Plywood and Drum Sander

[Canuck]

Off the wall question.

I am in need of some thin (1/8" oak plywood) for a small project. I have plenty of 1/4" ply and was wondering if I can run it through my drum sander to drawn down the thickness? Parts are about 12" square and only need one face veneered in oak. (I have the Supermax 16-32 sander.) Looking for anyone's experiences doing this.

Thanks

Wayne

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Yes, you can do this. Just be aware the back side will be the unfinished interior of the plywood core. As long as that will never be seen you will be okay.

 

[Mike Davis]

It will be weaker having only 2 or maybe even 1.5 plies. If is very high quality with 7 or more plies then it will be fine.

 

[FredP]

You can but it probably won't come out flat and the glue might gum up the paper.

 

[kserdar]

12" wide ??? why aren't you running this through a surface planer to get it close. The smallest I have seen is 12" wide ...
Then finish with the sander.

 

[Martin Roper]

Especially if it's a planer with a helical head.

 

[MikeMen]

Running through the planer might cause a problem of the leading edge lifting into the cutters. This s especially so when the cutters hit the cross grain layer.

All in all, you would be better off resawing some oak and then sanding down to 1/8 inch in the drum sander. If you are laminating the veneer to a substrate, you can glue it first and then sand it. Otherwise, you might want to use a sled.

 

[gamiller3rd]

Dittos on the resaw approach

 

[BKHam]

the dust would be especially terrible to breathe but go for it.