you need to plane one side first on the top bed of your combo unit to get it straight and then flip the bed over and run the other side thru the thicknesser.
If the timber is badly bowed at one end then it's better to dock that off before planing rather than try and machine it out because if it curves say 20mm then you have to machine 20mm off the entire length just to get the end bow out.
Planing long lengths can also be a problem because the piece gets heavy and difficult to hold down on the bed when you are getting near the end. It's better to dock the timber down to a manageable size to avoid this ploblem.