Thread: Handheld power planer HELP!!!

May I ask some hints regarding wood panel assembly:

Originally Posted by Ratbag

A few hints. But firstly' I'm assuming you're laying the boards for the blocks alongside each other, and not making and "end grain" block.

(a) ensure your material is of similar dimension.

(b) lay up and dry assemble your block/s before gluing, ensuring everything "fits" before gluing. Don't be tempted to overcome a poor fit with excessive clamp pressure.

(c) do it on the flattest surface possible: workbench, floor or kitchen table, protected with cut up s'market bags or newspaper.

(d) glue systematically, evenly and sparingly. You can use an old/cheap paintbrush to spread your glue evenly, otherwise your finger. Too much glue will "lubricate" the opposing surfaces, encouraging slippage, which makes even surfaces almost impossible.

(e) use good quality cramps. Best is sash cramps on the bottom at least, but cramps on top help evenness. Too much cramping pressure will either distort your glueup or create slippage. Additional top cramps eliminated bowing.

(f) weight on top to help reduce bowing and slippage, and help keep things flat.

(g) for multi-piece glueups, a flat baseboard (protected with plastic) slightly smaller than the overall dimension of the finished block for the individual pieces to lay on (i.e. on top of the sash cramps) will help.

• a. Would it matter if I have different thickness (2-5mm), while trying to keep the topside flat ?
• b. "Don't be tempted to overcome a poor fit with excessive clamp pressure." -- For 6 slabs (4x6x160 cm).... how bad is the poor fit tolerance? Would 2mm gaps be considered poor fit ?
• c, Some people said gaps at the end should be avoided. In my case, I can manage to close the end gaps with a minimum clamping pressure, would it fail?
• d. What's the max "gap filling" tolerance when using epoxy glue for table top?

PS: I'm using epoxy glue for this assembly.

Hi All.
Not that I have done this, but I have heard of Rounding the corners of the 2 blades.
Therefore it doesn't leave a bad as described marks.
Regards.
issatree.
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

Originally Posted by hcim

May I ask some hints regarding wood panel assembly:

• a. Would it matter if I have different thickness (2-5mm), while trying to keep the topside flat ?
• b. "Don't be tempted to overcome a poor fit with excessive clamp pressure." -- For 6 slabs (4x6x160 cm).... how bad is the poor fit tolerance? Would 2mm gaps be considered poor fit ?
• c, Some people said gaps at the end should be avoided. In my case, I can manage to close the end gaps with a minimum clamping pressure, would it fail?
• d. What's the max "gap filling" tolerance when using epoxy glue for table top?

PS: I'm using epoxy glue for this assembly.

HCIM, in reply to your questions:
(a) Yes, it does matter. Not only should your pieces be the EXACT same thickness, but they should be correctly planed straight, tried and true (i.e. all 4 faces straight and parallel/at 90 degrees to opposing faces.

(b) there should be NO Gaps in dry assembly/glueup between boards.

(c) with good quality glues, the timber should fail before the glue does.

(d) I might respectfully suggest that Epoxy is overkill. I've had more than reasonable results with panel glueups using standard white glue. I suspect that it is much more palatable than epoxy in chopping boards, and a whole lot kinder to sharp tool edges.

Here's an alternative suggestion: using your supplied figures, your boards will end up approx. 360mm wide (6 @ 6cm.) How about an inexpensive thicknesser of 360mm.+ in width? Glue up as required (but in the longest possible lengths) and dress the boards individually before and as a giant plank after glueup.

In this sort of "batch production" scenario, you will save yourself literally hours of cleanup. It would then be a matter of trimming individual chopping boards to length from your long plank, and quickly and easily sanding the ends to suit.