See full version: THREE WAYS TO FLATTEN YOUR SLAB, AND WHICH IS BEST
You have bought a nice live edge slab from a local supplier, or other source. But maybe one side is still roughsawn (right off the bandsaw, no planer). The first thing you need to do is get your piece surfaced so both sides are nice and flat. There are a few ways you can get your piece ready for sanding and I will discuss each of them below. here
The downside to using a planer is that you need a pretty flat slab to begin with Just like when planing any board, if you send a curved board into a planer, what comes out is a thinner curved board. The same generally goes for planing twisted and cupped slabs. Normally to remove twists and cups, a decently equip shop will run one side of a board over a jointer, then the other through the planer. Resulting in a perfectly flat board. The problem with live edge slabs is that many are far too big to fit on a jointer.
So you found your perfect slab, ensured it is dried properly to your climate, and you’re finally ready to get it prepped and finished for daily use. These last few steps are every bit as important as the steps we discussed in part one and two of this series. So don’t get impatient now. In this article we are going to discuss the different ways you can get your slab flat and ready for sanding and finishing
In general, epoxies don’t do well with the heat and friction produced from power tools. They will either get soft and/or melt. If you have a way of keeping that area cool while working it (I’m not a woodworker, so I’m afraid I don’t have suggestions here), you will have more success. here
I inlaid some Amazing Clear Cast Resin into a piece of cherry. Can I run it through a planer?
You can use a planer with resin. Since the blades only touch the wood once in each location as it goes through, there won’t be any significant heat buildup. Be careful of all the resin shavings, wear a respirator. You can start sanding around 100 grit and go up from the planer finish and get a good result.
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Q: I was given a 12" planer for Christmas. Is it OK to run painted oak through it? I've double-checked to ensure there are no nails or screws in the lumber, but wonder if the finish on the wood will dull the cutters. A: Carol Reed: Yes, it's OK, and yes, it will dull the cutters, but then everything you run through the planer will dull the cutters. That's why they have to be sharpened from time to time. Given the mess of stripping and the expense of the strippers, I'd plane it. The cutters in the planer probably need sharpening anyway. At least you'd end with sharp cutters in the planer as opposed to a toxic mess to dispose of. Life is a series of tradeoffs, isn't it? A: Cal Brodie: Several years back I received a stack of wood covered with latex paint. Yes, the paint dulled the blades; no, it didn't ruin them. I just had to sharpen them when I was done. The call to make is whether using the wood is worth the cost of blade sharpening. If there is a chance that the paint may be lead based, I'd be cautious about any exposure to the dust and might choose to pass on planing the boards. From the Woodworker's Journal eZine archives
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Did you know that you can plane plastic? Me neither. I used my old Stanley #4. Its sweetheart era blade was razor sharp, though I’m not sure it needed to be. The “shavings” are UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) polyethylene. I also mic’ed these (never measured shaving with a micrometer before either). They were exactly .001″. The plane left a beautiful surface on the plastic. Smooth as glass. more
I’m using UHMW for the drawer runners in the little toolchest I’m building. I originally had some maple for this, but I wanted to try using some new materials just to see if I could do it. After a great deal of searching I finally found exactly what I wanted – 5′ strips of this stuff already dimensioned to 1/2″ x 1/4″. When it arrived, it was exactly 1/4″ thick material, but the 1/2″ dimension was rough sawn. Of the two, I would have rather had the 1/4″ rough. The drawer sides are grooved to accept 1/2″ runners. Honestly, I panicked a little at first. How am I going to cut this stuff? Can I sand it? Scrape it? Turns out it planed beautifully. here
One trick: Once I cut the strips to length, they were twisted or bent slightly. You can hand form this stuff. I got out the piece of Corian I used to use for scary sharpening and used it like a surface plate to make sure it was pretty straight. This helped with the planing too. This stuff has no real stiffness of its own. You need a good flat surface to work on. That’s not my bench! [links]
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