Thread: Thicknessing accross the grain - jarrah

Do a practice piece first. If you do it in very small cuts/increments it may work.

If you know anyone with drum sander, that would be the way to go. They're not meant to be used as a thicknesser, but if you take it easy....

Or, thickness it before you cut it into short lengths, then be very careful with your glue-up. You may need to city up with a card scraper.

BUT - a shelf with the grain oriented that way isn't going to be very strong compared to one with the grain oriented longitudinally.

A thicknesser with a helix head will handle it no problem. Normal straight knives will kinda get by if they're freshly sharpened, but you'll get blow-out at the end. It will also make a whole heap of noise. Make sure you thickness both faces equally to help prevent warping.

The bigger problem, as mentioned above, is that wood has relatively little strength across the grain; especially if you're using thin stock like decking. It might end up collapsing under the weight of whatever you put on it, possibly even its own weight will be enough.

If you really want the end-grain look, try screwing a strip of L-shaped steel or aluminium across the back edge to give it some extra strength. A second strip close to the front is a good idea if you can.

Thanks very much for the sound advice. I was planning on ripping the boards in half and making the finished shelves about 30 mm thick. You may be right regarding the strength - I'll give it a bit more thought. At this stage I'm thinking I might run the boards in the usual direction - not exactly the look I'm after but will be a whole lot more practical.

I think the "quick glue up" jointing is going to be an issue followed by bowing and then breaking.

My other concern was expansion across the grain as the shelf will fit into recesses, one above a fridge and the other above a window for a study nook. I was going to mount it onto an aluminium angle and leave some room for expansion but would rather a tight fit.

Thanks very much for the replies - I'll orient the boards the other way.

Cheers